Toys, toys, and more toys. They seem to multiply exponentially as your baby grows. And while some can be beautiful, so many others are an absolute eye sore. We chatted with Molly Graves and Ashley Murphy, co-founders of NEAT Method (and who have a combined four boys between the ages of 1 and 4!), which offers both in-home and online services for taming the mess in your home. Here are some of their top tips for keeping the toys from taking over.
CATEGORIZE WIDELY
“If you have a dedicated room for play, we suggest different bins for categories of toys. Our biggest suggestion is to not over categorize. For example, instead of making a different basket for Barbies, American Girl, and Polly Pocket, just make one for ‘Dolls.'”
THINK HIGH AND LOW
“If you don’t have a dedicated room, we suggest storing most of the toys up high where the child cannot reach them, and then have a large basket where the toys that are available for play now can live and easily be hidden when guests come over.”
KEEP LOUD TOYS OUT OF THE NURSERY
“Typically, we recommend only ‘quiet toys’ like books and stuffed animals in the bedroom so that if a child is awake early they can do quieter activities instead of playing with loud toys or activities that require parent supervision. The rest of the toys should be in one place only. This helps keep the toys under control.”
VISIBILITY IS KEY
“Make sure that your child can see what’s in the bin. Our favorite example of this is the locker bins from Land of Nod. Two sides are mesh so it’s easy to see what’s inside. If you want a bin that has fully enclosed sides, make sure it isn’t placed in a spot that’s too tall for your kids to see into!”
PRIORITIES & PATIENCE
“You hear it all the time that being a parent takes patience. It’s not until you are in it and trying to balance everything (i.e. work, a home, a husband, and, of course, the kids) that you realize how slowing down and remembering patience goes a long way. Our best advice would be to still try to take time for yourself. It’s really easy to get wrapped up in making your family your first priority. We have found that we are better moms (a.k.a. more patient) when we schedule the time in a week to take care of ourselves as well: a workout, even just a walk, reading a book, lunch with a friend.”
LIMIT DISTRACTIONS WHEN YOU CAN
“Any time we can find the time to spend a day in with our boys we do our best to make it what we like to call a ‘quality time’ day. We check out of our emails and social media browsing and really try to focus on the time spent with them. Some of our favorite things include putting together puzzles, building makeshift forts, or cooking. Really anything to just be interactive without any distractions!”