Toy Rotation – Tame Those Toys Thursday
January 3, 2008 by Julie Bonner
Filed under Home & Living
When my kids were younger I used to rotate their toys. When I started to see that there were certain toys they were neglecting, I put them away and would pull other ones out that had been stored.
Rotating your kids toys solves two problems: it helps to reduce toy clutter and it also keeps them interested in their toys longer. Whenever I would pull out a “new” toy that had been stored away for awhile, it was literally like they were seeing this toy for the first time.
Another good idea for toy rotation is to create a special basket of toys for a certain occasions. For example, a client of mine was having a hard time cooking dinner because her 3 year old was always at her feet begging her to play with him. My solution was to create a toy basket of items that he only got to play with while she was cooking. I told her to rotate the toys every week or two and also to add new toys every once and awhile. The last thing I heard was that cooking dinner had become a lot easier in her household! Now that’s a nice thing to hear.
We are almost done tossing or giving away all of our toys. What we are keeping we are splitting in half for rotation! I heard this a while ago and just started doing it. It’s a great idea! Thanks for the reminder. I think that the special occasion bag is a great idea. I will have to think how that applies!
You’re welcome Brooke! I’m about tackle the toys in our house too. I’ve been putting it off.
I have a little girl who is almost two. I need to rotate her toys. Could you give me suggestions to get started?
Hi Missy. I would just go through all of them and sort them into 2 different boxes. Put a variety of different toys in each.
Also, whatever toys you notice her not playing with, box those up. When you get them out in a couple of months they’ll seem like new to her.
Does that help?