How do you sort and store your DC's toys?

[Medulla]

I need to tackle our toys, my children have loads (bits n pieces driving me nuts). I bought some storage boxes to divide it all up into food & kitchen, dollys, happyland, animals etc but within a couple of days it's all over the place! Do you rotate your toys? I've heard of mums putting some toys away for a few weeks and then swapping them over. Advice please?

the only way to keep on top of it ime is to tidy away each day

I have labels on the fronts of the drawers and boxes - with pictures and words to cater for reading dd/ non-reading dd

and we do a quick 5 mins at the end of each day before bathtime, with music on (dd gets to choose), and they get a sticker after

I must admit I do most of it but the dd's at least get involved - we fling everything away really quickly into the right boxes

Sounds a bit more interesting than how I do it at the moment, would get DD much more involved too. I'll give it a go. I like the label idea, that would help her alot.

we toy rotate. lots up in the loft, not so many in the house swap around every 3 months or so. any toys downstairs are all tidied away in these . got loads of them all different sizes, really useful as they fold flat when not used.

I have 6 storage boxes in a unit from argos. Each one has a picture on the front - dolls, cars, puzzles, music stuff etc. DD helps tidy at the end of every day. The things that dont fit eg, little people castle go on top of the unit.

I have the billy bookcase corner unit from ikea in ds's room. This holds on each shelf one tub of blocks or sticklebricks sized tub and a plastic storage box.
These boxes are rotated each week and contain a variety of toys which work various skills ie. sensory, fine motor skills maths abilities etc and a couple of what I deem pointless toys.
Dd has a walk in cupboard where most of the games are kept and things like yellow teapot, mountain rail sets which are too large to store in rooms.
Dd also has 3 stacking clear boxes from ikea 1.50 each which holds jigsaws in zip-loc bags, polly pocket playsets and Strawberry shortcake playsets as these are present favourites with them both.
Playmobil castle and pirates are stored downstairs under the train table in the conservatory. I don't like toys stored in main living area's of my house as it looks untidy and it encourages my kids to trash every room.

I took virtually all of ours to Oxfam at the beginning of the summer holidays as it was becoming such an issue getting the boys to co-operate with tidying up.

They have still got some toys to play with (I'm not that mean) but not so many and each category has its own box.

I need to get the kids to have a major clear out but DS especially uses a lot of stuff. He still uses his duplo when engineering a big construction and goes mad if I even suggest he gets rid of some of the cuddly toys.

He has said that he wants to get rid of action man, I suggested selling on Ebay to get him money for computer games. {erhaps if they sell weel he will clear out more stuff. He is so sentimental though. Claims everything is special to him.

He has a very high bunk and I suggested a more teenagestyle cabin bed, so perhaps the change around will inspire him to go for a more mature look. He is 9yrs.

Tidy away each day - and have a rule : dc's only to have 2 or 3 toys out at one time. If they want to play with something else then they have to put something away first. Sounds draconian but it works