Tips & Tricks: How to Declutter Toys Ahead of the Summer Holidays

As a parent, it’s only inevitable your home will be chock-a-block with toys, books, and clutter. As the summer holidays creep up on us, now’s the time to get organised. Today we’re sharing our top decluttering tips to help you get your home shipshape before six weeks of non-stop play! With some clever organisation tactics and practical storage pieces, you can create MORE space and find a home for everything. Read on to discover how to declutter toys and make tidy up time easy-peasy. 

DONATE, PASS ON, OR SELL

Decluttering can seem like a mammoth task, but day 12 of the summer holidays you, will thank the you who organised the kids’ play space before the holidays, and now doesn’t have to spend hours tidying up each evening.

First things first, sift and sort through your kids’ toy collection. For each toy consider, how long it’s been since they last played with it, is it still age appropriate, or do you know another little somebody who might play with it more?

Once you’ve had a rummage and decided upon the toys that won’t be missed, donate them to charity, pass on to friends or family, or sell through an online marketplace or at a car boot sale.

If you’re struggling to be ruthless when decluttering toys, remember quantity doesn’t always mean quality. Rather than having heaps of toys that provide a limited range of opportunities and potential, it’s far better to own a select collection of top-notch toys that offer many possibilities for creative play. By decluttering and creating more space, it will be easier for children to find their favourites and the toys that help them learn the most through play.   

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SPACE

One of our top decluttering tips is to invest in nifty storage solutions that work hard to earn a place in your home.

Take a look at your current storage situation… could you utilise a neglected awkward-shaped nook, free up floor space, or create a multipurpose set up? From modular corner units and wall-mounted book storage to stacking storage trunks and two-in-one organisers, we design storage solutions to suit any space, small or large, wide or narrow. If you’re wondering how to declutter toys, the right storage formula can make tidying your home as simple as 1 + 1!

THINK OUTSIDE THE TOY BOX

While our traditional toy boxes are a sure-fire way to keep toys neat and tidy, we like to think outside of the box and design toy storage with extra-special features to help you declutter toys.

Take our Slide & Store Toy Box, it has a clever sliding tray to store the tiny toys that always get lost at the bottom of toy boxes. If you’ve ever witnessed (with a heavy sigh), your child getting every single toy out while they hunt for the missing piece of a specific play set, then this is your dream toy box! The sliding tray is the perfect size for a train track or Lego collection and features easy-to-grab handles so kids can lift toys out of the box themselves and hopefully put them back too.

Our Gulliver Toy Organiser is another tidying up whizz, thanks to its multipurpose design. It has two front facing shelves for toys and books, plus a secret space to hide two storage cubes. Hooray, finally somewhere to store all those little toys that would normally end up a trip hazard!

With either of these storage champs on the scene, you can keep your kids’ toys organised and within easy reach throughout the summer holidays and beyond.

SORT THE BRICKS FROM THE ANIMALS

Divide and conquer the sea of toys before the summer holiday mayhem hits. Assign wooden food, animals, cars, and all the rest to a different storage basket or canvas cube so everything has its own home. If you want to up your organisation game even more, you could create labels using plain gift tags and some twine. This is a great way to encourage children to practise their reading skills and put toys back where they came from.

Each basket or cube has a handle making them easy for children to access when stored in a low-level unit; they’re the perfect fit for our Alba, Blake, or Abbeville units. You can also team them up with our Rackham Storage Sets, Gulliver Toy Organiser, or Bridie Book & Toy Storage.

When the clock strikes bedtime, it’ll be simple to have a quick blitz of your children’s play space and pop everything back in its designated cube or basket. Offer a reward chart star for any little ones who help at tidy up time!

So, are you ready to get your home shipshape for summer? Follow our decluttering tips and give mess & clutter their marching orders! Remember, with a place for everything and everything in its place, a clutter-free home can be yours (no magic wand required).