Best of Resourceful Living: How to Deal with Toy Clutter

As I enjoy this holiday season with my family, I’d like to share some of my favorite posts from 2010…

As parents, we need to have an ever-changing bag of tricks to deal with the challenges of parenthood.  My nemesis is space.  I am constantly looking for new places to store items that make sense, are easily accessible, and aesthetically pleasing.  My most challenging space has always been my daughter’s bedroom. She is just like me – a hoarder natural collector of things.  Her first love is stuffed animals.  While she still sleeps with a dozen or more buddies on any given night, we have come leaps and bounds by putting her furry friends through a rigorous cleansing process.  First, we encouraged her to choose only her favorites to share her bed. We allow her to change her mind about who holds this coveted spot, but each time a new one joins her, another must go.  We also chose some of the largest animals to live at her grandparents. A 95 square foot room just will not hold a six year old girl, her bed, her dresser, her bookcase, her reading chair, and a giant teddy bear.  Or two.  Or five.  Finally, the remaining stuffed animals were hung in two fabric storage hangers from Ikea.

Utilizing vertical space in her room has done wonders for not only organization, but also my sanity.  Another vertical space often forgotten that we use well in Emma’s room is the space behind her door….

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