If you’ve ever felt like your entire day is spent picking up toys just for them to be dumped out again five minutes later, you’re not alone. I’ve been there. Here are a some tips that work well in our family:

Keep the Favorites Out

One thing that has helped tremendously is accepting that some toys are simply played with every single day. Those toys stay out. Instead of fighting against what my kids naturally gravitate toward, I created spaces where those favorite toys are easy to access.

Rotate the Rest

Not every toy needs to be available all the time. I keep a portion of our toys stored in crates and rotate them every couple of weeks weeks. It’s amazing how exciting an “old” toy becomes when it hasn’t been seen for a while.

Toy rotation has helped us:

• Reduce clutter.
• Make cleanup faster.
• Keep playtime fun and exciting.
• Encourage more creative and independent play.

Remember What Matters

Because while I want my home to feel peaceful, I also don’t want to spend all day cleaning it. I’d much rather use that time reading another book, playing outside, building block towers, or simply sitting on the floor with my boys.  A simple toy system has given me more opportunities to do exactly that. And to me, that’s worth far more than a perfectly tidy house. I have also found a couple resets through out the day usual before naps and after dinner playing the clean up song, working together to get the toys cleaned up makes it more enjoyable for everyone.

Also, notice how you feel in the clean up process. How long does it take? What emotions come up for you? For me, putting away the bigger toys like ride on toys or trucks, really toys that are one piece is no biggie, it’s picking up the million pieces to a toy that half of the time is missing something become someone threw it or it ended up under the couch that can drive me a little nuts. So, for those toys with a ton of pieces that can get easily lost or chewed up by the dog, I have started keeping those up or stored away for special time when I can directly supervise the activity, instead of spending what feels like hours searching for the missing star for the shape sorter.

I’d love to know—what’s one thing that makes your house feel more organized and fun? Share it in the comments so we can learn from one another!

With Gratitude,
Angie
Moved by Motherhood