Strategies For De-Cluttering and Organizing Toys in Your Child's Playroom

Organizing your child’s playroom can become a tedious and seemingly endless project. Although you have good intentions, you may be going about organizing the playroom the wrong way. Try looking at the playroom and the organization of the playroom from your child’s perspective.  You may see that your system for organizing is neither practical nor functional. I have compiled a list of 10 strategies for de-cluttering and organizing toys in your child's playroom.

1.  Break the room up into zones or areas of interest.  I suggest three or four zones of interest.

2.  The toys and other objects in the playroom should be labeled for simple identification and in a way that makes it easy for your child to put toys away. Your child should also not have a problem finding the designated area or zone in the playroom where a particular toy belongs.

3.  Rather than constantly cleaning and organizing your child’s playroom with no sense of strategy or system, find a creative way to organize your child’s playroom that allows your child to have more fun playing with the toys they enjoy the most and less time cleaning up after the mess.

4.  Remember that your intention when organizing your child’s playroom should be to make the toys accessible to your child, not to hide the toys. If your child knows where everything belongs, they are more likely to place each toy in the proper place.

5.  Toy chests — These are actually more efficient for bigger toys. Small toys get lost in the pile.  I suggest filling toy chests with big toys such as balls, blocks, skates, and trucks. Another option is to place accessible containers inside the toy chest for smaller toys.

6.  If the playroom is being used by more than one child, make sure you label the boxes either by child or by items stored inside.

7.  Shelves - Shelves are ideal for storing smaller toys or toys that could be broken easily.  Just make sure that the shelves are clearly labeled for each child or type of item.  Shelves could come in the form of bookcases, cubes or even lockers. Just make sure that the toys, especially the high-demand toys, are within reach.  Use the upper shelves for toys that are not used as much.

8.  Toy nets - These are ideal for storing soft and light toys such as stuffed animals, dolls and sports equipment.  They lift the mess off the ground giving your children more floor space to use for creative play.  The same concept can also be used with a hammock.

9.  Rolling cart - A rolling cart with integrated organizers is wonderful.  This cart can be stored against the wall when not in use. It is nice because the kids can grab the supplies they need for a particular project without making a mess.

10.  Craft caddies - Another option is to have separate craft caddies. I like to use bathroom or cleaning supply caddies.  One caddy could include crayons and colored pencils, while another one could include scissors and glue, and another one could include paints, etc.  Label the caddies accordingly.

I hope you find these tips and strategies useful.   When you are sorting through your child’s toys in the playroom go ahead and decide which toys are worthy of being kept and which should be tossed out or given away.  Make sure your child’s favorite toys that get the most use are in an easily accessible area in the playroom.  While valuable items are kept in an out-of-reach area in the playroom.  To do this right you need to be sure to involve your child in the organization of their playroom.  You will be able to implement a creative strategy to organize your child’s playroom and keep it organized by finding out what your child doesn’t like about their playroom and what toys and activities they love!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hot Wheels® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.