Toys, and Books, and Baskets. Oh My!

My kids have always been good about playing independently.  KC and I play with them often, but if I'm making dinner or on the phone I usually don't have to worry about them being entertained.

Part of the reason for this is that they have so many toys. I think the toys multiply while we are sleeping.

When they were babies, it was so easy to have everything displayed, in cute baskets, and sorted. Those were the good ol' days. Now, any attempt at organizing I had tried to put in place has been thrown out. Literally, thrown out.

They throw their toys out of bins and baskets and make such a mess there isn't any room left to play (did anyone else just hear their mom telling them "you'd have more room to play if you picked up your toys"?). Eventually the toys find their way into the living room, or worse yet, my bedroom, and I begin to develop a tick.

Things get lost, broken, or forgotten about. It drives the type-A in me crazy!

This is the reason I began to do the "15 minute pick up" that you will see in another post, but it also inspired me to take their room organization to a new level.

It's not complicated. Don't worry.

Little Miss has 2 baskets that are the same.  They are from Pottery Barn and I love them! Any time storage is cute and functional it's a win-win!

To contain the clutter, I fill each basket with toys, if there are more toys than what fit into 2 baskets, I donate some and save some for a rainy day. I leave one basket out in her room. The other basket goes in her closet. Every month or so I switch baskets. If she gets new toys (birthday, holiday, etc.) then I add them to the rotation and take out a toy that she has outgrown or no longer shows interest in.

It doesn't eliminate the mess. She still dumps the basket out all over her room. But at least it's only half the amount of toys to pick up! And by rotating the toys in and out it is like she has new toys to play with every month.

The system doesn't work as well for my 4 year-old. He knows how to get into his closet and find the toys I have stashed. But he can also help me clean up better than the 21 month-old. If I figure out the secret for containing his toys, I'll let you know!

Do you have a trick to kid toy organization? Leave a comment below and tell us! We might feature your suggestion in a future post.

For the record: Pottery Barn has no clue who we are, they, in no way, shape, or form had anything to do with this post.