10 Tips to Tame the Toys

1. Try to limit the larger toys, especially ones they’ll outgrow quickly – I know this isn’t always possible, but I told both sets of grandparents to be practical. We don’t have all that much space to begin with. So far, we’ve only ended up with two large toys – a jumper and an activity table. I’ll give you one guess who bought them.   

2. On a related note, as soon as toys are outgrown, find them a new home – there’s really not much sense in keeping toys that aren’t getting played with, is there?  

3. Maximize the space under the crib, especially while the mattress is in the high position – I actually just lowered our crib last night, but prior to that we used the space under the crib to store some of his oddly-shaped toys. Some cribs are even high enough that you could push a few baskets or bins underneath. 

4. Shelves – I especially love the Ikea Kallax unit that’s 2 cubes high and 4 cubes wide – we have one for books, but bonus points if you pick up some of the baskets that fit perfectly into the cubes. I’ve seem similar things elsewhere as well.

5. Canvas totes or baskets – the great thing about these is that they collapse or fold up when you’re not using them. Be careful that the handles aren’t big enough for little body parts to get stuck in, though. We have a little canvas tote full of balls that we can easily move around, depending upon which room we’re in. 

6. Shallow bins – right now, we have a little green Itso bin that we keep smaller toys in. I got it at Target a while back and it matched his room, so that’s where it lives now.  

7. Don’t have a toy box? Get one – Right now, we’re using a little blue wagon, but I know that a certain someone will be getting a handmade wooden toy box for his birthday. 

8. Rotate what’s kept out – We have some toys that we keep out all the time, but everything else gets rotated on a consistent basis so that he doesn’t get bored with any one particular thing. 

9. Show them off – we have a few toys that we keep out, just because… For example, there’s a stuffed monster that I had handmade that matches the little guy’s room on his shelf. I also keep a few of my favorite wooden toys out – a bead grasper, a xylophone, and a rainbow stacker – oh, and I built a castle from a set of blocks and it lives on one of his shelves because it makes me smile. Simple pleasures, right? 

10. When all else fails, don’t buy so many – I know that’s easier said than done and that there’s a bit of a learning curve with this, but I seriously had no idea how much we’d end up with for Christmas. Had I known beforehand, I definitely would’ve bought with that in mind. 

Do you have too many toys? Do you have any tips to tame them? Share them in the comments. I can’t wait to hear them! 

Written by: Cristi Wuenschel