After you go through the honeymoon phase of early parenthood, you should also get prepared for the onslaught of toys that will begin to fill your home after every holiday and birthday.
Bright, noisy, and often bulky toys can quickly become part of your home decor. Rolling up her sleeves, the determined mama will try to organize the toys into categories using toy bins, shelves, and closets. Unfortunately, that toy organizational system may not last long when kids happily pull out toys in a haphazard way during their whirlwind of playing.
At bus stops across the country, I'm sure many parents are complaining that their toy rooms should be declared "disaster areas." Gratefully, there are organizational experts who are ready to share their expertise and tips on how to conquer the toy invasion in our homes.
Alicia Rockmore and Sarah Welch, authors of Pretty Neat: The Buttoned Up Way to Get Organized and Let Go of Perfection, suggest that you follow these three simple classroom rules to help you and your children organize the toy clutter in your home:
- Give everything a place.
- Limit the number of items in circulation.
- Set high expectations for participation and make it fun.
Apparently, these three simple organizational rules effectively and consistently work for classroom teachers every day. With our kids' help, we can tackle this organizational chore one toy at a time. Limiting the number of toys in circulation is the first important step towards achieving the goal of controlling the natural "chaos" of toys in our homes.
What are some of your strategies for tackling those big toy piles?
What are some creative ways to make this a fun activity for you and the kids?
Please take a moment to weigh in and tell us what you think in the comments section below.
