How to Declutter the Playroom

This is the perfect time to go through all the toys your kids have. Between birthdays and Christmas, there must be toys that no longer interest them or simply work. The week before Easter is ideal, especially if they will be receiving more toys from the Easter bunny.

I love sticking to schedules when it comes to cleaning or reorganizing. We try to go through their toys every 4-6 months. Like anything else, if you don’t schedule it out it’s likely to accumulate and just become overwhelming when the time comes to go to declutter.

1. Teach children to part ways from unuseful broken items, especially toys.

I started this with my girls around two years old with markers and crayons. If the crayon broke in half or small pieces there was no need to keep them. I would make them toss it out which that age tossing things in the trash is so much fun. We also go through markers competing on who can make the most lines with different colors fastest.

Now that Adeline is older and wants to keep everything even the package box, we’ve had to teach her what can be reusable and what’s trash. Simply by asking questions like what she plans to do with the container the toy came in, which she wants to keep. Then we evaluate if it can be used that way or if there’s something else she has to serve that purpose.

2. Dump the toy bins individually.

Tackling each of the bins or toy storage container individually doesn’t feel overwhelming to you and most importantly the kids.

As we go through each bin we have four separate piles.

• Donation - anything in good condition but no one in the household will use.
• Still using/playing - toys, books board games that are still being used.
• Trash - broken toys, missing pieces on board games, or books that have been torn apart go here.
• Sentimental value items or things that the younger sibling can use later on as they get older.

3. Reorganization of toys or layout of room.

This is where I tend to reorganize and most of the time switch the placement of certain things in the room. Reorganizing helps each child get into what is their toys and shared toys easily. If they are from different age groups somethings are easier to grab at certain heights.

Changing up the layout of the playroom or play area keeps things fresh for the kids. My girls will sometimes gravitate to certain areas because they have easier access to the furniture or toy.

4. Furniture repurposing or tossing.

When I get into the grove of things especially rearranging the room, some furniture items don’t make sense in the room. I’ll either donate or if they have seen the last of their days they get tossed.

Hope these tips help with going through the kid's toys. For more weekly tips subscribe to receive content directly to your email.

Happy Spring Cleaning!