Organizing Toys

"Toy Tornado" is a term that is used quite often in our home.  I don't know how it is possible to go from clean to toys everywhere is 3.5 seconds, but leave it to my 3 boys and they will accomplish the task.

In order to combat the toy tornado we have instituted the "10 Minute Tidy Up".  10 minutes works well because I can easily keep Ian, 10 months old, occupied for 10 minutes while we clean up.  If he is not occupied there is no need to clean because his favorite game is emptying bins.  I set a timer and Lucas, Jack and I clean up whatever we see - it goes even faster if T is home and we have another set of hands. 

Don't know what to clean up?  Look down, see that toy?  Put it away.  The hard part with a 3 year old and a 5 year old is making sure toys go away where they should.  So I developed a system that works for us, and also is educational at the same time.  At the play center we used to go to they had labels on different things to tell you what they were and where to put things back.  The only thing was that the kids could not read "cars" and so did not know without parental help what was to go back in that spot.  I combined the idea of labels and flash cards into an organizational system.

Voila!  Picture labels! 





Jack and Lucas, and eventually Ian, can look at the picture and then the word can be associated with the picture.  Jack can recognize the word "cars" without the picture now, and Lucas is really starting to become comfortable with spelling words that we see if everyday life.

Jack, who is always willing to help, could not avoid the opportunity to use tape and scissors.  He helped me cut out the labels and then we covered them in packing tape to make them resistant to spills.  If I had access to a laminator I would have done that, but until we win the lottery this will have to do.  We then when around and stuck our labels to the appropriate bins and shelves.











After everything was labeled we found the correct homes for the toys - a multi day task.  Bins were emptied into a big pile of toys, and then organized into the bin they belonged in.  Now that the homes for items have been established it is so easy to clean up.  I just have to ask the boys to park their trucks, and they go to the shelf they belong on.  Why did I not do this years ago?