Playroom is a riot

[bigshoutingday]

How do I sort out the playroom? Two kids, 3yo and 1.5yo. We have a tiny playroom, not even loads of toys but it is always a mess. Random pieces of different things everywhere. We have the ikea play kitchen which mostly contains all the food etc, a ikea flisat table with the 2 trays in and one ikea trofast unit (the 3 wide one). DD got loads of nice things for her birthday but if they have small pieces then I can't just have them accessible by DS as he'd put them in his mouth or lose the bits so they're piled in a tower on top of the kitchen which does my head in. Absolutely dreading Christmas and the influx of more crap to find space for. I don't even feel like they play with the stuff they have properly. I've read about toy rotation but tbh I put stuff in the attic this time last year to rotate back in at some point and never did.

Something we did this year which was a massive help was get a cheap fabric hammock, NOT a toy hammock, a real hammock, so big!. Fitted it on the chimney breast and put alllll the soft toys up in there. Cleared loads of space.

It sounds like you just have too much stuff. I think for children having too many toys is overwhelming - it’s a big like having a wardrobe do full of random clothes that you can never find anything to wear…

Why not sort through it and only keep out a few toys that will get played with. Put away/give away other things. For Christmas the solution is easy - just buy fewer things.

Thanks! I wouldn't even say we have masses of stuff. I rarely buy anything for them it's all gifts. DD got so much for her third birthday it has actually put me off having a party again. Declutter is a good idea, hopefully can put it on marketplace and it'll do someone else for Christmas. Been reading a bit more about toy rotation, I think it would definitely help it's just going through the initial cull that seems a big challenge.

Donate most of it to the thrift store . Kids play more the less they have. Have a look at minimalist videos on YT for ideas and inspiration. Game changer.

Put some storage out of reach. Either high up or lock a cupboard. At 3 and 1 they just make a mess.
You can then put away say half the kitchen stuff and this week just have out the pizza making set and some fruit for example. In 2 weeks swap so the ice cream set or whatever is out and pizza goes away.

They can see better what they have, it doesn’t take as long to tidy and no piles of stuff.
Get rid of anything duplicate or they don’t use.

We have clear plastic boxes with lids (ours are from Amazon) inside a toy cupboard.

Anything with small pieces goes in a small clear plastic box. It’s contained but you can see what’s in each box.

bigger clear plastic box for soft toys/vehicles/ bigger things

We used to have a high up shelf with lidded tubs for toys ... not pretty but very useful!

Also have a good sort out before Christmas & Birthdays. Anything broken, not playing with or outgrown has to go!
Good quality used toys can be easily sold/ donated.