What to do about toy clutter

Photo: Victoria Art from @Pexels

Toy clutter happens! It's important to remember that just like grownups do, kids also feel overwhelmed by too much stuff.

As kids grow, learn and change, they outgrow older toys and move on to new toys. Toys and games break or lose some of their pieces, while the leftovers stick around as clutter. Birthdays and holidays bring new toys into the home. There might also be the generous grandma who brings new toys every time she visits, just because. Add the hand-me-downs from relatives and friends, and it’s easy to see how busy parents may be experiencing toy clutter overload.

Parents feel frustrated by the amount of toys kids have, the mess it creates, and the time it takes to tidy things up. Sometimes they'll comment that "the kids don't even play with these toys any more."

It's important to remember that just like grownups do, kids also feel overwhelmed by too much stuff. Instead of bringing joy, a huge amount of toys can turn into a source of stress, something we definitely don't want for our kids!

What can help?

Photo: Yaroslav Shuraev from @Pexels

Pare down! Rather than feeling deprived, having fewer toys actually allows kids to more easily focus on and enjoy the toys they have. You may do a toy purge while kids are in bed or at school, but it’s best to involve kids in the process whenever possible. Kids may enjoy choosing which toys they’d like to gift to someone less fortunate.

Strategize. Plan toy purges and donations to occur before birthdays and holidays, when new toys will be entering the home.

Create zones. Have an area for arts & crafts, an area for dress-up, an area for building toys like blocks and legos, a reading area with cushions and stuffed toys.

Involve kids in keeping things tidy. Choose a home (such as a bin or basket) for each kind of toy. Teach kids how to put toys back in their homes after playing with them.

Toy rotation can help keep toys manageable. Create sets of toys (involve kids in the choosing process!). Have one set available to be played with, while you store the other toy sets out of sight. After a while (weekly, monthly, or seasonally) put away the current set and bring out a new toy set.

Rather than feeling deprived, having fewer toys actually allows kids to more easily focus on and enjoy the toys they have.

Sometimes we think of kids as preferring things to be messy. But I’ve seen over and over how kiddos love it when their play area is tidied up. Instead of feeling overwhelmed or bored by clutter and excess, they’re excited to play with their toys. Just like grownups, an organized space has a positive effect on them.

I'm Kammy, a professional organizer serving Chicagoland's hardworking professionals. If you're a busy parent with kiddos, I'm here to help you make your playroom a joyfully organized place where your kids can truly thrive. Reach out to me or text (773) 756-5414 for your free 30-minute consultation. 🌱

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"The kids were so excited to see the room, and they played with the toys!"

—my client after her daughters’ playroom was tidied up

Before doing a toy purge…

… and after!

Organizing kids' clothing

Parents, are you overwhelmed by the task of organizing and managing kids’ clothing?

Organizing kids’ clothing can be a challenge for several reasons. Unlike most grownups, kids are continually growing, which means they’ll outgrow the clothing they’re wearing today, and will need bigger sizes in the future. To make things more complicated, individual kids can grow at different rates at different times. And if you have more than one child, and you’d like to put aside one child’s outgrown items for the next child’s future use, there’s the additional problem of where and how to store these things until they are needed. It’s easy to see how organizing and managing kids’ clothing can get overwhelming for parents.

Here’s a simple system that can help.

Here’s an example based on a client of mine who has two daughters. The system works the same if you have two boys. If you have a boy and a girl, you’ll likely want to modify the system to account for the fact that some clothing items are unisex & can become hand-me-downs, while others aren’t. If you have three or more kiddos, you can also modify the system accordingly.

Step 1: Sort

The first step is to take all clothing out, and sort it into these categories:

1 - Clothes that currently fit Kid 1
2 - Clothes that currently fit Kid 2
3 - Clothes that are too small for either kid
4 - Clothes that are too big for either kid (future clothes)
5 - Clothes that Kid 1 has outgrown, but are too big for Kid 2 (in-between clothes)

Then sort Category #3 into these subcategories:
3a - Donate
3b - Sell
3c - Sentimental items to keep

Step 2: Purge

In step 2, we’ll purge all the categories from step 1. 

Items that are ripped, stained, worn out, or otherwise damaged should be discarded. Too-small items (category #3) that are in good condition can be donated, taken to a consignment store, or sold online. A limited selection of too-small clothing can be kept as sentimental items. I suggest choosing a joyful way to store these items, such as a special box or bin, and also using that container as the limit for how many sentimental items to keep.

Step 3: Organize and Store

Store the clothes that each kid can currently wear in their respective closet and/or dresser. Future clothes for Kid 2 or for both kids can be sorted by size and season, then placed in labeled containers for storage until needed.

Step 4: Maintenance

Once the initial three steps have been done, all that remains is to keep the system running by doing regular maintenance. Keep an empty bin in each kid’s closet to accumulate outgrown clothing. 

In spring and fall, empty the bins. Discard, donate, sell, or store (sentimental) the too small items. 

In spring and fall, put away in-between clothing (category #5). And bring out future clothing (category #4) for kids to start wearing.

More helpful tips to organize kids’ clothing:

One of the easiest ways to simplify your clothing management is to have less clothing. Decide on the needed amount of clothing for each kid based on how often you do laundry.

Reduce time spent folding by hanging everything you can hang. 

Eliminate time spent matching pairs of socks, by having only one (or at most, a few) kinds of socks. Then just throw them in a drawer—no matching needed.

If a kid’s closet has a double closet rod, use the top rod to hang off-season clothes. The kid can choose and hang up their own current-season clothing on the more accessible bottom rod. If there’s no second closet rod, store off-season clothing in a bin in the closet or a separate location.

Using a small transparent plastic chest of drawers (rather than traditional dressers) makes it easier for kids to access and put away their own clothes. Keep only one type of clothing in each small drawer, and label each drawer (“Shirts” “Socks”, etc., or with a picture for younger kids).

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I’m Kammy, a professional organizer helping Chicagoland’s busy working parents organize their homes to find peace and relief. I’ll help you create a system that works for you—so you can enjoy more quality time with your kids. Reach out for your free 30-minute consultation. 🌱

Clothes for the future when the kids grow into them. Sorted by size and season.

Off-season clothing storage in bins on a top shelf. The bottom right bin is there to collect outgrown items.