Toy Rotation

After showing our childrens' rooms and the lack of toys there, I know some are wondering where we do allow toys to be stored. Truthfully, most of the toys are stored in the garage... off limits. Most of the toys are stored in plastic bins from Ikea. We have 12 bins total. We have been using a toy rotation for the past 2 months or so and we LOVE it. We divided the toys into approximately 4 equal groups, and only one of those groups is allowed in at any given time. We did our best to make sure that there were some "girly" things and some "boyish" things in each group, and things appealing to older kids as well as safe for younger ones. Each group of toys/activities also includes one larger item that doesn't fit in the plastic bins, and one activity that is only allowed out during naptime.

When the toys are in the house, the "safe" ones are stored in our "coffee table" which is actually a train table. Some of the "less safe" toys, or toys with more pieces, or that could get mixed up with the sets in the drawers too easily, are stored in our hall closet on a shelf. Also in that closet is a fabric tunnel, which is always available to be brought out during playtime.

The kids know which week we're on by the color of the bins we bring in. Last week was the pink week. The kitchen things (toy dishes & food), and the dolly things (dolls, doll clothing, paper dolls & polly pocket type toys) were emptied into the train table drawers.

It's not organized at all, because that's what kids do.

The puzzle bin (full of wooden Melissa & Doug type puzzles) was stored in the closet when not used. Originally we had the puzzles on a different week, but we had to shift some of the toys around after the first set of rotations, because we learned that the boys didn't have enough vehicles to play with during pink week. Instead, they got bored and started using the remote controls as vehicles and swords. Several of the chunky puzzles are vehicle puzzles, and the boys now use those for their vehicle games.

The bottom bin is the puzzles, the bins
on the middle shelf are the empty bins
that were dumped into the  drawers. 

Our giant waffle blocks are also brought out during the pink week, and when not in use, these are stored in the corner next to the couch.

The naptime activity during pink week is legos. The legos are stored in shallow plastic bins on a shelf in the school/sewing room (more on that later), and must be closely supervised, since most of them are Daddy's legos, and he's very particular about them. ;)

This week is green week. The train table is full of cars and trains (what it was meant for!).

The closet holds a small plastic treasure chest full of dress-ups, and the naptime activity is a toy bin full of crafts (play-doh, perler beads, bendaroos, clay, and other random crafting supplies).

Next will be white week. The train table will hold two toys bins full of plastic animals & My Little Ponies, along with a fabric barn. The closet will hold a bin of baby toys, including some small wooden blocks, a tool set, and lacing beads. The closet will also hold a large plastic My Little Pony castle (which was gifted to us, and I don't like). During naptime, the girls will be working with me to learn some basic sewing or cooking skills as we work on various projects.


Finally, we have blue week. The train table will hold a toy bin full of Duplos, and a small Melissa & Doug box of wooden blocks. Two more toy bins will be in the closet, one full of baby toys, including a wooden Noah's ark with animals, some small balls, and some brightly colored noise-making toys (my least favorite). The other toy bin contains art supplies including markers & paint for the naptime activity.

Saturday afternoon, as we prep for dinner, we pack up the toy bins for the week. We keep Sunday as a day of worship and allow books and scripture focused DVDs after church. We also allow coloring or other drawing/writing in coloring books or notebooks. Then, we bring out the new week's toys on Monday morning, after the kids are dressed & ready for the day, and we've had breakfast & Circle Time.

We've gone through the rotation twice now, and it's working really well. The kids don't get bored with fewer toys... they get more creative with them. And it doesn't take more than 10 minutes to throw all the toys into the train table during pick-up... even if only one person is working alone. I don't stress over the messy house, because I know it won't take us long to pick it up. Here's a couple before/after pics from last week and last night.

Last week, before pick-up

Last week, after

Last night, before

Last night, after

The other rule we have established is that we will not be buying any more toy bins. Fitting with the 80% rule, if/when we accumulate more toys than fit in the bins (ie, too many trains & cars), we have to thin out and get rid of some. Two bins full of cars, trains, and tracks, along with one small chest of dress-ups is more than enough to keep 6 kids occupied for an entire week worth of free-play time. Add the crafts during nap-time, and the kids are usually sad to see the toys go on Saturday afternoon, because they "didn't get to play enough." But they're excited on Monday morning to see "new" toys they haven't seen in three weeks.