How to keep your house from being overrun by toys

I swore this would never happen to me. My solution? Think storage storage storage!

We have an ottoman from Target that doubles as a toy bin. Ikea is also a great place for stuff like that. Under the couch drawers/bins work well to hide clutter, too. We limit the number of big toys that get to stay in the living room (piano, ride on toy, etc.) to one.

It's also my rule that when the toys have multiplied to the point that they no longer fit into said storage containers it's time to purge and move the extras back to my son's room.

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Everyday I throw away toys or toss them in a charity box. Every freaking day. Of course we have more McDonald's toys than anyone should, we were the last to have kids so EVERYONE gives us their toys and my parents think that every weekly visit should include a new toy. If I don't keep tossing and sorting I will drown in kidjunk. I want to make a button that says, "Want to buy a toy for my child? May I suggest a long term CD or contribution to his college fund?"

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Is that ALL you found? That's NOTHING! Try week-old half-full bottles they've forgotten about! Ewww!

My girls are finally big enough for clean-up time (yours may still be too young). We keep a plastic bin in the living room and a half hour before bedtime each night we have family clean-up time. If they pick up all their toys successfully on time, they get a sticker on their chart in the kitchen and much praise and their bedtime stories. If they don't, they don't really get punished, but we usually don't have enough time before bedtime for stories, so that's their punishment!

So far it's worked great most nights. Not perfectly, but I can usually see the floor after they're in bed.

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I got something very similar to this:
http://tinyurl.com/2pdt56 (Amazon.com)
only with soft-sided bins on sale at Toys R Them for the playroom. It's nice because the toys are visible, and they're open so my 17 month old can "help" (ha ha) put things away. I wish I'd gotten two - it was only $20.

The Legos are taking over our world - we have 5 HUGE bins full of Quattros (Dad is an engineer, 'nuff said). I keep them under the coffee table in their original containers.

We try to have a "one in, one out" policy - we put a lot of stuff in storage after Christmas, to make room for the new stuff. But just when I start to think, "Gosh, she really doesn't use that anymore..." she starts to play with it daily, so sometimes I don't do as well at this as I should.

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I'm ruthless. If they don't clean it up when asked, I clean it all into a storage container and it goes away for a while. I rotate toys obsessively so only a few items are around at any given time. Helps a ton. They'll actually play with toys more and be more likely to use them correctly (as opposed to just dumping the container or throwing them) if they've been gone for a month. Clear storage containers with lids help them see whats inside and makes the rotation easier.

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We have a large toy box in the living room. It used to be a cedar chest, my grandmother's hope chest actually. We put safety hinges on it, so it remains open all the time. No fingers pinched. All the "big" toys go in there. ie. larger cars (the ones that fit in the palm of your hand, not tiny hot wheels), musical instruments, etc) I keep stuffed animals in the bottom of my linen closet. The bottom shelf and the floor space. It's a relatively big closet, but if you can find one shelf to donate to stuffed animals that might help. In the kids room I have those bins that Amy mentioned. It holds the rest of their toys. "Little People", hot wheels, plastic "tool sets", "doctor kits" etc. And small stuffed toys like finger puppets and rattles. But I'm coming to hate the bins. Since they are removable one of the twins favorite activities is to empty the bins and leave a HUGE mess. Then they use the bins as step stools around the house. Or hats, or whatever else you can imagine a two year old would do with a plastic box.

I've been interested in looking into those nets you can hang from the wall. That might help with stuffed animal overload too. Hope this helps! Good luck!

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Nancy, that's similar to what we do in our house. At bedtime, I set the timer for 5 min and we run around cleaning up as fast as we can. Once the timer beeps, clean-up is over, until after the kids are in bed, then Mommy gets to finish up, I also disinfect the toys every night. If there is no complaining, bedtime story is the reward. If Mommy has to do all the cleaning, there is no time or energy for a story. Once I started that and it became part of our bedtime routine, there have rarely been problems and whining.

We are living with my MIL right now while we build our new house, so space is really at a premium. We use lots and lots of plastic tubs with lids and we cycle through our toys. I also just went through and sold or gave away lots of old toys that we had too many of, like my son's cars and my daughter's stuffed animals. Generally with the stuffed animals, when one of them gets a new one, a comparable one goes bye-bye. I don't like stuffed animals, they breed germs and aren't as easy to clean as hard toys.

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I got 2 of these storage bins from IKEA. (We purchased the cheaper $50.99 frame, with bins spent about $75 per unit). One for toys and one for school/art supplies. They work much better than the ginat toy bin that everything just gets tossed into, plus they look a lot nicer

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15567&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&langId=-1&parentCats=15567*17075*16259&categoryId=15664&productId=47813&chosenPartNumber=S49819508

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Gee, every day it looks as though a bomb of toys has exploded in my house. I have a 19 month old and a 5 month old. Though I have been diligent, I think, in not having as many toys as other households may, I still have this problem. One of the solutions I found was to have a wicker laundry hamper (a tall one with a lid that seems to be a toy in and of itself) for the toys in the family room. It is easy just to throw the toys in there. (I also have a wicker laundry basket in the 19 month old's room for extra toys and stuffed animals.) The larger wicker hamper looks really nice and was inexpensive--no more than $20 from Ross. As I sit here writng this, I think I will purchase a couple more of them, one for the front room and one for the 19 month old's room. Then all of the toys will be hidden away in a decorative container that looks great. Anyway, hope the idea helps.

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I would say, once you've set up a nice storage system with shelves, drawers, bins, etc., if everything doesn't fit in there, you need to start purging more than just the unused toys. Seems harsh, but just do it. Fill the new storage areas with the favorite toys first. Once the shelves and bins are full, say that's it, and donate the rest.

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Welcome to my home. While I was raised in a home that if a toy was left out in the pathway it was donated the next day, now I have to contend with my husband who practically cries if I pick toys up to toss.

But I believe that if a toy is left out, it's mine - I will remind the boys but before a nap/bedtime its time for things to be put away. Besides there are so many blessed things in this house I know they could live without it.

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I also agree with the poster above who said fewer toys allows the children play correctly with the ones they have. Too many toys are not good and may often confuse the children. It's best for them to have a few and appreciate the ones they have rather than to have too many. Also makes for easier storage and clean up for us!

And a quick comment to the poster whose husband wants to cry if she picks toys up to toss: do this when he is at work or asleep. :-)

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I have some thing my kids aren't aloud to bring toys in the living room.. I can't stand to have a messy house. I have a almost 5 year old & a almost 3 year old.. the toys stay in there room,that they share it may get a little messy sometimes in ther room but they have to clean it up every two days.. I have to say it works pretty good...

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I may be of no help! I LOVE new toys for my son and I hate to get rid of anything but at the same time I hate the clutter. I have a rule about toys staying in my son's room. He can bring something to play with in another room but if he's DONE playing with it, it has to be put back in his room.

When toys are seriously no longer used we send them to grandma's house to live out their final years. For some reason, the toys are more interesting at her house (go figure) and the grandparents don't have to buy toys for him when he's there (but it doesn't stop them!)

I don't send anything there that I care about. If it's a toy no longer used that I care about it's 'life' then I won't send it there. If Oma wants to throw them out the window I don't care. I gave them to her.

Stuffed animals really tick me off. Seems everywhere we go my son has to have one but after a week he couldn't care less about them. I sent a ton to Oma's as well but some I think have sentimental value and kept them. I am looking for a pet net. Right now they are in one of those foldable toy bins made of cloth.

Toy cars are also something that drive me nuts. My son almost never plays with them. I'm considering a donation for those because I can't imagine that Oma wants to step on them anymore than I do.

Thank goodness he's not so into legos or I'd be in a mental ward!

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On top of storage.. I also for a few years had in effect a ban on all barbies or barbie like dolls. This was defined as anything that would ultimately be stored in the barbie area. It was communicated for all birthdays and holidays... and anyone who dare but that million and first barbie needed to be aware that a gift reciept was needed or they could graciously keep it at their house so that they had something when we visited.

I was a ruthless enforcer of the toy bans.

It wasnt about her not having barbies.. it was about having too many. But people still got huffy.

Hey you gotta do what you gotta do!

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