How to Organize Baby Toys

When you have a baby, your home can quickly fill up with an explosion of your little one's toys. To regain a sense of order, it's essential to organize the toys so you and your baby can quickly find the toy you're looking for, and you can keep your home looking neat and tidy. Read on to learn how to organize baby toys.

Instructions

1. Sort through your baby's toys and store or donate those she doesn't play with anymore. This way, you only need to find storage for her favorites, and her play area won't become overcrowded with toys she's not interested in.

2. Crouch down to have a baby's eye-view of your child's play area. This will help you determine the level at which to organize the toys. Place toys that are popular with your baby toy on lower shelves and place toys your baby doesn't play with often or that are beyond her age group on a higher shelf.

3. Purchase open containers to hold popular toys and place them on the floor so your baby can easily access them. Buy some plastic baskets in which to store books and puzzles.

4. Invest in a toy box for larger toys, and small plastic containers for toys with smaller parts. Allow your baby to play with only a few toys at a time, so that she can remain focused on one task, and you can prevent her toys from becoming a disorganized mess.

5. Organize your baby's toys with labels for the toy containers. Consider making labels using pictures together with words, so your young baby can eventually identify what the containers hold.

6. Create a toy library. Purchase a big storage container with a lid, and place some of her toys inside. Stash this container in a closet or under a bed, and every few weeks, bring it out and swap some of the toys inside with toys she's currently using. Your baby will enjoy playing with the toys she hasn't seen in awhile, and you've successfully removed the daily clutter associated with too many baby toys.

7. Institute several clean-up times throughout the day. An older baby can help you keep her toys neat and organized once she learns where they are stored.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have a designated playroom in your home, consider investing in wall-to-wall shelving to keep all your baby's toys in containers and in plain view, but off the floor at the same time.

• You don't need to spend a lot of money to keep your baby's toys in order. Look through magazines for storage containers and units you like, and then brainstorm ways to duplicate the looks for a fraction of the cost.