toy rotation

So. Many. Toys.

We have so many toys y’all! It’s a blessing for sure, but between momma, grandparents, birthday parties and Christmas gifts, we have accumulated quite the collection of toys. Thankfully, we have a playroom to house everything but even that room isn’t enough! I know what you’re thinking, why don’t you just get rid of some? Well, I’m always cleaning out the toys in their playroom. I’ll box up ones worth saving and put them in the attic, others get donated. But it’s a constant battle to keep all of them contained.

The twins LOVE playing with their toys too, or I really would just get rid of them. They will sometimes spend hours playing in the playroom, especially during the cold months, and I love seeing their imaginations run wild while enjoying themselves in their playroom. Also, momma gets a few minutes of peace!

In order to keep the toys we have I knew I needed to implement some sort of rotation. If I kept all of them out they would get bored with them and not to mention the chaos that would ensue. I guarantee there would be toys at the bottom of baskets they’ve completely forgotten about and would never get played with.

So this past spring I cleaned the playroom out and came up with a plan.

I simply rotated their toys.

TOY ROTATION

1. CLEAN OUT ALL TOYS – This may take a while. I chose a day when the twins were at Grammy’s house and I spent the entire day cleaning things out. Throw away broken toys and donate toys that rarely get played with. Use baggies to organize all the toys with little pieces. If the pieces can’t be found, they won’t be played with.
2. KEEP FAVORITE TOYS IN VIEW – We have two large baskets that every day toys stay in. I’m talking their favorites. Think of it this way…if Johnny is going to ask you about a specific toy multiple times a day because he cannot find it, put it in a favorites basket. The last thing you’re going to want to do is be digging through multiple storage totes trying to find a specific toy later.
3. ORGANIZE REMAINING TOYS – The remaining toys should be toys that get played with, but not on a regular basis. Sort these toys out into various piles of categories. My piles were trucks/vehicles, stuffed animals, baby dolls, puzzles, and I had a random pile.
4. LABEL STORAGE CONTAINERS – I chose to have five storage containers for our toy rotation system. I purchased five that matched so everyone would know which totes were for toy rotation. I then numbered them one to five. If you’re super organized you can even label what is in each tote once they’re packed.
5. PRODUCTION LINE TIME – Remember your piles of toys by category? Start with one category and disperse those toys evenly throughout the totes you have. You’ll want a good mix of toys within each tote. For the random pile of toys, simply place those in totes as you wish.
6. STOW AWAY  – Keep your totes somewhere convenient to grab, like a closet or a bonus room. I made the mistake of storing the totes in the attic, and I quickly realized I wasn’t changing the totes out like I wanted to. I now store the totes in the extra bedroom that is right next to the playroom. Since they are conveniently in the next room I find myself using our toy rotation system more.
7. EXPLAIN – Find a way to explain to your child how fun toy rotation will be and what to expect. I told the twins we liked to play in a tidy playroom and this was going to help with that. I explained we would have a special tote of toys each week to play with and it would be so much fun! The first couple of weeks were confusing, and the twins were asking me about specific toys. I told them they would get to see that toy soon and to love on the toys they currently had out. They slowly caught on to the concept. Now the twins love when a new tote comes out to see what “new” toys will be inside!

When I first did this I really wondered how effective it would be. Not only are the twins loving it, but I’m loving it! The playroom is easier to keep tidy, which is a much more pleasant environment to play in. Through rotation, the twins are exposed to a small amount of toys on a regular basis instead of having them all available at once. The best part? Since we’ve been doing toy rotation I notice they are wanting to play in their playroom WAY more than they did before. Before, there were just toys everywhere and it was very overwhelming to them. Now, not only is there room to actually play, but they have a much smaller scale of options to play with which is comforting to them, not to mention less stressful.

Have toys everywhere in your house and your child doesn’t really play with them? Try out toy rotation and see how everyone likes it!