Where are your toys all day long... how much of a mess do you have?

[illinoismommy]

I have noticed no matter how many or how few toys are available, during the day they all end up out at once, on the floor... they're not all necessarily used at once, but they might be played with for a minute and then they move on to the next thing. What about yours? I just want to know if my experience is standard. :)

[Amythestmama]

:giggle All over the floor here! After awhile, dh gets mad about it and packs a bunch up and puts them upstairs in the kids' rooms or the attic or down in the basement. The kids just go find them and play with them there making the mess spread even further. :doh

[HomeWithMyBabies]

Everywhere!

There are a few "sets" of toys that ds cleans up before another set can come out, like the cars have to go away before the trains get played with. Other than that stuff is all over.

[made4more]

well *MY* toys are in the drawer next to the bed. (ok ok, totally uncalled for, I had to do it! I dont have those kinds of toys btw)

to answer your question-usuallythey are put in the kids rooms in a toy box. they spread'em, but throw'em back in before they come out. they have some thigns that they carry around in a small bucket w/ a handle, then play w/ them wherever htey go - those are their fave things like the my little ponies, a barbie or 2, etc.

[klpmommy]

well *MY* toys are in the drawer next to the bed. (ok ok, totally uncalled for, I had to do it! I dont have those kinds of toys btw)



:spit

All over the place, in every room of the house it seems. Today my kids are feeling crafty so there are fewer toys out, but there is tape everywhere.

[illinoismommy]

there is tape everywhere.


:paranoid

[klpmommy]

P&E know the rules of tape- it can be stuck to paper, their toys, doors, the fridge & windows. P likes to make "traps" by putting tape across a path. So it isn't as bad as it sounds. But now they are out of tape & they are doing puzzles. :sigh I prefer the tape.

[StrangeTraveller]

Heh. I think a better quesion is "Where are they *not.*" And I've only got one toddler. Ask me again next summer and I might just laugh (I hope!). :/ :giggle

[Katiebug]

Well, right now the toys live in the living room, with things like lego, trainset, etc in their bedroom closet. The bedroom toys can only be played with one set at a time and they're high up so they have to ask for them and can only have another after they pick up. The living room toys are scattered about quite a bit, but we pick up before each meal or before we leave the house to go anywhere. I don't like eating in a mess or coming home to a mess :yes

Our new place has a 3rd bedroom that will be a playroom for now. So there will (hopefully) be minimal toys in the living room.

[Firebird Rising]

Well I've got one kid, so I'm not sure how much of a help I am, BUT, we live with my parents. We use this corner of the living room for the toys and that's ALL he has. I go through there pretty regularly and weed stuff out (or return it to it's natural place, like cookie cutters, etc). If the toys are too young for him, they go in a bin in the garage. This is what it looks like cleaned up. http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t147/winchesterruger/th_IMG_4149.jpg (http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t147/winchesterruger/IMG_4149.jpg)
(clickable thumbnail)

We also have half of an office and a bedroom. I find that limiting ourselves COMPLETELY like this makes it very easy to decide what we do and don't need out.

Toys are picked up at the end of the day before grandma and grandpa get home and each type of toy goes into a certain bin so we have a lego bin, a car/truck/helicopter bin and so forth.

Jen D.

[AdrienneQW]

They used to be everywhere. Then I tried the "put the first toy away before you get the second toy out" thing, but that didn't work for us. So we've reached a balance where they pull out whatever they want to play with, but a few times during the day if I notice they've got a LOT out and aren't playing with all of it, I will tell them to put away the things they're not using. :shrug

This goes for their bedrooms (primarily Dexter's room, since they tend to play in there). Toys in the common areas of the house must be put away when they're done with them. I may let them set something aside rather than put it completely away if they're going to want to come back to it later (say they're doing a puzzle and want a break from it, but intend to come back and finish). I can live with that. But otherwise, toys that are out in the common area need to be *in use*, or they need to be put away.

[SouthPaw]

kinda the same as AQW. they can actively play wherever they want, but toys only get to stay "out" in their bedrooms. and i don't allow more than 2 or 3 different types of things out at once - if little people, blocks, and a game is out, one has to go up before puzzles can come out. :grin

[illinoismommy]

We also have half of an office and a bedroom. I find that limiting ourselves COMPLETELY like this makes it very easy to decide what we do and don't need out.

Toys are picked up at the end of the day before grandma and grandpa get home and each type of toy goes into a certain bin so we have a lego bin, a car/truck/helicopter bin and so forth.

Jen D.


Yes but that is not the question, the question is-- during the day, does every bin get taken out and stuff strewn throughout the space? No matter how many or how few ;)

[Firebird Rising]

We also have half of an office and a bedroom. I find that limiting ourselves COMPLETELY like this makes it very easy to decide what we do and don't need out.

Toys are picked up at the end of the day before grandma and grandpa get home and each type of toy goes into a certain bin so we have a lego bin, a car/truck/helicopter bin and so forth.

Jen D.


Yes but that is not the question, the question is-- during the day, does every bin get taken out and stuff strewn throughout the space? No matter how many or how few ;)


We usually have about one bin out at a time. Every once in a while, he wants two, but we just don't have the space to have more than that out at a time. Actually, he doesn't play with his toys a whole lot. He spends more time carrying a stepstool around the house turning on and off lights and muttering to himself. The toys come out when we aren't doing anything else (ie: play-doh, digging outside in the dirt, cooking/backing, reading) He kinda just does his own thing and we are okay with that as long as he's not liable to hurt himself or make too big of a mess. I'm sorry, I'm pretty atypical, I shouldn't have replied, I think. :shifty

Jen D.

[illinoismommy]

He spends more time carrying a stepstool around the house turning on and off lights and muttering to himself.


:giggle we've had stages like that too with household items...

[Marielle]

I have an imaginary limit that my sanity can take of toys underfoot that is directly linked to the amount of hassle the kids will put up in picking them up once it gets too overwhelming for them.

so like Addrienne I let them take out a reasonable amount but if I notice them getting up and starting to move onto another toy and not just taking a break then I pull the "nope go pick up x first" and enforce it.

I used to keep a lot of the toys in the living room but it was driving me (and thus teh kids) nuts. So most stuff is in their bedroom and I'm heavily transitioning them to do the bulk of their play in that room.

[KatieMae]

so like Addrienne I let them take out a reasonable amount but if I notice them getting up and starting to move onto another toy and not just taking a break then I pull the "nope go pick up x first" and enforce it.


Right. We have official pick-up sessions before lunch & supper and then I sometimes have to use :up that rule too if it's just crazy-messy in between those times.

[Marsha]

I like my kids to amuse themselves (aka leave me alone for awhile LOL) so a trade off is I let them play.

Also, I homeschool, so that means they are both home together all day most days, or we are all gone, so I knew I had to get used to it LOL.

I don't like crayons out for instance and then left while Ainslee moved on to something else. Or puzzles. But everything else is fair game for the most part.

We do a clean up while I'm cooking supper and honestly I do most of that because I"m faster and I can. I guess it's just not a huge issue for us here. I can clean up the room in fifteen minutes while stirring stuff on the stove for dinner. :shrug