Kids collect all sorts of toys throughout their childhood, which can make it difficult to maintain a tidy house.
With LEGO bricks everywhere and toy cars hiding under sofas, their toy collection can quickly take over your home.
It can be draining for you as a parent to chase round after your infant, picking up the discarded toys that they’ve dragged out to play with for less than a minute.
Our goal is to give you a less stressful life and help you to guide your kids towards being independent in their organization.
In this article, we’re going to look into why it’s important to organize your kids’ toys and some tips for making sure they stick to it.
Table of Contents
Why Should You Organize Toys?
Maintaining a routine of tidying up will make your life easier as a parent and set your child up with positive habits for later in life.
Let’s start by exploring why organization is so important for both parties.
For Kids
Kids can be messy by nature, which is perfectly fine at a young age. However, you’ll want to start imprinting good habits onto them early on.
Teaching them to organize and tidy their toys away after using them will make them think more independently and begin taking pride in their own space.
Later in life, this will make them good housemates and partners for the people they live and work with in the future.
Once they feel responsible for their belongings, they will start to respect their toys and their space just as much as you.
For Parents
Research has shown that a messy house filled with clutter brings on stress for adults.
As much as you’d love your kids to share your vision for your home, they’re just not wired to think like that yet.
Teaching them to organize their toys in a meaningful way is the first step towards making your home a place that you can take pride in again.
It’s easy for kids to run the show when they come along, but you can reduce your stress by guiding them with some simple organization methods.
Tips For Organizing Toys
Let’s take a look at some of the practical ways that you and your kids can organize their toys for your benefit and theirs!
Remove Clutter
Your kids will have racked up a massive collection of toys during their lifetime, which can definitely enrich their playtime but can leave you with a messy house.
Getting rid of some of this clutter can be the first step towards leaving them only with the toys they really want.
This can involve simply tossing unwanted toys in the trash, or you can take this opportunity to teach them about generosity.
Their unwanted toys could be the perfect gift for less fortunate children or younger family members who need a helping hand.
Storage Boxes
Once you have narrowed down the toys that need organizing, you can begin sorting them into relevant storage containers.
This can be storage bins, cubes or even bookshelves to give your child quick and easy access to their favorite things.
Investing in storage boxes that are easily accessible for your little one will make them more likely to engage with tidying their toys away once they’re finished playing.
Many kids also enjoy having clear storage so that they can see all their toys from the outside without having to rummage through.
This is useful for parents too as you can keep an eye on the state of organization at a glance.
Group Similar Toys Together
Consider the types of toys that your kids have at the moment. Which ones do they play with at the same time?
Are there some that need different storage to others?
For example, if they have a collection of costumes that they love play-acting in, they can be easily grouped together in the same part of their closet.
All of their board games can go in the same concealed drawer too.
Labeling
Perfect for sorting toys into categories, labels are a great way to let your child do some of the work for themselves.
Labels can depict words or pictures, plus you can even encourage your child to create their own.
This allows them to take some ownership of their own organization and add an element of fun to sorting their toys into categories.
Add Incentives
Let’s face it, it’s not in the nature of kids to be tidying machines.
Generally, they want the doll house, then the LEGO, then the toy cars without stopping for breath.
It’s good practice to encourage them to tidy things away at the end of a playtime marathon.
For example, you could set a timer going and dangle extra time watching TV as an incentive.
They’ll have the house looking pristine in a matter of minutes.
If you have more than one little one, you could make it a competition to see who can have the tidiest space too.
Hide The Mess
If you’re still left with an overwhelming amount of toys by the end of your decluttering sessions, look for alternative storage methods.
Not everything has to be on show or accessible, especially toys that your kids don’t bother with very often.
You could repurpose a closet to hold some of your kids’ items or invest in a coffee table that has a pull-out drawer underneath.
You can still maintain a tidy-looking home even if there are still a few secret storage spaces that don’t get put on show.
Final Thoughts
It’s probably best not to expect the world from your kids in terms of organization, but they can start learning some positive habits.
Tidying up and organization is all about keeping it fun and light with your messy roommates, so invest the time to think about incentives, games and competitions.
If you can guide your kids towards a tidier lifestyle, that means more time with your feet up and less time running around tidying up after them.
