If you read last week's post, you'll know that I put a great deal of effort into managing the toys that come into our home. And yet, especially after Christmas and two January birthdays, our house looked like Santa's workshop had exploded all over it. I knew that I had to take the toy management to another level, and that's when I decided to set up a system of toy rotation in our home. The process of setting up our toy rotation system took me the better part of a whole day, but it was so worth it in the end. I wish I had thought to take some pictures during the process! It was definitely one of those instances in which it was "darkest before the dawn." Here's what I did:

{what I did}

{1} I gathered as many toys as possible into a central location. I had to round them up from all over the house, primarily the living room, the boys' bedrooms, and the basement.

{2} Using the guidelines outlined in last week's post, I purged the toys.

{3} I grouped the toys into like items; for example: Little People sets, super heroes, Paw Patrol, puzzles, etc.

{4} Now that I had a good idea of how many toys we had and what I wanted to keep, I headed to Target and purchased several plastic storage tubs. I bought these, but any big ol' clear tubs will do.

{5} I divided the toys between the bins. In each bin, I included one building toy (such as LEGOs or Lincoln Logs), something to inspire imaginative play (like Melissa & Doug Cutting Foods), a grouping of action figures (Rescue Bots, Power Rangers, superheroes, etc.), a Little People set (such as Noah's Ark, castle, farm, house), and some kind of puzzle (Perplexus, egg tower game, tangram puzzles, etc.). We ended up with five bins, but the number of bins you decide upon depends on the number of toys you have and your personal preference.

{6} I printed out lists of the toys that would be included in each bin. I knew that we would be tweaking the contents of the bin as we used our toy rotation system, so I created something I could easily swap out. I taped a page protector onto the front of the bin, slid a piece of colored construction paper inside (a different color for each tub), trimmed a few inches from either side of my list, and slid that inside as well.

{7} We stored the bins in shelves on our basement. Dan rigged up this curtain system, so the off-week tubs would be out of sight and out of mind. (He just used shower curtains from the Dollar Store and twine.) Some of the toys are too big for our storage tubs, like the boys' Power Rangers Morphin Megazord, so we just stored them on an adjacent shelf.

{8} Each Monday morning, we bring up ONE tub, which contains the toys to be played with for the week. (I like to spread them out in a toy organizer, so the boys can easily see what they have to play with, and they have a convenient place to put the toys when they are done playing with them.) They play with the toys all week and, on Sunday evening, they use the list on the front of the storage tub to pack them up. We bring that tub down, and replace it with the next one. Aaaaaaaaaaaaand repeat.

{the results}

This. System. Rocks. There are so many benefits to utilizing a toy rotation system. Our home is a cozier, more comfortable place without toys strewn all over. It's not perfect, mind you. (As I was settling down at the computer to type this post, I had to move a LEGO car off the coaster on my desk, so I could set down my mug of cinnamon tea.) But it's so, so much better.

What I love even more than the improved appearance of our home is that the boys are playing with toys they had ignored for years due to the excess. I will present you with photo evidence:

The boys are more interested in their toys. There's something about the freshness of a toy that makes it more enticing to a child. Has it ever happened where your child is obsessed with a toy at a friend or relative's house, but then as soon as you buy it for your own household, he or she quickly becomes uninterested? When the child doesn't have access to a beloved toy for a while, you can bet he or she will be excited to see it again! Absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Another case in point, shortly after I set up this system, Logan received several PJ Masks vehicles and characters that he was very excited about at first. I didn't take the time, though, to incorporate them into a rotated bin, and he seemed to like them enough, that Dan and I thought it would be OK to just leave them out all the time. Guess what gets completely ignored now? Yup, all the PJ Masks toys. If they're present 24/7, it's like they become invisible to my kiddos.

And because the boys are more interested in their toys, they've been asking for screen time less often. {Do you hear that choir of angels singing?} One of my greatest homeschool struggles is keeping Logan entertained while I do school with Shane and Conner. Cracking open a fresh bin is a home-run when it comes to keeping Logan entertained without screens.

The boys are exercising their imaginations. With fewer toys at their fingertips, they have to be creative in making their toys perform multiple functions! The Melissa & Doug cutting food, for example, gets played with for the sheer fun of simply being cut and the boys like to use it to play "restaurant."

They are more appreciative. Sometimes they will whoop with joy when a favorite toy reappears in the weekly tub. Before, they just took them all for granted.

Clean-up is quicker. There are fewer toys to pick up, so it goes faster. This also leads to happier, less-frustrated parents. Each week, as the toys are being packed up, they are being inventoried, which leads to fewer of them being lost. Huzzah! With the limited toys, I can also keep a closer eye on what does and does not get played with. I'm noticing a few toys that still do not get played with very much, so I will be purging those and replacing them with toys that are more interesting to the boys. I know the toy rotation system is going to constantly be evolving as the boys get older and their interests change, but now that I have the system set up, tweaking the tubs will be a breeze.

What do you think? Would you try rotating your children's toys?