How to declutter your 5 year old's toys
Are you having trouble keeping your kids' rooms tidy because you aren't good at organizing?
Let's break down the steps to help you get this done.
Once you get moving it's fast.
I've worked with mothers or fathers who quickly go from paralyzed to energized using these steps.
Let your child sit this one out
You can make decisions for your 5 year old about what stays & what goes.
A big declutter isn't the best time to teach a young child how to make decisions about their toys.
Work through one group of toys at a time
Five toy groups that you probably have:
1. Stuffies.
2. Many small pieces that belong to boxed games / toys.
3. Books.
4. Large toys.
5. Artwork and creations.
Let's start with stuffies
Get the stuffies together in one spot.
Next, decide on a home for the keeper stuffies. Perhaps the top of a bureau or a medium sized box.
Discard enough stuffies so that the keepers fit into their new home.
You might not need to get rid of any stuffies to make this work.
If so, move to the next group of toys.
What if you discard a most-loved stuff?
Your child won’t have more than a few most-loved stuffies.
It’s like best friends.
You’ll know about one or two most-loved stuffies that are keepers.
As for the rest…
My experience with children at this age is that their keep / discard decisions are arbitrary.
They may not notice that there are less stuffies.
Especially those that live in a closet or the basement.
If they do notice, they’ll get over it.
Your child knows what you also know.
There will be more & better toys at their next birthday and Christmas.
Give it a try.
Your child’s reaction may surprise you.
Next up: many small pieces from boxes
It's a lot of work to get all the bits & pieces back into their proper boxes.
So, you end up with a random mishmash of small pieces on the floor or in Tupperware.
Deciding what to keep / discard is a matter of space & time.
Space: Where do you want to put the keepers. Same idea as stuffies.
Time: How much time do you have to organize & pack them?
Sort and pack the pieces, either in the original boxes or Tupperware / Ziploc containers.
This will answer the time question.
Once everything is packed, just like the stuffies, find a home for them and keep / discard accordingly.
Books
This type of bookshelf is popular for young children.
The presentation encourages kids to pick up books... when it's stocked as above.
But, what can happen is an overstuffed bookcase that discourages reading.
The opposite of what you want.
Sometimes this can be fixed by putting books away in a tidier fashion.
As in the picture, there's space between each group of books.
Also, books are easy to remove and put back.
Now, if there are too many books for the bookcase...
You can't organize your way out of it.
You have to discard to be able to organize.
Letting go of books can feel like letting go of culture or education
True.
But your child likely isn't accessing hard to get at books.
So, it's already as if they don't have them.
Specifically, books not in the front or on higher level shelves.
Why not bring hidden books forward?
And say goodbye to others that have had the limelight for a while?
By the way, discarding doesn't have to be to the garbage.
Neighbours and schools usually take books.
Large toys
This is a toughy.
Large toys are more noticeable and can be expensive.
Just like stuffies it comes down to the amount of space you want to give these toys.
Refer back to the stuffy decision steps.
Artwork and creations
Parents can be touchy about letting go of their children's art.
Instead of that, store it more efficiently.
Paper art is easy to manage.
Some can be taped on the wall and inside kid's cupboards (which kids love.)
For the rest get an art portfolio case, about $20.
That gets paper off the floor and nicely packaged up in one place.