Douglas is 17 months and his toy situation is almost driving me NUTS. I'd like to just put all toys in his room but he doesn't play in his room unless I'm in there. So there is a bin of toys in the living room and toys in his room. We are okay about picking up the toys in the living room at night but I don't touch his room until I need to vaccuum. So here's what I have in the way of organization: a bin in the living, a blue book shelf type thing in his room, and the bin thing in his room (see pictures). I want to know what I should do about his toy situation. Any ideas?
9 comments:
Wish I could help but I am about the least orgainized person out there. Besides, I thought you were doing well with what you have.
I don't really have advice for you. We kind of have a "playroom" where most of the toys are at our house and I don't really care how it looks (except that right now it is a little too crazy). :)
It sounds like you're trying pretty good. I like the little shelf with buckets. The only thing I can think is to just use that (and the one in the living room) and put away the other ones. I have heard it's good to "rotate" toys because then it's kind of exciting in 3-4 months to get a "new" toy. So you could put some in a closet or something and rotate... but that doesn't help with organizing. :)
I have got absolutely no ideas because I have the exact same problem. Spencer's room looks exactly like Douglas' until I vacuum too. I just wanted to let you know, you are not alone! We even have a playroom and the toys still end up all over our living room. Good luck!
Well a toddler is going to be messy anyway but here is one suggestion that Ryan started doing with Maddison. We made it a part of our bedtime routine. She knows she has to pick up toys in the living room and put in the playroom. Then she collects clothes in her room and puts them in the hamper and puts the toys on her bookshelf. The bookshelf looks a mess but at least they are off the floor.
We have mini Ikea hampers that we use to keep small sets together. We keep them in Madilynn's closet on a shelving system. When she is getting restless with a small bucket in the living room we go into together and pick out blocks, trains, Potato Head, puzzles, or whatever and we are working on picking them up before she gets another one out. Keeps the place clean and teaches her to keep a little order, but it does require more of my attention. She is really good about initiating this process though, which helps! If this sounded like something you want to try, you could always move his shelf with buckets into a closet?
Worked great until we got a mini kitchen and now I'm constantly tripping over mini strawberries and pots and pans!
At Douglas' age I rotated toys every 2 weeks. I didn't have a cool shelve, just two matching buckets. I'd pull one out and put the others away. We did this until she was 18 months or so!
Good luck!
My organizational skills require throwing away all things disorganized. I don't think that Dougie would appreciate that very much.
Please let me know if anything works... we're strugglin' in this department...
I put everything in baskets on my shelves. It makes it look so much more neat, because the mess is inside the basket. For example, we had our DVD's on a shelf, but instead I bought the wicker baskets lined with cloth and threw them all in there. It made the entertainment center so much neater looking!
Ikea has a lot of really great options of shelving or even cardboard boxes that are only $3-$7 for three. I built those up in our office and put checks, cds, pens, etc. inside.
If you don't want to shell out money for new shelving, one thing I have found that works is labeling the tubs with pictures. That way he can see what goes in the bin and he can slowly learn to help pick up and organize himself. It will take some work, but with persistence he'd get the hang of it.
Toy chest that double as benches help accent the room and store bulkier toys. I know Ikea as a really inexpensive one.
Utilize the storage under the bed. There are lots of plastic containers especially designed for that. You can even put smaller containers inside those for even more organization.
:)
If you haven't noticed, I'm a big neat freak/organization person. When I get in a mood, I can organize for hours.
My favorite thing is those big toy chests or plastic bins. We throw everything in there, and it's hidden from sight - FABULOUS!!
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