Keeping everything organised and making toys last without losing bits seems like a never ending task.
Here are some tips for keeping your sanity:
- If you have space, designate one room (even if its small) as their learning/messy room. (Hard floor is easier for this) Make use of wall space for storage, cube units or the Ikea kallax units are great for this.
- Use lot of boxes and trays (poundland, home bargains or b&m). Each toy should be kept in its own box or tray – ideally labelled. Show your child to play with one tray at a time and put everything back in that tray when finishing or changing activity.
- For messy things like paint or playdoh, there should be one place in that room where this is done. You can mark this area with a mat on the floor or a table depending on what is easier to clear and stay organised.
- A reading corner. If your child has lots of books, most of them can be stored up high somewhere with a few (5 to 10) stored in a small bookshelf on the floor in a corner. Swap them around once a week or fortnight. You can add cushions, blanket, chair – whatever you have space and budget for to make it feel cosy and inviting. This should obviously be a different corner to the messy area.
- When your children are mature enough give them a small vacuum cleaner and keep cleaning wipes accessible. Make them responsible for keeping everything neat and tidy.
- A long table/workbench with storage. If you have one free wall, its always great to have a mix of floor space and a nice large table where they can put their trays or leave a jigsaw puzzle that they are working on.
Here is an example of a room layout. As your child or children grow things can be moved and resized to cater for their changing needs and interests.
If you have enough rooms its best to keep this separate from the bedroom. A room next to the kitchen or any regularly used room is ideal so you can watch your kids and give them some independence too.