Organising the Kid’s Playroom After Christmas
How-To Organise Your Kid’s Playroom and Declutter Toys
Christmas may now feel like a fond distant memory and the holidays are nearing an end with the new year well under way and the new school year only days away. Christmas typically brings an assortment of new toys into the kid’s playroom toy collection, swelling the numbers of overall toys and those toys that once were a favourite may be passed over because of something else that is new and shiny taking front stage.
Post-Christmas is a good time to consider reorganising the kid’s playroom and an opportunity to declutter the toy collection, rotating some toys out, checking the safety of well used toys and creating systems to engage the children to be able to participate in organising and keeping the toy room clean themselves.
Just remember that “more” is not always better. “More toys” don't always equate to more fun, more happiness, more excitement, more to experience. “More” isn’t always better. Sometimes in fact, more can actually be worse and harder to organise, store and keep clean.
Are you looking for ways to cut down on toy clutter? Considering a more minimalist approach and wanting to create some organisational efficiency for the toy collection? Or perhaps you have stepped on a few too many Lego blocks in bare feet – ouch! We feel your pain.
Some things to consider when organising the kid’s playroom:
Consider acquiring kid friendly shelving that is stable, sturdy, and sized to match the little ones and won’t promote unsafe behaviours such as climbing the furniture or risking furniture being pulled down upon the child.
Could you get multipurpose storage that is also seating or a play area in its own right? Some clever designed furniture provides convenient play nooks, may be part of day bed, or work with your creativity to build a cubby, fort, tepee or other play activities.
Some toys you select may help define the playroom or be artistic and a quality that encourages you to display them as a feature piece. For example, the NIC – Children’s Wooden Kitchen – Stove Top Oven Concealed Sink or Legler – Kitchen Bamboo.
Store toys in baskets or tubs. Consistent style and design of easily-accessible baskets or crates makes efficient use of space as the storage can nest together efficiently. Using different coloured variations of the containers may assist in categorising the toys by types within the colour containers. Soft (material) storage containers are also very useful for very young children as it helps prevent children hurting themselves.
You really don’t have to label everything! This might seem complicated and prone for regular ‘upgrading’ as new development milestones are reached and new toy types are introduced into the environment. However, educationally associating ‘labels’ promotes spelling/word shapes with their meaning creating contextual learning. Using pictures on each of the containers provides a visual recognition and association for younger children initially as well to help them ‘match’ the toy to the storage bin.
Work out a rotation plan and bring new life to old favourites. You don’t have to throw old toys out just because the kids are bored with them today. Consider a seasonal toy rotation plan, by storing these types of unused toys in non see-through storage boxes so that they are out of sight, out of mind, then bring them out of storage like brand-new toys for the kids for a refreshing change in their play routine. If you find that the kids are truly no longer interested in these toys after a while of trying this approach, then it is time to get rid of them. Don’t forget you can donate certain safe toys to toy libraries or second-hand shops like the Salvos, or other parents in your neighbourhood and community. Don’t hastily get rid of something that might have sentimental value and tons of memories associated to it.
Display your child’s creations, completed artwork or built blocks in the playroom as this adds colour and shows to your young ones that you are interested and excited about their creative endeavours which motivates them to develop further. After a period of display time the drawings can be hole punched and filed in lever arch binders so that you can conveniently reflect upon your young art genius when they are twenty-one years or older!
Consider your child’s comfort and safety within the playroom environment. If you have a hard floor can you introduce soft foam flooring tiles which are easy to wipe up any spills protecting carpet, adds a level of noise deadening reducing loud echoes and provides more comfort and safety in this play space. Some foam tile systems help to add colour, patterns or even structured play activities as they may have a bird-eye view of a town, roads or country landscape.
Motivate and encourage your child to participate in the daily playroom pickup, to put toys away and keep the environment clean and organised.
Question your expectations and don’t expect perfection, as it isn’t going to happen. Playrooms should be a positive, creative and safe place for your children. We don’t want to introduce negativity and stress into this environment because a toy(s) have been left out.
There are many positives to reorganising the playroom, which your children will benefit from, along with enjoying all of the extra space in the playroom, the fact that clean-up only takes about ten minutes per day and they can much more easily find whatever it is they are looking for.
We hope that some of these ideas will motivate you and provide direction to declutter, clean and organise the kid’s playroom so that it is effective and efficient ready for the year ahead.
