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Housekeeping

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Original poster

farkin toys in the lounge-is 5 yrs too you to ban them to bedroom

27 replies

brimfull · 04/07/2008 11:13

am hating my house today

OP posts:
momof2boys · 04/07/2008 11:15

Yes it is. why not take them all upstairs and just bring a few down in the morning and then swap some around in the afternoon.
They need the stimulation still at that age

Original poster
brimfull · 04/07/2008 11:17

am going to have massive toy cull tomorrow

OP posts:
ChopsTheDuck · 04/07/2008 11:19

ours are all kept locked int he cupboard under the stairs for the youngest two. They come out a few boxes at a time then all get locked up at tea time, so that we have adult space in the evening. I've never kept toys in the lounge.

ChopsTheDuck · 04/07/2008 11:20

it also stops them yanking everything out in the 20 mins or so before we are headign out the door for the day!

snowleopard · 04/07/2008 11:21

We have toyboxes in the lounge, kept in their own place out of the way. Routine before bedtime is that we tidy up together (DS has to help - he's 3), it all goes back in the boxes for the evening so the lounge is clear for us to use.

You do need to keep on top of the toy culling though. And we have a spillover toybox in DS's room where we put the stuff he's not that into at the moment.

themildmannneredjanitor · 04/07/2008 11:21

you lock up their toys????[edges away from the crazy lady...]

bratnav · 04/07/2008 11:21

Well we are lucky enough to have a playroom, it is downstairs, but DDs and DSD (6,4,4) go in, shut the door and we don't hear from them for hours sometimes.

They love playing together on their own IYSWIM.
If you think DC is too young to be alone in his bedroom can you get your DC to tidy the toys? DD1 has just turned 6, and she tidies properly and has done for quite a while now. DD2 and DSD help fairly well too.

StarlightMcKenzie · 04/07/2008 11:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

themildmannneredjanitor · 04/07/2008 11:22

snowleaopard-i really like that word! smunt. what does it mean? i would like to use it a lot!

smunt!

bratnav · 04/07/2008 11:23

What I just said sounds AWFUL! Obviously we keep an eye on them, but they just get on with being pirate princesses or whatever

Original poster
brimfull · 04/07/2008 11:24

I want live in immaculate show home type house

OP posts:
Original poster
brimfull · 04/07/2008 11:25
OP posts:
ChopsTheDuck · 04/07/2008 11:25

after alld ay dodging flying queen cars and sitting on bob thge builder it's lovely to have some adult space! Plus, before I started locking the cupboard, everyhting would be yanked out daily. Jigsaws got all mixed up, nothing was in sets and the dts got bored and played with MY things instead. This way they choose different things each day and they don't get bored.

snowleopard · 04/07/2008 11:25

Erm starlight, methinks you haven't got a lot of lego? No way could I enjoy blobbing around in the front room of an evening if we hadn't tidied up - you can't avoid 2,000 bits of lego!

mmj smunt is a word my friends use for a smug... er... guess!

ChopsTheDuck · 04/07/2008 11:27

and it takes far less time to lock them away than it does hours sorting them out when theyve got all mixed up and hidden downt he backs of sofas and whatnot.

ggirl - go for it!

StarlightMcKenzie · 04/07/2008 11:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
brimfull · 04/07/2008 11:35

right have decided a box with a lid for lego will be permitted in the lounge,all the rest is in bedroom or out

oh and a few games can be left on the book shelves

see ! I am crap at this

OP posts:
snowleopard · 04/07/2008 11:44

You need an area - one part of the room where the toys get stashed away. Then psychologically you will feel they are out of your face. We have stacking boxes with lids from IKEA which are very good.

Ripeberry · 04/07/2008 11:44

I'm desperate to do a toy cull and get everything in lovely neat stacked boxes!
We have loads of toys downstairs and they are all annoying little things that don't belong anywhere...shudder.
Just want to put it all in a black bag and into the loft.
Don't even think they'll notice!
Soft toys are causing an avalanche and to be honest i need the space to be my own for a bit!
Once it's all tidy and sorted then i can work out a better way of storing and presenting them for my (potential mindees) when i start childminding.
Also need to turn a corner of the consevatory into a "home corner" with cooker, toy micro, toy washer and little settee, should look nice.

SoupKitchen · 04/07/2008 11:45

In 3 weeks whn loft conversion is finished all toys will be stored upstairs (dc2&3) but they can bring down what they want during the day, it just wont live downstairs.
I am thinking I must be a cruel mother, but They will have large double bedroom each, so plenty of room for their stuff to be put away properly

OverMyDeadBody · 04/07/2008 11:48

I have one wooden box in the sitting room for toys, all the others are kept in DS's bedroom. He can bring whatever he likes downstairs to play with but has to take it upstairs before bed, or before getitng another toy out. He's 5. I've always had this system and it works fine.

Oh, and I've fouind the best method for ensuring I don't mutilate my feet on lego is the hoover

OverMyDeadBody · 04/07/2008 11:49

SoupKitchen that doesn't sound cruel at all. Kids don't need to be swimming in blardy toys in ewvery room.

colditz · 04/07/2008 11:51

I have majority in bedroom - some downstairs, but will never bar them all to bedroom.

OverMyDeadBody · 04/07/2008 11:51

Ripeberry do a toy cull, it is very theraputic. Throw away all broken toys and missing bits, give lots away to charity shops, and then make a place for everything else, in lavelled boxes if you can. This is what I do and it makes it very easy for DS to tidy his own toys away and look after them better so they don't get broken or bits missing. Especially good if you have thousands of bits of lego I find.

TheApprentice · 04/07/2008 11:54

We have wooden shelving units from Ikea (see Trofast range) which you can slot plastic trays and boxes of different sizes into. This is in Ds's bedroom. Then we can take 2 or 3 boxes into living room for him to play with,and every few days they get swapped for different boxes. Seems to work for us.