Talk to me about toy storage/organization/decluttering

[Kidlit]

My house is about to drive me around the bend. My girls have a toy room and of course, the toys rarely stay there. I'm really mostly okay with that; I don't want them to have to play only in one certain area. However, what is driving me batty is the sheer amount of stuff they have. It's not really that they have that many toys; my four year old dd just collects EVERYTHING. She loves to write, draw, and cut, and inevitably all of the little pieces of paper end up in purses, etc. I'm a softie about the stuff they make, though, so I find it hard to just throw it out.

 

On a related note, we are thinking about doing away with the toy room and turning it into the school room. Does anyone have an opinion or any BTDT experience with doing this? This would mean their toys would have to be housed in their bedroom (which they share) and therefore we would have to do a clean sweep and have some pretty good routines in place.

 

HELP!:willy_nilly:

[Pink Fairy]

Sounds like you know what has to be done--simplifying is the key, IMO, and needs to happen periodically as the toys/papers/books re-accumulate . We're in the same boat here, and I'm sending dh to IKEA on Friday to buy five more bookcases so I can spend Thanksgiving vacation organizing. Yay. Would you like to join me? We can make it into a contest. :D

 

Here's a blog with great ideas on home organization that I find really inspiring. Good luck!

 

By Sun and Candlelight

[rafiki]

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[newbie]

My fav. is we took a closet in the toyroom, and used Ikea shelving that attaches to wall and you slide in those big buckets. It is the best. Put a rod and cute pb curtains and its adorable.

 

If you want to get real organize-y you can add labels.

[KAR120C]

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68530 ;)

 

As soon as I either find my camera or borrow one I'm taking the "after" pictures of DS's room and emailing them to Jennifer for her contest! It was really REALLY messy in the "befores" :ack2:

 

Basically we emptied the room completely (into the adjacent guest bedroom, which was, then, messy! Almost back to normal now, and just in time too since DS is having a sleepover tomorrow!) and only put back what DS really loved. I now have a pile of things to give away and a pile of things to sell. We got boxes from the liquor store to pack all of that up in, and then there was stuff to throw away too.... eek!

 

The sheer quantity of stuff was the problem here too... such that DS could never find what he wanted. So the benefits are clear all around!

[Kidlit]

Thanks for the responses, link, and ideas. :001_smile:

 

The problem with using the closet in the playroom is it's the one where I keep my clothes. The closet in the master bedroom is small, so only dh's clothes fit in there. We have an armoire in there that really is not being used to its fullest potential in terms of bins and other storage inside.

 

Right now both girls still sleep in a toddler bed/baby bed. Obviously, my 3 year old needs to be in at least a toddler bed, but she's never tried to climb out in the present arrangement; I think she feels secure in there. Anyway, I'm thinking me might go with bunkbeds to save space.

 

As I type, the girls are going through the stack of books and puzzles I culled during naptime (to sell in a toy consignment sale coming up) and finding old favorites. Sheesh.

 

It doesn't help my feelings of ******the walls are closing in on me********** that dh has been out of town since early Tuesday morning.

 

The girls and I are going out for a jaunt around the block and maybe my head will clear a little.:tongue_smilie: