Ever feel like toys over-run your house? With three boys, the toys seem to multiply like rabbits. No matter how many times I say, "No, we're not buying that toy," it still seems like toys find their way into our house! Well, as you may have noticed, from my color-coding efforts, I am a bit of an organizing zealot :)
I personally do not think that my children need to have access to every toy every day. I know many of you are content with the, "just throw it in the toybox" mentality - not me. When my boys were just 1, 2, & 3 yrs old, I was happy if everything ended up in the toybox (instead of on my living room floor), but now that they're a bit older, I'm trying to teach them some more responsibility. As they get older, I wouldn't want them to just throw all their clothes in one drawer (they'll need to fold them first) or dump their plate in the sink (they'll need to rinse it first). I think the younger you start, the easier it is! This is how it works for us:
1) All large toys go into the toybox. This includes police cars, Elmo, Buzz, fire hats, and the like. Where else would I keep such large toys? I definitely do not have enough shelf space for them!
2) All board books go into a large basket that is always accessible. It's never a bad idea to encourage looking at books while children wait for mom and dad, or wait for dinner, etc.
3) Small toys go into specific small containers. I save a various assortment of containers. I like the containers that hold Gatorade powder mix. I draw a picture of the toy on a piece of white contact paper, then I stick the contact paper to the outside of the container. Even my 2 yr old can match a train with my simple picture of a train - LOL!
4) Puzzle pieces go into a shoe box on top of the stack of puzzles. I decided to do this after I realized it seemed to take FOREVER for my boys to put the pieces into the puzzles when it was time to clean up! Now they just put all the pieces into one box (we only have about 6 puzzles).
5) Train tracks go into a copy paper box, while the trains themselves go into a cloth bag that I have. Train tracks need lots of space and a sturdy box!
6) Match box cars and other small toys go into plastic tubs. If you look at Walmart after a major holiday, you can often find them at a great discount. I think I bought 4 at $.50 each (and they hold quite a bit of stuff!).
With this organizing system, the boys know they can always play with the large toys in the toybox or use the books. The other toys are used one type at a time. Now, you may ask, what is to keep my boys from taking out all the boxes or containers and dumping a variety of toys out at one time? The answer - ME! That's my job. I make sure things are run decently and in order. We've been doing this for 4 yrs, so my boys have been taught not to make a complete mess of the house. Besides, if they did, they know they would be cleaning it up! ;)
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