With 3 aunts, 2 sets of grandparents, 2 great-grandmothers, and a mom and dad, my kids have way more toys than 2 little boys should have. One of the ways that I save my sanity is by rotating their toys.
Have you ever noticed at preschool that teachers have perfected the art of rotating the toys? One week, the kids are learning about outer space, and voila, a space shuttle appears with all the astronauts and accessories. My son was thrilled to play with them! Can you imagine the toy would hold his interest if he was able to play with it all year? No, it's because it was new and different.
I try to do that at home with all the toys that we've collected as gifts. I have various containers that I use to group "like" toys (like the Little People, Legos, Matchbox cars, etc). Then, I put those containers away for a period of time. They still have plenty of toys to play with, but they "forget" about the toys that have been put away. After awhile, I'll bring back the toys from storage (and put away the current toys). You would think it's Christmas at our house again - the interest they show in their "new" toys.
What do you do to keep your kids' toys from overtaking your house? For more ideas that work for others, check out Rocks in My Dryer.
Angie
I really need to start doing that! We have SO many toys, and so many of them don't get played with at all. We sorted through them and took some to Goodwill, but there are some that we still want to keep. Perhaps I need to figure out a way to do this to keep it exciting.
Of course, I will have to leave out Barbie and tea party stuff all the time. Or else my four year old would stage a coup. LOL
Everything Moms
That is a awesome idea!!! I need to start doing that 🙂
Jane Anne
This is such a wonderful idea! I used to do that but I have gotten away from it. It was easier when I had only 1 child. Now with 4, it is going to take some serious dedication. The rewards will be bigger, though. Thanks for this suggestion!
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Amy Ellen
We also rotate our children's toys. And, this is often a blessing: when we get ready to bring back out a specific plaything, we have sometimes looked at it and said "this isn't worth keeping." The kids have forgotten about it so it's not hard to get rid of it!
Amy Ellen at HealthBeginsWithMom
FromThe Creek
We do this too!
Latte
I have to admit, I have NO WHERE to story extra toys. So one day when we realized the boys were not playing with the toys due to the fact that they could not because they took up the whole play room, we had a talk. I sat my boys down and said listen, it's nice to have all of these toys but we have to do something. So the boys and I decided that it was best to give a lot of the toys to boys and girls that don't have any. They were actually happy to give away some of their favorites to a child in need. Of course I would not let them give those away but we did end up getting rid of about 20-30 large black trash bags over the course of a year. At one point we just put them near the curb and let the children in the neighborhood have them (we live next to low income apartments) The boys now have a playroom and I have my sainity. And grandma is banded from yardsale toys unless she asks! lol-summer's not here yet..
Faith
Courtney
I do the same thing and it works really well!
It is like new toys all the time!
What Color Is My Hair This Week?
That is a great tip. Maybe when I get my sons' room cleaned up I will try that.
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