Toddler Room Organization

[smilie]

I need your best tips. There's only so many toy boxes and toy bins I can buy. Her room just feels so disorganized. I want to make it a little easier for her to clean up and keep clean. What's worked for you?

 

[Magpie]

I need your best tips. There's only so many toy boxes and toy bins I can buy. Her room just feels so disorganized. I want to make it a little easier for her to clean up and keep clean. What's worked for you?

Does she have too many toys?

One thing I found with my children was that I needed to keep the number of toys down to something manageable - and something THEY could help keep tidy themselves.

That meant one plastic bin for small stuffed toys. One bin for building blocks. One for Duplo. One for train tracks. One for Barbies/dolls. One for cars and other things with wheels. And one for assorted small toys.

The plastic bins sat on low-but-deep IKEA shelves, all easily reachable by my children. Large stuffed toys, tractors, etc, could sit on the shelves beside the bins. Books could be stacked neatly on a shelf.

I wrote labels in big block letters on all the bins - hey, it's an opportunity to teach reading skills, too!

I also put in hooks at their level so that they could hang up their own clothes instead of throwing them on the floor. And I put down a mat for their shoes. It had SHOES written on it, too.

My rule was that everything gets put back in the correct box when you're done playing with it. Nothing is left out overnight except projects that you're still working on (like a giant snaking train track, or a Duplo castle, etc...).

When they were toddlers, we always cleaned up together and I used it as a sorting exercise, teaching colours and numbers and counting. Sometimes my children would refuse to put their toys away, telling me I could do it myself. That's when I would shake my head sadly and tell them that my job was making sure they did the right thing, no matter how long it took. Then I'd take them by the hand, walk them over to a toy, put the toy in it, then walk them to the correct box. Repeat as required. The children only tried this a few times - I'm FAR more persistent and patient than they are, and they quickly realized it was easier to just clean up. Usually, it was fun.

Heck, they're teenagers now and when I go on a cleaning spree, they still know it's best to just do what they're told, without argument. (Although I noticed my son took the phone with him when he was cleaning the bathroom the other day - he was calling all his friends to see if he could escape to their house! )

 

[koolaidmoms]

The thing I learned from my kids pre-school teacher was to have a place for everything and take a picture of the item (and use word labels) so the child would know where everything goes. So the Lego bucket would have a picture of a Lego and the word Lego on it.

Zones also work great. If there is an area where the child plays dress-up all the time put a basket with dress up clothes and mirror near her kitchen play set or a comfy chair near the book shelf. This may help them put things away when they are done because they don't have to go back across the room to put it away its home is right nearby when they are done.

Hope this helps some.

 

[luvsJack]

I always found that shelves worked better than bins or toy boxes. They were short, sturdy shelves that were attached to the wall. Like what would be used in a preschool.

Blocks would be in a bin on a shelf and so would stuffed animals. Everything else would be on a shelf with all its parts with it. (like a barn and all the animals) It made the toys easy to take out and play with and easy to put away. The kids didn't have to dump the whole bin/box to find that one piece to go with the toy they were playing with so there was always less mess.

 

[smilie]

The kids didn't have to dump the whole bin/box to find that one piece to go with the toy they were playing with so there was always less mess.

I think this is what the problem is. She'll dump bins of toys out to find something. I may need to get the bins that can be stored under her bed as well. Sort things out by size so they're easier to find.

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

When it comes to things with pieces like games I put all the pieces in a plastic bag so they don't get lost. Afterwards it all gets put back in the bag then in the box.

I put a shoe holder on the back of the door. shoes were put in the bottom where they could be reached. Things like hats or stuffed animals were put in higher ones.

I tried to teach my kids to play with only 1 thing at once, put them away then pull out another toy. This cuts down on everything being shoved away together.

 

[luvsJack]

I think this is what the problem is. She'll dump bins of toys out to find something. I may need to get the bins that can be stored under her bed as well. Sort things out by size so they're easier to find.

Anything you can do to eliminate as much of the dumping will help keep her room cleaner. Sorting by size and smaller bins or long bins that are not very deep so that she can see everything in it but still holds a lot will work too.

 

[LuvOrlando]

when you are out of space go up. We devoted a huge section of the basement over to our kids and bought some nice, not so nice I'd be upset if they broke, shelves that fit all our kids stuff. I have always had a playroom so their bedrooms have always been calming places, toys might make their way but have never been encouraged. i can't imagine the mess if I had it any other way... As it is each month I have always had to do an under the bed purge in DD11's's room

Also, Dh has always made it a game to go through the kids toys and books with them at least once a year and we donate whatever isn't broken. Funny thing is my kids are always more willing to part with stuff than I assume, which is why DH does it not me. I'm a bad influence because I tie memories to every toy for them

 

[shortbun]

We are past that stage now but we used clear bins and lettered them with words to say what went in them. Bigger items were kept in the play room/family room. We also had shelves that the bins slid onto with the upper shelves being for books.

 

[Agri]

When I was *very* young, I had a toy chest in the family room and was allowed four crates of toys in my room. They were the plastic kind where you could definitely see just about everything that was in them. Everything else was put in 'storage' in the attic. If I wanted something in the attic, I had to trade enough items from my crates or toy chest to equal the space the new item would take up. Once a year - usually around Spring Break - my dad would bring down everything that was in the attic and we'd go through it and donate the stuff I was no longer attached to. If I hadn't touched it for most of the year, it went to kids who would appreciate it more than me. The only exceptions were some handmade toys from a distant aunt and uncle that I had to hold onto for sentimental reasons (they have since been donated as well since I wasn't that close with my dad's side of the family).

I also had to clean up my own messes - if I didn't want to clean it up, I shouldn't make the mess in the first place.