Finding the best strategies for toy organization can be challenging, especially when the clutter seems out of control. No matter what type of toy you’re stumbling over, it can be frustrating, at the very least. If you’ve ever stepped on a Lego in the middle of the night trying to find your way to the bathroom, you know exactly what I’m talking about!
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Ideas to Cut Down Toy Mess Around the House
As board games, video games, and other kids’ toys accumulate, mom and the rest of the family typically agree it is time to find the best ideas to get them back where they belong in the playroom or kid’s bedroom when not in use.
Most times, toy clutter creates toy chaos. The following are simple ideas for overcoming the frustration of tripping over Lego blocks, toy cars, and everything in between.
1. Limit the number of toys being played with at one time
Once the limit is reached, toys must be put back in their correct place before getting others out.
This makes it easier to clean up or put away when needed.
A good rule of thumb is only to allow your kids two or three toys each, plus a few additional items, such as craft supplies and books, for their reading enjoyment.
2. Declutter frequently
Once a month, search through the kids’ toys and remove any broken, odds-and-ends animal pieces, items from fast food meals, etc.
Donate outgrown toys every six months.
Make it a habit to discard one toy when bringing a new one home.
When I donate, I check with local churches first, especially those with preschools, to see if they need any of the kid’s toys we are donating.
Next, I contact the local women’s shelters because they often house kids with their moms. Lastly, I go to a drop-off donation center like the Salvation Army or Goodwill.
3. Have fewer toys
When there are too many toys, they are more difficult to organize, creating a greater need for exceptional toy organization ideas.
Having fewer toys is the secret to keeping your house clutter-free of toys lying around in the living room, bathroom, and what feels like every room.
Have you ever felt that toys were overtaking your house no matter which room you went to?
I can’t stress enough that fewer toys equate to less mess!
There are several ways to minimize the number of toys:
- Declutter them regularly
- Throw out the ones that are broken
- Get rid of duplicates (this is common after a birthday and holiday)
- Toss the ones with missing pieces
- Donate, sell, or store the ones your kids have outgrown (if they have younger siblings)
- Ask family and friends to give non-toy gifts for Christmas or birthday
- Get rid of decor that matches a themed bedroom (which usually has at least one matching stuffed animal and wall art) when you move on to something different
- Divide sets of toys and hide part of them in drawers, a bin under the bed, or in a closet, donate them, or add them to a toy rotation schedule so there aren’t so many available at one time (such as blocks, refrigerator magnets, Lego sets, etc.)
- Quit shopping for toys at dollar stores or garage sales – when they are less expensive, we have a tendency to over-buy
- Graciously decline free toys from friends and family if they are not something you think your kids will really love and play with
4. Establish a toy rotation system
This is one of the best ways to organize kids’ toys when it’s done consistently.
Creating a toy rotation system is a simple solution if you have too many toys or your child becomes bored quickly.
If you have ever watched a child with a new toy or board game, they act like heaven was just hand-delivered to them!
On the other hand, when littles play with the same toys day after day, they get bored more easily even though they don’t express it in so many words. Just watching how they lose interest after a few days of getting a new toy is the perfect example.
Establishing a toy rotation system is one of the most fun and effective toy organization ideas, and it is also a simple process.
If set up correctly, a toy rotation system will minimize the number of toys pushed into a corner or strewn around the house.
If you haven’t heard of it before, toy rotation means you will rotate the number of toys available to play with at any time.
We store the items not being used in a place where the child cannot reach them, such as the garage or under a guest bedroom bed where they don’t typically play.
When the ‘new’ toys come out, the ‘old’ ones are put away.
I have found a 4-week rotation (weekly 4 times a month) to be the most effective.
However, every family and child is different, so you must use trial and error to find a good rotation schedule for daily, weekly, monthly, or something in between.
Tips to Organize the Toys
There are many toy organization ideas you will come across. In fact, these ideas are almost endless.
As a former school counselor, teacher, and parent, the following ideas are the best I have tried and found success using.
Each one will work independently or combine several for the ultimate organization in several rooms in your home (not just your child’s bedroom or playroom).
Once you decide which ideas to pursue, you can create a plan to complete the task and have your kids playing in their newly organized area in no time.
1. Give each toy a ‘home’
Keeping toys in order does not differ from finding each one a ‘home’ (a basic decluttering skill.)
When one is not being used, it should be snuggled into its home, waiting for its turn to be chosen.
Not only does this keep the play area looking neat, but it also offers predictability for kids so they know exactly where to find a toy when they want to play with it.
It also teaches kids how to be neat and organized when it is time to clean up.
Depending on the layout of your home, you may need to have several places for toys in your home to keep the mess minimal in each room.
Most kids want to play where you are, not off in their room alone.
2. Use containers & bins
The best toy containers use a cube or bin (or several of each,) baskets, plastic containers, DIY shelving, or an under-the-bed organizer.
The typical organizer is made of pressed wood, natural wood, or plastic. All choices can be functional, depending on the playroom or kid’s bedroom decor you want to use.
If shelving is not available in the closet, one idea is to create some, another idea is to get a bookcase to sit inside or outside, and another is to use fabric hanging shelves as an option.
Cube bookcases are also a brilliant choice! They provide style along with the organization.
You can set larger toys on the shelves independently or use organizing containers and stack several on a shelf together.
3. Use hanging storage
Keeping things off the floor is the best way to use all your living areas and push aside the feeling of a ‘messy’ home.
It doesn’t have to take more furniture to get things in order.
Following are several clever tips for using this type of storage for toys.
One way mentioned above is to hang shelves in the closet.
Another option is hanging mesh space savers, corner toy hammocks (which make excellent stuffed animal storage), or my favorite over-the-door shoe organizers (which can be hung about anywhere – not just on a door.)
Another option that can be a fun (and almost free) project to complete as a family is to build DIY floating shelves to match the playroom decor. They also make a nice display of special toys or stuffed animals.
They look great with the proper supplies and directions, use wall space, and offer a unique way to organize toys that many don’t think of.
This type of shelf is perfect for keeping games and art supplies organized in the playroom.
4. Don’t overflow bins or overcrowd shelves
If you overload the organizing containers, it defeats the purpose of organizing from the get-go.
You want your kids to find the toys they want to play with easily, and if the bins or containers are overflowing, it will only cause frustration (labels can help).
When kids get frustrated or can’t find what they are looking for, they dump everything on the floor to find what seems to miss, causing a mom to want to pull out her hair.
This is especially true with small toys that fall to the bottom.
Now, another mess has been created!
If the toy containers are overflowing, it is time to divide them into smaller categories, donate or sell some of them, or declutter.
Over-the-door shoe organizers are among the best toy storage ideas most people don’t think of.
The see-through ones are super for little eyes, and they don’t take up any extra living area, so you can use it for other stuff (or keep it empty!)
5. Make toys easily accessible for your child’s height
When your child gets past the toddler stage, he/she could likely be ready to choose what they want to play with.
This is also a great time to teach the of putting toys away before others come out, and using an organized system is the best way to start this positive habit.
If the toys aren’t easily accessible, kids usually try to get to them independently, like climbing on a chair or stool.
6. Organize similar toys together
I call this categorizing similar or related items.
You can do this in several ways to save time during cleanup.
- Group similar toys, for example, noisy ones, the same color, etc.
- Group toys of the same type, such as tractors, Hot Wheels, cars, etc.
- Group toys that are educational, such as puzzles or crayons and colored books
- Group toys that do similar things, such as building, which could be blocks, Legos, etc.
My favorite way to group toys together is #2 because, if kids are playing with trucks (for example), they typically want several different ones.
7. Get rid of the toy box
Toy boxes have their place for toy storage in only a few instances.
The best storage ideas for a toy box are balls and larger outdoor-type toys, and they can be good for stuffed animal storage.
Using a toy box may cause more of a mess than if you didn’t even have one.
Toy boxes do one thing: They get the toys off the floor and hide them temporarily until your child is looking for a specific toy. Then, they are all unloaded back to the floor to get to the bottom and find the specific one they have in mind.
If you have a toy box in the playroom (or anywhere in the home, actually), I recommend reading up on the latest ideas, revamping your toy storage, and opting for several smaller storage bins, baskets, a DIY storage box, drawers, etc.
8. Use simple & age-appropriate labels
If you have gone into many elementary school classrooms, you likely noticed several