One of the biggest challenges in a home with young children can be the play area. Having a well-organized play area can be tough, whether this is a child’s room or an entire basement. You may have to constantly evaluate as the children grow and incorporate new organizing strategies.
Here are some general guidelines that you can follow to create an organized play area and keep it that way.
Let Go of Some Things
Ah, you knew this one was coming. it can be difficult to let things go, especially when you have young children that want to keep all of their toys. But most houses only have so much space, and toys can collect pretty quickly. For young children, I suggest doing the organizing yourself when they are sleeping or otherwise occupied. Place the extra toys in boxes in an attic, basement or closet. If a child asks for a particular toy, go ahead and fetch it. After a month, whatever is left can be donated or sold.
Older children can usually help with letting go of some things. Hand your child one toy or object at a time and ask if they still play with it. Talk about how they can donate their extra things to other children who really need them, or have a yard sale and use the money to buy new toys. Just make sure that items go right into the car or storage so things don’t get pulled back out later.
Storage Solutions
Create storage solutions that make sense. Open bins or baskets on shelves can help young children put away toys quickly. Group like items together but don’t be too picky, otherwise the toys may never stay organized. Plastic bins that snap closed may be too hard for younger children, and having just one large toy box will make it difficult for kids to find what they want (which means they may take everything out of the box just to get to one item).
Older children can take ownership of which shelves or bins will contain certain toys.