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Year on purpose: finding healthy rhythms, clean up the playroom

Oh that lovely playroom… clean up the playroom!!

I never thought I’d be the person that used her dining room as a playroom. Then I had kids. We eat in the kitchen and the dining room is a playroom. What can I say, a baby changes everything! I also never thought I’d be the mom that let toys get out of control. Then I had kids and found out that it’s not the parents that buy a ton of toys and let it get out of control. It’s the grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, and other relatives that buy all the toys. At this season in our lives our playroom has reached a ridiculous new high for the amount of toys and kid things we can jam into it. There are also a ton of toys in the basement. This has to stop. It’s time to clean up the playroom!

How to clean up the playroom

  1. Throw away
  2. Sell
  3. Donate
  4. Organize

1. Throw away

Why is it so hard for some people (me) to throw stuff away? Unfortunately it’s also hard for my husband. There is no voice of reason in this area in our household. We have tried to get rid of toys in the past and just get overwhelmed and make absolutely no progress. So how do we do it? How do we move past overwhelm and clean up the playroom by throwing away toys and items.

Pull out all the toys. This one straight up sucks. I’m not going to lie. And you need a LOT of time to do it. But for me, there was no getting around it. Any other way I tried did not work. There is something incredible about looking at the mountains of toys everywhere that somehow motivates to downsize instead of overwhelms. Careful though! It can get overwhelming very quickly if you don’t stay on task. Trust me I know. If it still seems way too overwhelming to pull out all of your toys or you do not have that big of block of time to do it, break your playroom up into sections. Do one section at a time.

After you’ve pulled out all the toys, grab a big ol’ garbage bag and go through each toy. You are looking for toys that are broken, soiled, or not played with and not able to donate. Throw those nasty toys away and free yourself!

2. Sell

If you want to earn a buck or two (don’t use it to buy more toys!) organize a ‘to sell’ pile. I originally thought I would go through all the toys once and separate them into throw away, sell, donate, and organize piles that one time… but it did not work quite that easy. I ended up pretty much re-going through the toys for each step. It was too hard for my ‘I can’t throw anything away because what if I need it one day, the kids will remember and ask for it, someone might want it’ mind to do all for categories at once. Hopefully you are much more practical than I am and do not have to redo the process four times.

3. Donate

Any toys that you either couldn’t sell or do not want to sell go into a donate pile. I asked my church if they were in need of any toys for the kids program, but they did have that need currently. So I started researching where I could donate toys. I found this amazing list that was super helpful to me! It honestly does feel good and much better to donate something than to throw it away when possible.

4. Organize

I thought this was going to be the place I shined. The hard part was done and now was the fun part! I was wrong. I wanted our playroom to be not just organized but perfectly organized. Oh, and gorgeous. The problem is that not everything fits into every space perfectly and not all the toys fit what I’d call a cohesive and gorgeous space. After I mourned that dream, things started to come together.

GROUP like items together and find a space that will contain them. If you have a bin or basket that will hold toys make sure you do not overfill the containers. You want to shoot for having space leftover so it is always easy for parents and kids to clean up.

CONTAIN smaller toys in bins or baskets. Any dollar store can be a great resource for this. We’ve bought several dollar store bins and containers for arts and crafts things but also to hold flash cards, marbles, toy accessories, etc.

CONTAIN bigger items in large containers or baskets. Stuffed animals can almost look neat and tidy when stuffed into a large basket. Plus it’s such an easy task for even a toddler to clean up! I do love the hanging stuffed animal nets, but it’s not ideal for kids to be able to clean up or get stuffies out of on their own. Think designer laundry baskets like this, blanket baskets like this, metal or woven storage bins like this.

Arts and crafts need to have a home that is easy to find for parents and kids. One of my children came out of the womb an artist and my husband is “allergic” to any arts and crafts… it’s a problem. We are working through it, but in the mean time it is extremely helpful to everyone if all arts and crafts have an easily recognizable home that anyone can find and put away. This can be super challenging but so worth the effort. Check out my post on How To Organize Arts and Crafts (coming soon!) for more tips.

My biggest tip

My biggest tip is something I’ve already mentioned, but is so worth mentioning again. Don’t overfill anything. Leave extra room and space in your playroom. It is so pleasing to the eye and to your (and kids!) mind when the playroom is not maxed out on toys. It also encourages your children to play better and longer. It’s far easier to have the whole family help clean up (even little littles) when there is space. It can feel so much more rewarding when it’s done because things actually look tidy and not shoved into an overflowing basket of toys. Do yourself a favor and really prioritize this one. It feels so good.

Going minimalist

If you really want to get crazy just do an online search of a minimalist playroom. While I don’t think I could ever get to a true minimalist, I have been very encouraged, inspired, and motivated by them. A podcast that I have really been inspired by is The Maximized Minimalist.

Check Out These Posts For More Encouragement:

Year On Purpose

Easy Cleaning Schedule

How To Keep The Dishes Clean

Simple Solutions To Never Ending Laundry

Finding Healthy Rhythms Starts With Me

Don’t Let It Steal Your Joy!

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