My idealist view BC (before children) was that I didn't want primary coloured plastic invading my home and taking over everything. I only wanted toys that were educational and came from sustainable sources. My children wouldn't need material things to be entertained.....HA HA HA, oh how ridiculously naive I was.
We have recently moved to Washington DC from Australia from a four bedroom house to a two bedroom apartment. This downsizing (and indeed the process of deciding what toys to take) has placed a new light on the type and volume of toys that we have in our house in Australia.
In Australia our house is covered in plastic. Its upstairs and downstairs, outside and inside, bathroom, kitchen, bedrooms - you name it and there is some kind of toy to be seen. Over here it is different. We didn't bring alot with us and even though things are still everywhere, the "things" are different.
Sure there is Lego and cars and puzzle pieces and books but there is also cardboard boxes, old milk bottles with rice in them, empty toilet paper rolls, nappy boxes and a whole bunch of other recycled items.
When Master 3 was a baby, I did a whole lot more playing with things around the house but gradually over the years with birthdays and Christmases we have accumulated all sorts of other whizz bang things to play with and I have forgotten about how much mileage we can get out of a simple cardboard box!
Oh and how to store them....
There are so many solutions for storing toys. I have a semi-organised, manageable system that seems to work and has some kind of order to it! Would love to hear how you manage the toys at your place:
So even though the end of the day, the house looks like toy casserole, I take comfort that they are learning, playing and having fun - lets do it all again tomorrow!
Oh and how to store them....
There are so many solutions for storing toys. I have a semi-organised, manageable system that seems to work and has some kind of order to it! Would love to hear how you manage the toys at your place:
- Big colourful tubs with plastic handles
We have one for each of our boys. They are great because you can just throw everything into them and they are easy to pick up and move from place to place. They are also a winner when we have other children come to visit as they all love to discover what is in them!
- Rotate Rotate Rotate
To keeps the tubs under control, when they get too full, I take all the things out that are not being played with and put them away for awhile. Then bring other things back - keeps it interesting.
- Use shelving or a cupboard if you can
This allows you to gather smaller things that all go together like Matchbox cars etc and put them into labeled containers to be stored on the shelves. This also helps keeps smaller items up high that may be a choking hazard for little ones.
- Zip Lock Bags
I use these for everything - puzzle pieces, texta sets, playdoh sets, Lego sets (along with the instructions for building), felt playboard sets. Keeps all the pieces together.
- Boxes
We either decorate old shoe boxes or other cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes or have a few purchased IKEA boxes to group bigger things together like cars, people, animals, tools, blocks or books. I can store these in cupboards or on shelves.
- Sell, Swap or Donate
When they have grown out of toys, put a group of things together and put them on eBay or have a toy swap with a friend. You can also donate to your local Toy Library or Op Shop.
- Only clean up once a day
I find this hard to do but I have learnt that if I do it more often I am just frustrated that it gets messy again within five minutes. So at the end of the day we have a rule that before we have a story and go to bed, we all help to clean up. The request is mostly met with "I don't wanna clean up" but "No helping, no stories" - gets the job done most of the time!
So even though the end of the day, the house looks like toy casserole, I take comfort that they are learning, playing and having fun - lets do it all again tomorrow!
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