Afraid of Toy Overload? How To Organize NOW, Before The Holidays

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Not sure of a plan for the the influx of games, dolls, blocks, and anything Frozen-themed coming your way this holiday season?

Give your future self an advantage by getting the playroom ready BEFORE the toys arrive! Here are some helpful tips for handling the post-holiday toy overload by investing in a little pre-season prep.

Post-Holiday Playroom Photo 1Prepare for a Purge. Get in the mindset that no matter how many times you have insisted “no more toys!,” they are coming. It’s the holidays. Rather than fighting the battle, fend off frustration by creating space in your playroom ahead of the new items that are inevitably arriving. More cleared space means less chance of it looking like a toy store exploded in your house!

Get the kids involved. Encourage your child to get into the spirit of the season by having them participate in the clean-out. Giving them ownership of their playroom and what goes in it shows them you value their opiniPost-Holiday Playroom Photo 2on and will help build their sense of responsibility to care for their space. Plus, a first-hand peek at what they keep and toss during this process will prevent you – and Santa! – from buying toys they no longer enjoy.

Work together. First, take care of eliminating the easy items by yourself (party favor items, random collectibles, broken crayons, dried-out play dough, etc.) and then use time together with your child to pick through bigger items like cars, stuffed animals, electronics, games, etc.

Be realistic. Set a time limit of 10-45 minutes for your child’s active participation, depending on their age. It’s not likely you will get hours of their time – they rarely play with their toys for that long. Take what you can get, and consider it a success.

Give to charity. Use this teachable moment to discuss the act of giving to others, especially during the holiday season. Pick a place to donate together and take your child with you so they can actually see it happen.

Record Memorabilia. If you have a particularly sentimental child who brings in (and leaves behind) every bit of artwork or scrap of writing, let them take a picture of it for your “family digital records.” Or you can do what we do at our house: we record a short video of our daughter stating her age and giving a summary of the piece of artwork or writing. It’s adorable, she loves it, and I love that I don’t have to keep boxes of papers!

Post-Holiday Playroom Photo 3Group like items. Now that you are left with the “best of the best” of your child’s remaining toys, group the items together into bins, baskets, and boxes. Remember to keep plenty of extra space available in each category to accommodate the new toys that are on their way!Post-Holiday Playroom Photo 4

Consider this time to streamline. Matching storage solutions like bins, baskets, and boxes make a significant impact in creating a visually calm and neat space. Some of my favorites when organizing client playrooms are the locker cubes from Land of Nod, the 3 Sprouts animal bins from The Organizing Store, and the canvas storage bins from Pottery Barn Kids.

Box it up. For art supplies, I love using the line of clear boxes from The Container Store. Likewise for boardgames and puzzles – they contain all the little pieces without a looming tower of of assorted cardboard boxes that eventually come apart.

Post-Holiday Playroom Photo 5Label, label, label. Once everything has its home, neatly label your storage solution. If your kids are small, use pictures or drawings to show where things belong. Otherwise, use word labels as added practice to support your child’s early literacy skills.

Hopefully these tips will help your kids continue to enjoy their playroom – and you as mom enjoy a bit of calm and order in your home. Happy organizing, and Happy Holidays!

Photo Credit :All photos by Neat Method

About Our Guest Blogger:

Mika HeadshotMika Perry is Neat Method’s Scottsdale gal, whipping up Valley homes into tip top shape as a luxury residential organizer. Born in Japan but raised in Arizona, Mika is a Sun Devil through and through. She aspires to be supermom to her two girls and cherishes time with friends and family. She takes on any challenge, and has even tackled an overnight run in the desert. She loves classical music, but secretly listens to hip hop. She’s obsessed with neon, anything monogrammed, and big hair. She worked in finance before shaping young minds as a teacher. She believes in the art of entertaining and thrives on being head chef during holiday gatherings, making her Neat Method’s Master of Kitchens. Follow Mika on Instagram, Pinterest, and NEAT’s blog here :: View another SMB post by Mika here.