How I Started Our Toy Rotation

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A toy rotation is something I have been thinking about starting for quite sometime now. However, I had tried it in the past and it ended up not working out.

The first time I set up a toy rotation I only got two large totes. This was definitely not enough storage to divide up the amount of toys my boys had in order to make a significant dent. That was probably the main reason it didn’t work because it branched into other issues. Like swapping them taking way too long and just picking them up daily taking more time than I would have liked.

So this time I knew definitely wanted to get more bins for starters!

How I Set Up Our Toy Rotation:

First things first!

I always start organizing my boys toy by dumping them all in the middle of the floor. I know it’s a bit old school but that was always how my dad would “help” my sister and I clean our room.

Even though back then it did not feel like help, I definitely see the value in it now. Most of the time that “value” is the motivation to PURGE! after seeing the mountain of stuff all piled together.

With everything in the pile I start to gather all the trash and inevitable broken toys or “Happy Meal” random toys to be tossed.

Then with all the toys in the floor I will take the time to vacuum out the toys bins, dust, and wipe the bins and shelves down with a Clorox wipe. This is also what I do after one of the boys are sick and wipe down all the toys.

Here are links to some of the toy storage and organization items we use:

-Zipper Storage Bags (Assorted Sized)

–Sterilite 110qt Clear View Storage Bin with Latch Purple

-13″ Cube Organizer Shelf- Brightroom (not exactly the one we have but very similar, I have other ones like this in other places of my house)

-Large 13″ Cube storage bins- Brightroom (again not the exact ones but very similar)(I prefer the plastic over fabric because they last longer)

Finally, let the sorting and purging begin!

Once you have like items together and things your kids have out grown or just don’t play with anymore ready to go to donate you can start thinking about the toys in “weekly” categories.

I started out with picking 4-5 of the large groups of toys we have to serve as like the “main toy group” for the week.

For example ours are, Bluey Toys, Super Heroes, Disney Action Figures, Harry Potter and Spongebob Toys.

My boys also have a large amount of dinosaurs so I decided to separate a few into each weekly bin with one of their giant dinosaurs to rotate for each week.

To add to the larger groups I just sprinkled some of the other toys we had throughout the bins to add variety while still keeping them in their category.

I didn’t include some things to the rotation like our knock-off nugget couches. I also didn’t include puzzles/games or coloring items because I store most of that with our homeschool stuff anyways.

The very last thing I did was create bin labels just in canva or whatever you use to create documents that numbers each box and lists the toys or categories in each bin. And I just taped it on to the box.

I chose to just do it on a piece of paper versus using my silhouette to cut vinyl labels because I figured I may change up some of the categories and swap some of the toys as time goes on and paper would be more flexible.

How Our Toy Rotation is Going:

10/10 Recommend!!!

I absolutely love how our toy rotation ended up and so far it is working out amazing.

I have noticed some serious change in our house since starting the rotation.

My kids actually play with their toys not just dump them out and then come to me for entertainment.

My kids play better together. I’ve noticed much less arguing and less refereeing on my part. I think this is largely attributed to the next major change.

One of my boys gets overstimulated very quickly and becomes irritable, don’t we all!? However since essentially reducing the “visual clutter” he was seeing in the playroom, especially when it all gets dumped out, I have noticed a complete 180 change in his behavior and he does not get over stimulated by just walking into the playroom anymore. That alone is more than enough reason to do the toy rotation for me.

It’s also helped when it comes to cleaning because I’ve been trying to focus on a “life skill” each month to work on with the boys. And with picking up toys now being not so overwhelming for them they can help out more with that which takes a task off of my to-do list, which is always a win!

Ever since starting the rotation I seriously have been telling every mom I know that they should definitely try it! I am so happy with how it all is working out in our home. And I know cleaning a play room can be such a daunting task and toys have a way of taking over your home if you let them.

The toy rotation has definitely changed that for my family and I can’t wait to hear if it works for any of you too!

**I will definitely keep updating this post because I know how things change and adapt so be on the lookout for the updates to come. I’ll also post updates over on my instagram @maquelapaige .