Playrooms are usually the bane of a parent’s existence. The neverending stream of toys from holidays and celebrations coupled with a child’s lack of natural orderliness do not an organized room make. If you’re determined to end the clean up time struggle and find a solution that works keep reading.
Toyboxes only force children into creating a mess as they dig through its contents pulling toys out as they go to find the one they are looking for. Instead, opt for bins and/or baskets to corral your children’s toys by category. This way legos have their own container and Barbie has hers.
Put a cap on the amounts of toys your child owns to avoid overwhelm and minimal clean up time. Your child will be better able to manage their toys as well as enjoy them more. Don’t worry you don’t actually have to throw out all of their toys.
A great solution that also adds renewed interest in old toys is to keep most of your child’s belongings in storage. You can then swap out their available selection throughout the year to keep their interest piqued without cluttering up the playroom.
Avoid moving the madness to your attic or basement by also regularly cleaning out existing toys to make room for the influx of the new during the holidays and birthday seasons.
Teach your child responsibility for their toys by having them clean up their own messes. Create routines throughout the day to help them learn how to clean up before they move on to their next activity. This could mean cleaning up before lunch and bedtime or even before moving on to a different toy.
Keep all storage within reach so your child can not only easily access their toys but also easily clean them up on their own. You can do this by keeping like items with like and storing items in clear containers that are well labeled. If your child isn’t old enough to read, create labels that have simple images that indicate what type of toy belongs inside each container.
Customize your storage solutions to your child. Review what works and what doesn’t often and make changes accordingly. By creating a process that evolves with your child as learn new habits and even grow older you can guarantee a solution that sticks throughout their childhood.
Hopefully, you’ve gained a few ideas on how you can improve your child’s playroom to not only be better organized but also stay better organized. With some patience and modeling good organization behavior, your child will be keeping their playroom neat and tidy without a fight. Happy organizing!
