This is my daughter’s room.
This is our living room.
As you can see, there are toys everywhere. It amazes me because just a little over a year ago we didn’t own any toys. I’m not sure where they all came from, and I’m pretty sure that the stuffed animals might be procreating when no one is looking. I need my house back. After my sweet precious baby goes to bed, I need my living room to look like a grown up space. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of a playroom, so we have to figure out something else. So here’s what we did.
First I took all the toys and divided them up in to groups. I put puzzles in one group, sorting toys (which we have four of ) in another group, toys that sing and light up in a different group, etc. This was difficult to do with Caroline watching. She was very nervous about what I was doing. Also, with seeing all of her toys she was reminded of ones that had been in the bottom of a basket somewhere that she had forgotten about.
After sorting all the toys, I filled up three tubs with some toys from each category. So each tub had a puzzle, a sorting toy, some stuffed animals, blocks, etc. I also left a pile out with some toys of each category… I mean, I can’t pack up all her toys!
I put the three tubs away, and decided that each week I would rotate out one tub. So that she still has the same type of toys but she is experiencing new toys each week… AND most importantly the toys aren’t over running our house!
Here’s what Caroline’s room looks like now! So much better!
It also seems like she has a greater attention span now that she has fewer toys accessible. She’s not skipping from puzzle to puzzle when she gets frustrated and she sits and plays with one toy for longer. That’s what we call a win-win situation!!
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