Keep It Simple - Toy Rotation & Organization

The holidays have brought a LOT of extra toys, and with the Christmas tree on it's way out, we have started to think about how we'll organize these toys! 

Our current set up is from Target and IKEA. I love the Target Wave Storage Bins* and these storage cubes* are amazing! These cubes are LARGE so they fit a TON of toys. Right now these are our main type of storage with the bins, and they fit a ton of toys. I'm looking more to add rotation toy storage, so that's what I'll be updating with! If you want to see more storage solutions from Target, check them out here. *If you use my links, I'll earn a small commission from your purchase.

If you're looking for the bin labels, they work on the fabric bins and plastic bins, and you can find them here on amazon (Affiliate Link). Click here for the template I made for the labels, of course I don't own the rights to any of these images, and I used Google to find them!

I have always wanted to rotate toys, but it seems overwhelming to sort and think about! There are so many elaborate themes and toys to match, but I want to use what we have and make it really easy to switch out. So I think I've made it simple, let me know what you think!

Ask yourself these questions:

How many areas do I have to display or organize toys?

How can I give each one of these a category that is easy to switch out?

I'd recommend starting with 4 - like puzzles, building, arts & crafts, and pretend play. 

I'm going to be using my IKEA Trofast storage, which has 9 bins, so I've split our toys into 9 categories. Here are our categories:

1. Puzzles - chunky and knob puzzles, simple jig saw puzzles 
2. Gross motor - cones, balls, anything that makes kids move on a large scale
3. Educational - anything with letters/numbers/sounds/etc, flash cards, matching games
4. Pretend Play - tv show characters, dress up, play food, etc
5. STEM/Nature - dinosaurs, 5 senses play like a texture match, etc
6. Building - dominos, tinker toys, mega bloks
7. Arts and Crafts - play doh, colored pencils, markers, scratch art, foil art
8. Spatial Awareness - finger skateboards, shape and nesting puzzles
9. Fine Motor - beading, stacking, anything with small pieces

These are some of my favorite ideas for toy storage (all are affiliate links where I earn a small commission) and you can find them on Amazon!

There's also the big question of what to do with the toys that are out of rotation. My favorite answers for those are to keep another set of cube storage with bins inside to hold the toys, or a big deep toy chest, or shelving in a closet! Check out these ideas (also amazon affiliate links where I earn a small commission for all purchases made)

Check back in to see how it goes when the Christmas tree goes!