Friday, April 17, 2009

Organizing E's Toys

I am pretty sure I previously mentioned that I rotate Eliza's toys. Eliza is learning to clean up after herself-sometimes. It is a work in progress. However, I think it is much easier for her to clean up when there are not too many things to mess up.

I am NOT a fan of toy boxes. I refuse to buy one for Eliza because I think toys end up broken, with missing pieces and mostly forgotten. There is nothing more annoying that attempting to play with a toy or game that has missing pieces. Up until now I have been storing E's toys in all kinds of hidden places around the house. It wasn't really working for me and Marcy suggested I try some clear plastic bins. SCORE! I love this idea. I purchased four clear bins to organize and rotate her toys. Now, every week or two I can just rotate the bins. As she receives new toys I will make adjustments to the bins.

Here is my plan. I would love to take pics but hubby has the camera on a photo shoot today.

Step one
Round up all of E's toys from various hiding places. I am going through them to check if anything is broken. Also, if she no longer is interested in a toy I will either find it a new permanent home or put it in storage for baby #2. So far, I have two missing pieces that I am attempting to track down. This is extremely annoying. I have searched high and low and still can't find the pieces. Hopefully, something will turn up soon.

Step 2
Arrange them into the bins. I plan to divide the puzzles up, stacking toys, sorting toys etc. so that there is usually one of each kind in each bin. I have a LOT of puzzles so I will either double up or or put some away for a long while.

Step 3
Find a place to put the bins! :) They need to be accessible to me but not to E!

5 comments:

The Three Little Bears said...

I love your idea and it totally sounds like something I would do. I do the same with summer and winter clothes and I agree: kids do not need that many toys at one time. Rotating them around helps them to last longer, keeps the environment less cluttered, reduces overstimulation and... most importantly, keeps the toys fresh and new for the kids.

Kudos!

Lori said...

sounds like a plan and it keeps everything new and fresh without having to buy more all the time

Andrea said...

Great idea...I love the idea of rotating toys - keeps them new and fresh and they don't ALL get boring at the same time. :)

Marni's Organized Mess said...

I think I am going to copy your idea.

Teresa @ Grammy Girlfriend said...

What a great idea. Love your blog and will be back soon to read more. Would love for you to visit me....