Cary Farrell
919-630-7909

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Playroom

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This was a beautifully decorated playroom that was filled to near capacity with toys, books and educational options for two little boys.  There were several large toys taking up most of the floor space and a large pile of unopened gifts along with toys they already owned.  The room was overwhelming for the boys and their parents.  Playtime was painful because clean up was so hard and space was limited.
We went through all the toys making piles:
1. Current toys the boys were playing with
2. Toys that mom could rotate in when they were board with the current toys or little brother had matured.
3. Toys that were broken to throw away
4. Toys that could be a blessing to someone else were donated.
We used their cute baskets to organize the current toys in the playroom and left just two large toys ( kitchen center and basketball hoop)
Puzzles, games and craft supplies were put up high so that little brother wouldn't just dump and run. :)  
Not pictured is a simple wooden wall pocket where she could rotate books.  
When the four year old came in later that day he said, "this is the best day ever!"  He was excited to have space to play with his favorite toys and clean up was quick and easy.

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These were the toys we put in the attic space to rotate in as needed.  I put a clear trash bag over some of the toys to keep them clean and dust free ready for rotation.  I recommend once a week or bimonthly rotation depending on your kids.  It will feel like Christmas or a birthday when you rotate new toys in.  You can even build up excitment about it for them to be able to wake up to see what new toys you rotated in.  
When you rotate toys you can see which ones they really enjoy and which ones you can pass on to bless someone else.  
Just because a toy was a gift does not mean your child must enjoy it.  Thank the giver and then pass the gift on. 
Mom was surprised at how well the boys did with less toys.  One of the greatest gifts you can give your kids is less toys so that their imaginations can grow.  Less toys also means less frustration for mom when it comes to getting the kids to clean up. 

If your child struggles to clean up, reduce his toy quantity to an amount he can clean up. When my own kids struggled to clean their room, I would place a laundry basket in their room and tell them to put anything in there they no longer wanted to clean up.  They would clean up their room and I would take the laundery basket to sort for toys to throw away, give away or save for a sibling.  Kids need to have freedom to let go of toys they no longer want but they won't know to tell you if you don't ask.  

I loved that the mom framed her son's artwork as decor in the room (over the tv) !!  If it is worth keeping then honor it and use it!