How to keep toys organised – Tidy Toy Tips for 2023

The average family house in the UK has just enough rooms to cook, sleep, eat, relax and poop in 😝(sorry), so most of us can keep dreaming of a dedicated room for the kids to keep their ever expanding mass of toys in. That’s why we’ve created these quick and hopefully realistic ‘Tidy toy tips’.

Tip One – Every toy has a home

Round up the dinos into the prehistoric box. Gather together play food and utensils into a rarely used kitchen bowl, set up a small corner of the kid’s bedroom dedicated to dressing up. Whatever your little one has in the way of toys work out a logical grouping and keep them together.

Ideally get your little one to help and every time it comes to tidying up time refer to the toy’s homes.

If you have one big toy box you could use some cloth bags or shoe boxes inside it or even try using some cardboard to divide it up into sections.

Tip Two – Turn those toys around

If you find your child isn’t really playing with the majority of their toys then try out some toy rotation. Take a few of their under utilised toys and display them on a low shelf or put them in their own baskets somewhere your child can easily reach them. It’s amazing how when you make a feature of a toy it sparks renewed interest.

Every week or so (whenever you feel the toy has run its course) swap it out for something else. It may see like a bit of effort having to swap things round but ultimately it saves you having to clear up a mountain of unplayed with toys every evening.

Tip Three – Colour grouping

Children’s toys come in all the colours of the rainbow and some, making it very difficult to maintain that once beautiful muted nursery you might’ve started with. To harmonise things again try grouping items by colour. This is not only easier on the eyes but also great for invitations to learn. A collection of red toys could initiate a conversation about what red is associated with, such as love, stop, hot, gifts in Chinese culture, etc.

Tip Four – Small collections

Displaying a couple of toys with a book on a shelf creates a quick go to activity and is a gentle way to get some reading into the day if your little one’s not into books.

You could also try nursery rhyme collections. A couple of teddies and some play food would be perfect for Teddy Bear’s Picnic.

Tip Five – Fill the nooks and crannies

Shallow boxes are great for puzzles and games and can be slid out of sight under your sofa or a bed. Add an extra pole in the wardrobe for hanging bags of toys.

Tip Six – Games & Puzzle Storage

Some games and puzzle boxes take up way more space than they need to. A neat trick is to store them in reusable zip lock bags, remember to cut out the picture or instructions from the box and place these in the front of the bag.

Tip Seven – Small toy storage

Save an old food jars and tubs for all those itty bitty toys and small parts that don’t fit with anything else. You could go to town and stick some of the toys to the lid.

Tip Eight – Hide in plain sight

Embrace the toys into your decor, choose a few toys that fit with your colour scheme to have on display. Wooden toys are brilliant at blending in with most interiors and some items can add a little quirkiness to a bookshelf or sideboard.