Declutter and Organize Your Kid’s Toys Once and For All
Declutter and Organize Your Kid’s Toys
Get control of your home. Declutter and organize your kid’s toys so they aren’t driving you crazy anymore.
It’s so easy for us moms to get caught up in the mundane task of taking care of the home. So often we start feeling like our days just consist of laundry, cooking, cleaning, and toys, and it’s just on repeat. And those toys… toys everywhere! I’ve heard so many moms say that they are picking up toys “all day long!”
Your days don’t have to feel mundane, and those toys – you don’t need to pick them up all day long. I mean seriously, why would you do that to yourself? No one wants to do that, and no one should be doing that. There are systems that you can put in place to get those toys organized and stop picking them up all day long. Putting these systems in place will help your life be simpler and give you more time for fun things.
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Declutter and Organize Your Kid’s Toys on a Regular Basis
The main reason why moms are picking up toys all day long is that kids have an overwhelming amount of toys. The toys are spilling out everywhere and it’s hard to keep them contained. Ask yourself how much your child actually plays with all of those toys and you’ll find that they don’t play with many of them.
Or when they do play with them, it’s not for a very long period of time. I recommend going through toys at least once a year and getting rid of some. The best times to declutter and organize your kid’s toys would be before Christmas or a birthday. Here are some basic tips to help you declutter your kid’s toys.
Basic Tips for a Toy Declutter:
1.) Put every single toy out in the middle of the floor and go through each one.
2.) Throw away anything that is broken.
3.) Put aside toys they have grown out of that you could save for a future sibling. These can be put in storage bins.
4.) Decide on some toys you could donate. These could be toys they don’t play with often, or that they have duplicates of. Even if they aren’t exactly the same toy, I have found that some toys are very similar and you can get rid of one set of princesses or action figures and keep the other.
5.) Lastly, find a home for everything you are keeping. Organize the toys so you know where to put them back each day when you clean up.
Still Have Too Many Toys?
If you still feel like you have too many toys out and about, then consider going through them again and finding more to donate. Your kids may say they miss them in the beginning, but they will quickly forget. You will also find that they play with a toy longer when they have fewer options. Plus, they will thank you later when they are adults who don’t put their worth in their possessions.
Don’t forget to read about organizing your kitchen and closet as well. Also, head to the library of free printables and grad your list of 101 Things to Get Rid of Right Now!
This cube organizer helps us organize our toys quickly and easily.
Design a Toy Clean Up Routine
After decluttering, you may have fewer toys but you will still need to pick up the toys. That really is inevitable, but it only needs to be once a day, maybe twice. At our house, we pick up toys at the end of each day.
Right before we read our bedtime story, my daughter and I pick up the toys together. Most of them are contained in her room, which makes it easier. Make sure the kids are helping you because one day they will be old enough to it by themselves and you won’t need to organize toys at all.
On days where a lot of toys have gotten out into the living space, I just shove these back in her room in the late afternoon. I don’t worry about putting them back in their place until bedtime. She usually ends up pulling them back out. So why put them back in their place twice, when I can just do it once?
Use a Clutter Basket
Doing this quick clear out and tossing toys back in her room is pretty easy for me because our house is a smaller, ranch-style. Her room is right off the living room. If your house is larger or even two stories I would get a basket that you can keep in the main living room. When the toys are getting out of control, have the kids toss them in the basket and take them back up to their room. You can even wait and have them take the basket up at the end of the day.
Once you declutter and organize your kid’s toys and design a toy clean up routine, your life will be much simpler. You can spend quality time with your kids instead of stressing about all of the toys that are everywhere.
Once you have organized the toys be sure to find more peace in your home through a kitchen declutter and a clothing declutter.
Get my free ebook – Simplify Your Life with a Cleaning Routine
Read More:
Find Peace In Your Kitchen Through a Kitchen Declutter
DIY Entertainment Center Organization
4 Steps to Organizing Your Kitchen
Bailey
April 28, 2018 at 10:46 amI love this! Such great tips for keeping the toy clutter under control.
KatiesKottage
May 2, 2018 at 1:09 pmThank you! I hope you find it helpful. 🙂
Lauren @ Simply-Well-Balanced
April 27, 2018 at 5:21 pmThis sounds a lot like what we do in my house. It’s always best to only have a few toys that they love and play with often.
KatiesKottage
May 2, 2018 at 1:09 pmyes, definitely!
Jennifer
April 27, 2018 at 12:26 pmThis is a great refresh on the toy clean up. I just went through all of my granddaughter’s toys. There were more broken, outdated than I realized. My granddaughter plays for 12 hours straight, so we are working on toy pick ups throughout the day.
KatiesKottage
April 27, 2018 at 2:41 pmThat is great that you are going through her toys. She plays with her toys for 12 hours straight? My kiddo can’t seem to catch on to playing with her toys without me. Maybe it comes with age. ???
Sara
April 27, 2018 at 12:23 pmI’ve gone through my boys toys and donated them now 2-3 times already! I even clean them in vinegar and water just to get he germs off. And it still seems there are so many lol! Great post about organizing it better!
KatiesKottage
April 27, 2018 at 2:40 pmThank you! I’ve gone through the toys twice this year and I think we are at a good place right now. We really don’t bring in any new toys so that helps as well.
Erin Haugerud
April 25, 2018 at 11:13 amGreat tips! I feel like I do this constantly!
KatiesKottage
April 27, 2018 at 2:40 pmThanks! I don’t let a lot of new toys come into the house… that helps a lot. 🙂
Melisssa
April 25, 2018 at 9:29 amI go through the toys once a week and just throw away ones that are broken, even it cost alot of has sentimental value…sooo over the toys after 4 years! And guess what, my kids have never asked yet where these toys have gone – WIN! Thank you for this post, it’s a great reminder.
KatiesKottage
April 27, 2018 at 2:39 pmTotally a win! Every week? That’s dedication!
Ashley
April 25, 2018 at 9:17 amWe have so many toys the kids do not play with. We go through and get rid of old toys quarterly. Yet I still feel we have too many. My MIL swears the kids need more toys and constantly sends more despite our asking her not to. So it’s a constant struggle.
KatiesKottage
April 27, 2018 at 2:39 pmYes, I know how that goes. Our little is constantly getting spoiled by others. I really limit birthday party guest. That seemed to help this year.
Brandi Michel | FamilyFelicity.com
April 24, 2018 at 4:52 amHi Katie! I love your ideas and are so helpful. I used to literally keep all my kids’ toys and it was sooo much to handle. Then will my third (we get smarter by #3) I do a regular decluttering of toys and he doesn’t ever notice or seem to mind. And there’s a lot less mess to clean up and manage!
KatiesKottage
April 24, 2018 at 2:00 pmWe have a smaller house so I had to learn early 🙂 It really does help so much. Thanks for the kind words. 🙂
Heather Gilbert
April 23, 2018 at 11:47 pmThe kids I nanny for really need these tips!
KatiesKottage
April 24, 2018 at 1:58 pmMaybe you could some one “secretly” help them out. Lol.
Danielle at A Sprinkle of Joy
April 23, 2018 at 7:24 pmGreat tips!! I usually try to remember to have my girls put the toys away when they are done playing with before getting new ones out.
KatiesKottage
April 24, 2018 at 1:58 pmYes, that’s a great idea. We do that with things like playdough, sensory boxes, etc. I could definitely do that with regular toys too.
Corey
April 23, 2018 at 10:21 amI am one fo those moms saying all I do is pick up toys. Great ideas with the organization and only picking them up once or twice. I think a routine will help us.
KatiesKottage
April 24, 2018 at 1:57 pmRoutines are seriously life changing… they seem like a lot of added work, but really they are just the opposite.
Tabbie
April 23, 2018 at 8:43 amYes! Our house is small so we try to keep toys to a minimum and we rotate those that we have!
KatiesKottage
April 24, 2018 at 1:57 pmRotating their toys is such a great idea! I’ve been recently doing that with my daughter and loving it.
Jordan
April 23, 2018 at 8:43 amBookmarking and pinning! I love the storage cube.
KatiesKottage
April 24, 2018 at 1:56 pmAwe thanks so much! I love the storage cubes too! It makes picking this up so much easier and I like it more than a conventional toy box.
Tiffany
April 23, 2018 at 8:13 amThis is so true! we have so many toys all over! We try to pick through and donate but it feels like for every 10 we give away we get 20 back!!
KatiesKottage
April 24, 2018 at 1:56 pmI know! Everyone always once to buy my daughter things, when she is happy with a piece of grass. But I think we finally have a handle on all of the toys and it’s so nice! 🙂
Kristin's Peppermints and Cherries
April 23, 2018 at 8:07 amLove this post! We have our toys organized and keep a lot of them up high in the closets, especially toys with multiple pieces. The toys can be taken down one at a time, and this helps with toy clutter some. We still have toys going from one room to the next, and I am learning to embrace this! The worst is stepping on a small piece of a toy! It kills my feet! 🙂
KatiesKottage
April 24, 2018 at 1:55 pmOh yes… that is the worst! It sounds like you have your toys under control… great job!