7 Tips to Maintaining a Tidy Toy Room

In my last post, we talked about organizing a toy room. Now that you have put the time and energy into creating order in the playroom, you’ll want to make sure it stays that way.

Here are my tried and true tricks to maintaining order in what could become the messiest room in the house if ignored.

1. Have a 15-minute clean-up time every day and get the kids to buy in. Do not, I repeat, do not do it for them; independence and responsibility builds self-worth in children. Just teach them how to do it and then take the role of supervisor.
2. Provide lots of praise when children tidy up their toys. Give unexpected rewards when they’ve been doing the job consistently without having to be constantly reminded. They are more likely to continue and the habit will eventually become routine.
3. Use a timer and challenge them to beat their previous time; make it a game and bring in the element of fun.
4. Put on some of their favorite music to add an element of novelty.
5. Do your part to cut down on toy clutter. Loot bags brought home from birthday parties are usually big clutter culprits. For your child’s birthday parties, instead of handing out dollar store items that will end up on the floor, start a trend by giving $5 – $10 gift cards from book/music stores. Some families are choosing to donate the money to charity in the child’s name; run the idea by your children – they may surprise you, as children can be very generous.
6. When purchasing toys, choose those that stimulate imagination and creativity so children don’t lose interest. Examples: black board, art supplies and paper, instruments, dress-up clothes.
7. Request that family members and friends give your children the gift of an experience instead of a toy. This includes taking them to an amusement park, a movie, a concert, or paying for some music or sports lessons.

Life is busy and sometimes it seems easier to just do the clean-up ourselves. But by taking the time to teach our children how to keep their toys organized, we’ll be teaching them a valuable life skill and the whole family will enjoy the benefits of a tidy room for years to come.