Four Tips for Dealing with Too Many Toys

My house looks like a Toys R US Tornado hit it!  Each Christmas my kiddos are shown much generosity by their grandparents and we end up with more toys than we literally have room for. And while my husband (aka Peter Pan) doesn't think there IS such a thing as "too many toys", I'm already tired of stepping on, sitting on, and tripping over it all.

If you're feeling like me, here's are four ways to clear the clutter:

1 - Thin the Herd

The first thing I did (as soon as the kiddos were asleep on Dec. 25th) was go through the current collection. Anything broken, unplayed with or from a fast food restaurant went in a bag and off to the DI. The same goes for any duplicates of toys (like my little boy got a bunch of new construction trucks, so the oldies are getting the heave-ho). Most of these items will never be missed, but should there be a question, I find distraction to be the best policy. For instance, should Jude ask "Where's that bobble-head snoopy I got from Burger King last month?" I will respond "I'm not sure but let's go get out those paints Santa brought you!". Works every time.

2 - Divide and Conquer

Get yourself a couple of big, lidded bins and split your pile of too many toys down the middle. Half gets packed up, half stays out. The bin vanishes into storage for a month or so, then emerges just as the current toys are getting boring. Voila! A whole new set of toys to play with! The stuff that's been out gets binned and stored, and the whole cycle begins again. Not only does this cut down on the clutter, but it's absolute magic to pull out the storage toys on a day where you need a bit of a break - you'll be amazed at the hours of enjoyment a box of mystery toys can bring!

3 - A Place For Everything

One of the big challenges with too many new toys is that they don't have a specific place to be put away so they get left around more often. Spend an hour or so helping your children find "homes" for their new toys. Then, when you trip over Buzz Lightyear for the third time and almost break your arm, you can say "Buzz needs to go to his home!" and your kiddos will know what to do.

4 - Get Creative

Especially in a small, crowded home, you may have to think outside the box to contain the clutter of too many toys. One of my favorite solutions for toys with lots of pieces (like blocks, legos, etc.) are those little zip-up mesh laundry bags that you wash your delicates in. They're the perfect size, you can see in them, and zippers are easy for little fingers to manage. Plus, they cost a dollar!

And then there's always the "Anything that's still on the floor in an hour is going in the trash!" method that seems to motivate kiddos to figure it all out for themselves! Though, I can gurantee you'll lose a little popularity with that one.