3 Painless Steps to Organize Your Kids Toys in a Small Space!
What’s even more fun than playing with toys? Tripping over them . . . said no one ever!
Keeping toys straightened up and organized when confined to a small space can be challenging. Use these simple steps to organize the kids toys in your small space.
Once you are organized and have a plan in place, you won’t be thinking anymore about,”How do I get a handle on this mess?!?”
Organizing projects usually take more time than we think they will. The good news is, once you implement the steps below, all you have to do is stay in maintenance mode, and that makes it easy!
STEP 1 – ORGANIZING TOYS AND IDEAS
Sorting through all the toys and making decisions on what to keep, and what can go, is an important first step.
It can be hard to make decisions on items that our kids have outgrown and we have fond memories of. I feel that way about some of the toys my kids enjoyed.
There aren’t many toys, but I saved items my kids specifically requested I keep. They will inherit their memory boxes when they have their own places.
As my children got older, I got rid of toys that they out grew. For the most part, they haven’t missed any of them.
There were a few items I wanted to keep. I am thinking of grandkids who will love wooden blocks and special books. Who knows, in a few years they may even be gone.
Toys and stuff can always be replaced if you feel you made a mistake.
Donate or Give-away
- Set time aside to sort through the toys.
- Decide what you know for sure the kids will want to keep playing with, and what they have outgrown.
- This is a process you can do each year as the kids get older.
- Remove items you have sorted for give-away as soon as possible to make it easier to part with.
It is up to you if you want your kids involved in the sorting process or not. Sometimes I did, and sometimes I did not.
If there were toys I knew they did’t have any attachment to, I would make the decisions. However, if they were toys I know the kiddos love, it is totally up to them to make the decision.
If you are struggling to let go of sentimental toys or books because of the memories, you can take photos so you feel better about letting them go. A photo is easier to manage, they can be put into memory books, and you feel good you have a record of the memory.
Mindful of Size and Space
Before buying new toys, books, or whatever, stop and think about if there is really space for it. It’s a great habit share with the kids.
They may not understand that there are limitations with space, and toys is one way to start. Just like us grown ups purge old clothes when we buy new ones, youngsters can learn early on to let old toys go before getting new ones.
We have had this discussion when it comes to Lego sets. We have organized and created storage for the sets that aren’t in use. But there is a limit, and I think my child is starting to understand that. Yay!
Rotating Toys
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Do you have storage space in the garage, crawl space or closet? If you have more toys than what your small space can hold, this may be a good option.
I typically encourage keeping only what your space can hold.
Creating extra storage is not my schtick.
I feel the more stuff, the more to manage, the less time do what we enjoy.
Once you have paired down the toys, and know what you truly want to keep, then look at your space. Was is it capable of holding, and would rotating toys help?
The plus side to rotating toys are the kids will feel like they are always getting new(ish) toys. It can help to avoid feeling the need to purchase new toys too.
Toy Libraries
When my oldest child was a baby, we were pleasantly surprised to find a toy library at our neighborhood library. What fun it was to go each Saturday morning with they opened and choose a new toy each week.
If not, maybe your neighborhood, a play group, or church has a toy library or they are open to the idea of starting one.
They are all used toys that have been donated. In fact, we donated to our toy library in the past.
RELATED POST: How to Organize Toys in the Living Room
STEP 2 – SMALL SPACE STORAGE TO ORGANIZE KIDS TOYS
Create Room Zones
Even in small spaces, we can create “zones”. By creating zones, this helps to keep toys, books, and other items in the correct space making it super easy to pick up at the end of the day.
Just like a school classroom has zones for different activities, you can create zones. the zones can include one for kids, one for adults, reading nook, and more.
What can help to establish zones easier?
RUGS – An area rug makes it super clear where the toys can hang out and were the parents can breathe easy not worrying about a Lego getting stuck in the bottom of their foot! There is a large variety of sizes, shapes and colors. Even for a small space!
Modern Floral Circles Design Area Rug 5′ x 7′, BlueShag Collection Grey & Ivory Moroccan Plush Area Rug 6′ x 9′Contemporary Modern Floral Flowers Area Rug, 5′ 3
SHELVING – Shelves can help to make better use of wall space. It also can make things easier to keep things put away, off the floor, and separate grown up items from the kids stuff.
Better Homes and Gardens 8-Cube OrganizerAmazonBasics Foldable Storage Cubes – 6-Pack, GreyWhite Wood 4 Cube Organizer Storage Bookcase
DESK OR NARROW TABLE – This can be multi-functional piece of furniture. It not only helps to store items, it can help to divide a room as well.
ROOM DIVIDER – A divider is a simple and easy way to divide a room, hide clutter if needed, and add some color to a room! I love that they are easy to move around and use anywhere! Be careful with little ones if you choose the divider to help with your space.
Ashley Furniture Signature Design Sofa Table – Brown6 Panel Screen Room Divider – Wood Screen
Multi-use Furniture
You may not have the space to create a separate toy room and play area for your kids or grandkids. That doesn’t mean that you have to decide that the space you have needs to be one or the other.
You can have both furniture and storage space! The key is to make the space work for more than one function.
- Tables
- Toy Bins – So many cute and useful bins that can fit even the smallest space!
- TV Stand
- Ottomans – Perfect for sitting, feet, and storing toys inside!
- Sofa table
- Vertical Space – Using shelves, hanging them on the wall, can save the valuable floor space for playing games!
STEP 3 – CREATE A SPECIFIC ROUTINE
Friction happens when there is unknown expectations. We think someone should know what is to be completed or taken care of, and they have no idea. This goes for adults and children.
To eliminate this frustration and make our daily lives easier, creating a routine is the way to go!
It won’t cement over night, but over time, your family will have it down just like brushing our teeth every night.
Kids Routine
Come up with a simple routine that can be done at the end of the day. You may even want to create a checklist to help the kiddos know what they need to do before heading to bed each night.
Parents Routine
We need to be good role model and get our stuff picked up and put away! Our kids are watching everything we do, and if we are picking up after ourselves, they will be more inclined to do the same.
Once the kids go to bed you can do finishing touches. with a smaller space, it will be easy peasy!
Your home doesn’t need to be perfect. Humans live in the space! The less stuff you have, the easier it is to keep the space clean and picked up.
Cheering you on to a more simple life!
