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*Lindsey*
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| Posted: Oct 30 2009 at 10:16am | IP Logged
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This is slightly embarassing, but I feel like I'm drowning! We live in a tiny house (~950 sq.ft) and the toys are all in the living room. We are in the process of adding on, inlcuding a playroom, but it's slow progress. So I need a solution for now before I lose my mind.
We have two baskets that hold miscellaneous toys/baby clothes, etc. We have a cabinet under the entertainment center that has wooden animals, mr. potato head, and a few bigger trucks stuffed into it. There is a book shelf that has 3 shelves on the top and then two doors underneath. The top shelf is DVD's out of the twins reach (they kept getting into them and taking them out and ruining them), next is books, and then big tractors and implements. In the doors underneath are two boxes, one with small trucks/tractors, and one with wooden blocks. There is a wooden doll cradle full of babydolls beside those shelves. In another corner is a plastic play kitchen with a box of kitchen stuff beside it. There is the kids bookshelf there, too, with three shelves full of books and the top piled in games and puzzles.
I just need to do something. I can't even figure out what I'm going to move or how to put up the Christmas tree. I'm tired of the clutter and mess, and I know a lot of it will continue until the playroom is finished (and who knows how long that will take).
Any ideas? What sounds appleaing to me is tossing half of it out in the trash! In reality they don't have that many toys, they are just crowded in one space with a couch and chairs.
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Lindsey
Mama to DS (11), DD(9), twin dds(7), DD (5), DS (4), DS (3), and 5 angels in heaven.
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Oct 30 2009 at 10:30am | IP Logged
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Well, I was going to suggest tossing half of it in the trash 
Seriously, we also "don't have that many toys" but I reach a breaking point with them every three months or so. Even now when we have ample toy storage space they get to me. I put them all in a big pile one night after the kids go to bed and weed out at least 25% of them. Others I pull out to go basement or closet storage somewhere to be rotated in.
I've found that even with a smaller selection of toys than some families I've seen, my kids still only play with a few of them. And, really, my two older kids would be perfectly content with books, tinker toys, and a doll. So I keep weeding and try to rotate the "good" toys so that there is always something "new" for them to play with.
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Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
Life Together
[URL=http://thejohnstonkids.blogspot.com]The Kids' Blog[/UR
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: Oct 30 2009 at 11:17am | IP Logged
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Using under-the-bed storage containers, that you can rotate out into living space for playtime, can be a real sanity saver! We've even put smaller, shoebox-size, plastic containers inside underbed totes to further organize the contents, especially with smaller items.
You might also try secondhand furniture for toy storage...we converted an old dining room buffet, by sawing off the legs, and put it in one of the the bedrooms...it has two side cabinets and some large middle drawers...the top is just the right height for sitting or playing on (although now that our dc are somewhat older they use the top for books,books and more books, along with a stereo system). The drawers hold most of our games and the side cabinets store oveflow of toys that don't fit well in containers under the beds. An armoire or china cabinet would also work well for toy storage.
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violingirl
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| Posted: Oct 30 2009 at 1:04pm | IP Logged
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We have a very small house too and I rotate our toys. We store the toys in the boys' rooms (they don't really play up there) in canvas totes- both boys have 9 totes that store in a cubby unit that we got at Target.
They are allowed to have 3 totes of toys in th eliving room at a time and once they start acting bored we swap out toys, or sometimes one of the boys will ask for a certain tote in particular and he'll have to choose which tote to trade it for.
I also do a big sort in September and get rid of things, because DS1's birthday is in October, then Christmas in December means new toys- so DS1's things get passed down to DS2, DS2's get boxed up for if we are able to have another baby, and DS1's room looks really sparse for awhile.
My ILs go a little overboard since our kids are their only grandchildren so we make space for new things. I really like having the empty space in October and November! :D
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Erin
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Oct 30 2009 at 1:26pm | IP Logged
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I think that if you don't toss half of it, you could at least box it up and put it under beds or somewhere.
I would suggest finding the spaces in your living room that you want to designate for toys and collecting the containers you want to use and pull all the toys out and put them away starting with your favorites in the way that feels most aesthetic to you. When you run out of space, no cramming allowed, that's it. Those are all the toys allowed out. Either toss the rest or box them up for when the toy room is finished.
I would repurpose containers as you put things away by kind. Oatmeal cannister, those plastic containers that hold obscene amounts of pub mix or pretzels from warehouse stores, baskets, tins, quart sized yogurt containers, etc... Grab a roll of masking tape and a sharpie and label. I used to not label because my kids can't read. Ironically, the kids remember, and the labels remind/help mom and dad. You can even put tape (I use painter's tape for no residue) on the shelf to show where the container or larger toy goes. Someday, I WILL own a labelmaker, but until then, the painter's tape helps.
I have also found paper box lids from dh's work to be nice for storage on a shelf because they can slide in and out easily, be labeled on the ouside edge, and then I can adjust adjustable shelving to be very narrow for the shelf with the box lid that slides out and tall for things that need more space. For instance I did this in the cabinet in my kitchen with tall appliances up top and the waffle iron, hand mixer, and electric griddle on a super skinny shelf just underneath. I could see this working with matchbox cars or truck add-ons in trays that slide under bigger trucks uptop.
If you found something like a box lid or an old tray or cookie sheet, you might be able to keep some category of toy underneath the front edge of the couch or a chair. We've done this with floor toys like wooden train track.
Also, I don't know how often you watch dvds or how many you have or how many you watch often, but we've kept the majority of dvds except for the 2-3 we were watching with regularity in the master bedroom. Right now, they are in my closet. Rethinking some of the other things taking up space and whether they necessarily need to be where they are (or if they are just there because dvds go in the entertainment center and you've never considered they might go elsewhere even if you haven't watched them in a year or more) could free up space for the toys which is really what the living room space seems to be used most for.
I find that when I'm doing my part to ensure there are clear homes for things, it is much easier to get my children to help put it away. It is overwhelming for a 5 year old to have to "find" a home for something neatly, but a 3 year old can pick up all of one toy type and put it in its designated container.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Oct 30 2009 at 1:30pm | IP Logged
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Also, for games and puzzles, buy the super sized ziplocs and cut the image from the front of the box and put them in ziplocks. Then, they will all go in a container together easily and more neatly than the individual boxes that get so beat up.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Toy organization
