When you have young children, it’s common for toys to take over your home. Trying to keep up with toys can be hard work, especially as kids can quickly outgrow old favorites, which are then just left clutter up the entire house. With the holidays fast approaching, now is the best time to address your kids’ toy situation before all the presents get unwrapped.

We love the holiday season here at Modular Closets!  As specialists in affordable custom storage solutions and closet systems, we’re committed to helping families improve their home organization so they can enjoy more than ever being home for the holidays. With less mess and distraction, there’s more opportunity to appreciate what really matters in your family life. 

If you’d like to purge your living space of toy messes, try these 5 tips that can help both you and your kids get control over clutter:

1. Decide Which Toys to Keep and Which to Donate

If your house is overrun with too many toys, now is one of the best times of year to declutter and donate.

If you have children 4 years old or older, enlist their help in sorting through the toys to decide what to keep and what to give away. You’ll not only be teaching them valuable organization skills, but it’s also an opportunity for a lesson in charitable giving.  Getting your kids’ participation can also help prevent the meltdown that may occur if a toy suddenly “just disappears.”

There are several methods to successful decluttering.  One of the best to use with children is to delimit the task by focusing on only one type of toy (dolls, stuffed animals, or board games, etc.) or on only one toy storage area at a time (the bedroom, the basement, the playroom, etc.) Try turning it into a game by seeing how quickly your children can sort compared to you.

Many charities this time of year are looking for toys that are still in working condition and only “gently used.” Be sure to check the giving guidelines for any charities you may be considering before you start the sorting process so you’ll know whether a particular toy can be donated or not. 

2. Use a Bin Rotation System to Keep Playtime Organized

Once you’ve streamlined the toy collection in your house, try the bin rotation system to stay organized during playtime.

Use four or five plastic bins, and number each one.  If your children are old enough, have them divide up all their toys into the different bins – during playtime, they’ll only be able to use one bin at a time, and each bin must be tidied up and put back away before another bin can come out and be used.

3. Make Sure You Have a Long-Term Toy Storage Solution in Place

The bin rotation system works well for keeping day-to-day toy clutter in control, but for a real home organization solution, you’ll also need to consider your long-term storage. 

If you create a closet system with shelves and drawers your kids can easily reach, they can begin learning how easy it is to keep organized. A custom designed closet system can work with your existing closet space and make sure you’re using it to its full potential.

If you’re interested in finding out more about maximizing your closet space with an affordable custom storage solution, check out our holiday sale at Modular Closets. For a limited time, you can get 15% off all orders, so our quality plywood closet systems are a better deal than ever.  

We’d even like to give you a free closet design!