The biggest challenge before you organize toys is simply having way too many toys!

This is the first step to organize toys. Look around. Kids actually don't like tons of toys. They cause stress, just like when you go into a new restaurant that has 100 items on the menu. Even if you could read them all, you are never sure you have made the best pick.

Now even if you accept this idea that your house has too many toys around (review the psychology behind this idea) how do you explain it to the grandparents, uncles and aunts?

Kids also appreciate knowing exactly where each of their toy is located. That doesn't mean they will put them away, but they do like to know where they are.

Why kids won't pick up their toys

"You pick them up. You bought 'em!"

One day I was thinking about how my grandchildren had so many toys that inevitably they were scattered around and caused conflict with their parents. While watching them, I first realized that over an entire afternoon they only play with 2 or 3 toys. There are a lot that they might pick up for a few seconds, only to discard them quickly for something that could hold their attention.

I came up with a few basic rules about toys and toy storage:

Kids only need a few, high quality toys available.
Kids want to be able to see where the toys are when they go looking for one.
When they are done playing with each toy, it should have a specific place or "home" where it belongs.
Kids should never have to face the daunting task of picking up dozens of toys at once.

A special fifth rule brought it all together:

5. A toy in the hand or on the floor should have "value" in exchange for a new toy.

Then I came up with a kids furniture design that can help organize toys according to these 5 rules. It is a bit hard to explain… so please watch this short video.

So, does your household also have WAY TOO MANY TOYS to organize?

If so, why might that be?

Are you concerned your child might be "deprived"?

Be careful, with too many toys, each toy loses its individual value. The child can't focus and becomes bored with them all. They are just toy clutter rather than fun.

Are your toys stored in such a way that some of the toys are "hidden" or underneath others?

That is a mistake kids furniture designers should have eliminated ages ago.

recalled toy chest

If so, the child "knows" there are other toys hidden below and tends to think that maybe there is a better one underneath. Consequently they won't value the toy they have in hand. Curiosity gets to them and pretty soon there is that mess all over the floor. The toy clutter wins.

Even worse when you ask them about cleaning up toys, they eventually find/focus on one specific toy or another that catches their interest. With this "new" toy in hand, they forget to continue to clean up, even if they were originally trying to be cooperative.

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