10 Ways to De-Clutter and Organize

I can’t be the only one whose house, at times, can look like a tornado went through it. With a boy and a girl two different ages (4 and 7), we have every toy known to man here (and you think I’m kidding. LOL) Here are my ten best strategies for de-cluttering and organizing toys in your child’s playroom:

1.  Go through their toys regularly.  You know what your kids play with.  If there are toys that are not seeing the light of day, get them out of there!  Will’s room is only 9’x11′ with no closet.  I need to capitalize on every inch of space in there.

2.  Recycle their toys in and out.  Once you have remove the toys they don’t regularly play with, you can slowly add them back in.  They will be like they are brand new all over again!  (Now, when you add new toys, make sure you take the same amount of toys out.  Otherwise, you will end up with toys taking over again).

3.  Bins, bins, bins!  Make  sure everything has a place and that your kids put their toys back in their place.

4.  Have a play area.  Instead of toys from one end of your home to the other, have a specific area in your home that the majority of toys are in.  We personally have  a play area in the basement.  That is where all big toys — kitchen, dollhouse, train table, etc — are.

5.  Instead of keeping toys your kids have outgrown, donate them!  Check with your local kindergarten class, your local park district, your local women’s shelter, etc.  They, mostly likely, would love your gently used toys!

6.  Sell the old toys!  Make some money by selling old toys on eBay, a rummage sale, or at Once Upon A Child.

7.  If you have broken toys, games with half the parts missing, etc., it is okay to throw those away.  Don’t keep thing because you may fix it one day.

8.  Keep “like” things together.  All the Legos go in one container.  All the cars go into another.  All the dress up outfits go into a trunk.  It makes playing easier for the kids when all the stuff is together.  It also cuts down on the mess!

9. If you put away toys for your younger kids from the older ones, make sure you label the boxes.  There is nothing worse than having an attic full of boxes, and you have no idea what is in any of them.  It makes it way easier when you are trying to find that box of age appropriate toys.

10.  Have fun with this.  If cleaning is a drag, nobody is going to want to do it.  If you make it fun, cleaning everything out once a month won’t be a chore.  Instead, your kids will look forward to cleaning their room!  If you have to, make it a race.  For my house, my kids hate racing but would rather get a reward.  If it gets things picked up and put away, I’m all for it!

How do you keep your home de-cluttered and organized? Do you incorporate any of these tips in your home?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hot Wheels® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

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