Toys and Their Organization

Toys don’t need to be so hard to deal with. Here is how our family works out how to choose them and store them so that they are not only fun for the children, but lovely additions to our decor as well. My husband, Tom, pipes in on this episode to give his view on this issue as well.

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Here are some photos to share of toy storage within our home.

This is in my daughter’s closet. Three separate drawers separate three different toys: playmobile, Madeline dolls, and dollhouse equipment. The real only way I know to keep things like this from getting crazy mixed up is to be diligent about inspecting toy clean-up. Do you know the saying? “It’s not what you expect, it’s what you INspect”.

These bins are in my boys’ room. The top is full of K’nex, and the bottom is full of wooden building blocks from my husband’s boyhood.

More bins in the same room on shelves. Five of these bins are Legos. I would personally rather dump the whole mess into one big bin, but because my 10yo insists on keeping certain aspects separate, I allow him to have this many bins. As long as it’s neat and tidy, I’m good with that. Notice that there aren’t any bins with more air than toys.

These are in my living room. And, no, I didn’t pick up the train set and trains before taking the photo (not my job, y’know?). The trains go in the apple basket, the colored building blocks into the red bin, and the large wooden cars, trains, and boats go into the wicker basket. I like how it all looks and it’s so great for visitors of all ages. Nothing loud or shiny or lit up like ferris wheel lights.

This is what’s in my kitchen. On the bottom shelf are all kinds of toys that little babies and toddlers can play with. You could use a bottom drawer as well. It’s a great spot for wee ones who just want to play near Mommy. Again, there’s nothing annoying (to me) in all of this that would overpower the music I have playing or the phone call I’m fielding.

Anything can be a container. Here is a vintage kindling box that we use to keep musical instruments in. These ARE loud. But, sometimes, kids just need to make a joyful noise, and I find it better if they are part of that creative process. Much better than pushing a button and hearing a tape or whatnot.

Lastly, here is a short article regarding plastic in toys, and there are some places to shop there. I rarely shop for toys so I honestly can’t give you a favorite of mine.Enjoy your babies AND their play time! If you have any comments, please feel free to email me, and I may put your thoughts into a future podcast or blog.

Blessings,

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