THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408100048
SECTION: HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
REMEMBER WHEN straightening up the house meant stacking your magazines and putting your photo frames in straight lines?
Right, back before you had kids. Now you can't even find those things - they're somewhere underneath the piles of stuffed animals and battery-operated airplanes.
Solution: Get rid of the toys.
Too extreme? OK, how about organizing them.
Kids' toys, when stretched end to end, can easily take up your entire floor space and then some, leaving you with one square inch for adult living. But a few solid rules of organization can help you get a grip on your house again.
Besides a neater home, organized toys have other payoffs. First, the toys will be more fun to play with if they're stored in a logical fashion. Second, you can have certain spots in the house, even whole rooms, that are yours: toy-free, clutter-free. Third, your children will learn to be organized if you teach them the golden rule of organization: ``A place for everything and everything in its place.''
Kim Sheetz, Chesapeake mother of 4-year-old Garrett and 16-month-old Alexandria, finds containers, shelves and family rules to be the most important things in toy organization.
First, rules to live by:
Teach children at a young age that toys' natural habitat is not the living room floor. The rule not only makes for a more organized home but organized minds. Special shelves and containers help children learn where to put their toys when they're finished playing. ``Instead of throwing everything in a big box, we wanted our children to know that certain things belong in certain places,'' Sheetz said.
Before moving on to the next activity, whether it be playing outside, going on an errand or watching a video, ask the children to pick up their toys. ``Everything we do here has a purpose,'' Sheetz said. ``If we're getting ready to go outside, I'll say `Let's get the toys inside picked up so we can go ahead with something else.' ''
Or, you can pick a certain time of the day - bedtime or before supper - to pick up toys for the day.
Tips for keeping the toys organized:
Keep plastic shelves low to the floor in children's rooms so they can easily take down and put up toys. Toys are easy to spot on the shelves, so there's no hunt for a favorite stuffed animal come bedtime. Clear containers or plastic baskets help children store toys and find where they are quickly.
Group different types of toys together. Toy houses, car garages, schools, farm yards and any other toys with people or animal figures are best stored together. That way you can keep the different figures with the correct toy.
Stuffed animals grouped together on a bed, or thrown together in a basket or hammock, look more organized than strewn hither and yon.
Store wooden blocks together in a box, Legos in another, racing cars in another.
Be on the lookout for containers that suit whatever kind of toys your children are playing with at the time. For instance Garrett's plastic action figure collection seems to grow by the day. So Sheetz bought brightly colored containers to store them in. Garrett keeps Batman figures together in one box, Stone Producers in another, soldiers in another.
Big toy boxes can be a catch-all for other toys. You can buy toy boxes that fit into the decor of a living room. For instance, Sheetz has a white wicker box that blends in with her living room but gives the kids quick access to toys when they're playing in that room.
Keep one or two rooms free from toys so kids have a place to romp without stepping around toys, and so adults have a place to relax without Mickey Mouse staring them in the face.
Keep board and card games on shelves in closets where children can't get to them. That way you keep all the pieces together and avoid toddlers choking on small pieces. Same goes for games and activities that should be played with at the table. Crayons, paints, Play-Dough can be stored in large plastic boxes in the closet and brought out as a special treat.
You're not depriving your child of toys - you're keeping the toys in good shape and making that activity special when you do pull it out for play.
Keep a rainy day collection. Magazines are good for cutting out pictures for collages; computer and scrap paper are fun to color on.
Try rotating your toys. To keep children from getting bored with them, pull some back and put them in a closet. Then switch them out after a few months, and your kids will feel like they're playing with a whole new set of toys.
Go through your toys occasionally and take out the ones your children have outgrown. Donate the ones in good condition to a favorite shelter, or pass them on to friends with younger children. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos courtesy of LAKESHORE LEARNING MATERIALS
by CNB