Toddlers can all too quickly outgrow that adorable nursery that you put your heart and soul into. Especially if you kept your baby in your bed room with you for most of that first year. Sometimes your toddler has already outgrown the nursery before she even gets into it. When your child is old enough for a big boy or big girl room, then you need to get ready as well.
Toys can really start to pile up over the first two to three years of life. You may find that the fancy little toy box you bought when your child was born is no longer nearly enough to store all of those toys! Storage bins can be your best friends when it comes to organizing toys. This is especially true in a small room. Small room or large space, a toddler can really destroy a room. You need a system that you can pick up quickly, and eventually teach your toddler as well.
Large Toy Organizer
This poses a perfect opportunity to teach your little one some independent skills. Decide which bins will be for dolls, cars, blocks, magnet toys, balls, etc. Take a picture of one of the child's favorites from each bin. Label the bin with the picture of the toy that goes inside. Making word labels can help your child to eventually recognize common objects as sight words. Make it a fun game, like basket ball. Cheer and praise your child for getting the right toy into the right basket. Developmentally, this helps children to recognize patterns and group common objects together.
Another fun way to organize is by color. Get several large bins of varying colors, or paint them yourself. One bin can be rainbow colored for toys that are many colors. The red bin is for red toys. The green bin is for green toys, and so on. Make clean-up a fun time with your toddler. Some are happy with hugs and kisses. Some toddlers thrive on applause. Some even like to be tickled when they get it right. Figure out what motivates your child and you can start teaching them the wonderful habit of straightening up. A little time spent now can save you a lot of heartache in the future.
Make clothing an easy to handle chore as well. Get a special small laundry basket just for your toddler. Placing it in the closet will keep dirty clothes out of sight. Additionally, you'll teach your toddler that when they are changing clothes, their dirty ones should go straight into the basket. Use special children's clothes hangers to ensure that delicate garments are protected. Childrens clothes hangers also encourage children to help with the laundry by hanging their own clothes. If you have children's clothes hangers, then they will know that they are especially for them and they will be happy to use them.