Organizing Kids Toys

Organizing kids' toys should be simple, but so often I hear from clients that they can’t figure out the best way to do it.  

The best thing you can do to organize kids' toys is to keep it simple, and stop over thinking it.  The thing with toys is that our kids are constantly outgrowing those toys so you aren’t going to be keeping them for the long term so trying to figure out a perfect system won’t work.  There is no perfect system when it comes to toys.  The best system is the one that is good enough, and one that is easy enough for the kids to help maintain.  When you kids are toddlers you don’t want a system that overly categorizes toys.  The little guys will not maintain that the way you want it done.  Then you will be the one constantly sorting all the things, and keeping things tidy should take minutes not hours.  This will lead to burnout.

You don’t need blocks sorted by shape and color into small bins.  Just throw all the blocks in a bin.  

You don’t need all the doll clothes sorted either.  Just put them all in a bin. 

Kids don’t care if the clothes are separated by type or if the blocks are sorted by shape and color.  They just want to dump them all out and play with them.   And when you ask them to put the stuff away they just want to do it as quickly as possible.  If it takes too long to put away, it will never be put away.

Tidy toy and play room. No need for fancy or matching bins.

One of the most important things to remember if you want your organization to be sustainable is remember to regularly purge things.  When the kids stop playing with, or outgrown a certain toy, it’s time to part ways with it.  If it’s broken, toss it.  By doing this on a regular basis, the sustainability will happen.  Less toys mean less maintenance.  

Toys just play a role in a certain season of life.  When that season has passed it’s ok for the toy to go too, making room for the toys that will be part of the next season.  

Toy organization is not permanent, and it doesn't need to be a magazine cover. So keep it simple.

Kids closet with games and art supplies, and things have their own space without fancy bins and baskets.

Stop overthinking and just keep it simple!