From mixed up bins, to an overstuffed closet– it was finally time to make a dent in our crazy mess of toys. It wasn’t easy, and I never want to see another Lego again… but I’m so glad we did it. Here’s an honest look at how it all went down!
Enlist Your Child
First I started with trying to enlist Ford to get rid of stuff. I gave him to pick three things to get rid of…he didn’t really go for that. I even tried to reason that there wouldn’t be any room for any new toys from his birthday, which he solved saying he’d hide them in his closet. The reality is, he’s four years old and he loves all his toys, so I can’t really blame him.
Dump Out All the Toys
If enlisting your child doesn’t work, dump out all the toys and have your kid focus on sorting the toys he has. He even had some fun finding some old toys he hadn’t played with in awhile.
Scan For Important Items
Towards the end, I got more liberal scooping up piles and scanning for important things and tossing it when Ford wasn’t looking.
We eventually ended up with really clearly defined bins. To make sure they stayed that way I did a little mini-photoshoot with his toys to do picture labels.
For the bigger stuff, I designated one bin for Tess and one for Ford. The rest of the room was pretty clean and clutter-free.
When they left the room I went to town in the back of the closets with the stuffed animals and the baby toys. I did not ask them first this time, I just loaded up my trunk with Goodwill. At the end of the day, I think we made a huge dent in the room. Most importantly, when I ask my kids to clean up, they actually do that.
