When you have children’s toys and games all over the place in every room of the house, it can be a little overwhelming. It might be so cluttered you even forget that adults use the space too. But never fear! Use the Out of Chaos C.L.E.A.R. method to organize toys, and your home will be a space both adults and kids can enjoy. Linda and Lil’ Chu give some tips in this video too!

Categorize

Group toys into categories. Start with broad categories such as building blocks, action figures, stuffed animals, board games, etc. Then, ask your children to help subdivide each category. For example, parents may see a pile of action figures, but the child may see superheroes and supervillains and then further subdivide by “universe” (Marvel, DC, Transformers, etc.).

Limit

Next, set some limits on the number of toys and games you will keep. You can also set a limit on the space in the home the toys will occupy. For example, you may dedicate one or two shelves in each bedroom to toys and a cupboard in the dining room for family-based games. Be realistic about how much space you have.

Evaluate

Evaluate the toys by asking the following questions. This will help you make decisions about which toys to keep and which toys should go.

• Is it well used or well-loved?
• Have children outgrown some of the toys and games?
• Which children play with which toys?
• Are the toys in good condition?
• Do games and puzzles have all their parts?
• Do parents love the idea of kids playing with the toy more than the kids love with the toy?
• Do the toys and games promote positive interaction and creativity or conflict and mindless activity?

Allocate

Allocate space and containers to organize toys and games. Commit to consistent locations so that children develop a habit of returning toys to their designated area. Children are more likely to put their belongings away if they don’t have to open the bin first. Open baskets on shelves are ideal for storing toys and games. Clear shoe boxes are great for smaller items because children can find things quickly. Add labels, so kids know which toys belong in which bin. Use pictures of the contents with the words to help children who are learning to read.

Also, consider limiting the toys children can keep in adult spaces, so it’s not overwhelming to look at and easy to tidy up when necessary. For multipurpose rooms, create a toy section using an area rug. You could also arrange the furniture to cordon off a space.

Store like items together. For example, put art supplies in the same cupboard and store smocks and aprons there too. Place dress-up clothes in a Tickle Trunk. If you have board game fanatics in your home, dedicate a shelving unit to games.

Remove

The final step is to remove unwanted toys from your home. Broken or damaged toys should be thrown out or recycled – especially anything that could be a choking or health hazard.

Some toys and games could be relocated to the grandparents’ homes or handed down to younger family members or friends. Check our Resources to find which agencies accept donations of toys and games.

Final Tips

Finally, respect the children’s (reasonable) decisions on what they want to keep and let go of. If you feel they may regret their decision, pack away unwanted toys anyway. But, leave the boxes for a week or two before donating them. It will give the children a chance to change their minds.

Finally, when you organize toys, remember that children have short attention spans. Don’t expect them to be able to declutter and organize toys for an entire day. Make a game of it! Select one category of toys per day and only do one or two hours at a time – depending on the age of the children.

If you need help, contact the Out of Chaos team. We are always up for the fun and games of organizing toys!

 

Many thanks to the video production team!

• Dusty of Color Sound Lab
• Tara Travis Voice Artist
• Danielle Turner of Velvet Pumpkin Productions

Video Transcript

Lil’ Chu: Ow!

Linda: Lil’ Chu, what are you stepping on now?

Lil’ Chu: This!

Linda: This, the blocks that I’m collecting? Toys! We need to get control of those toys. It’s all about dividing and conquering. The best thing is to take several sized bins. Kids and lids don’t work, so a bin that is open where you can just toss the toys in is great. You could go with, say, shoeboxes like here where you’re collecting all like items and in this case, we’re doing water pistols. All of your water pistols go into one location and one bin so you can find things again. So it’s about getting organized. So, do you want to get started? How about we start with your stuffies?

Lil’ Chu: How much time have you got?

Linda: Well, we’ve got all day, so we can start with this?

Lil’ Chu: Oh, that’s Ralph. He’s my favourite!