No Stress, No Clutter, Toy Organization (Your Kids Clean Up After Themselves!) // Pregnant Mom of 5

[@dtoplov9]

I do agree that kids don't need tons of toys, which makes organizing way easier, but I also feel like they need an outlet to be messy and not so structured. I remember many, many days where my whole living room was one big fort or grocery store. It drove the "tidy me" bonkers, but the goal should not be just have a mess free home. After hours of play they knew they had to clean up, so they had their unstructured fun and yet learned to clean up too.

[@cderry10]

This is some good food for thought for me. Thanks for sharing from your experience

[@ackreft]

Yes! I think the hard part is finding the middle ground. Right now I do have too much toys laying around which it drives me and my husband nuts because most of the time my kids don’t pick up because it is easy to just put them out but it is a lot to pick up. I am currently pregnant with my 4th we are going to have 4 that are 5 and under so they are still pretty young. But I think the take away for me is not to have a perfect joke but to have a manageable home. I don’t want to have more toys than my kids can pick up. Which most of the time I do 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@Laurenmefford]

The more you follow Katie and Elisha the more you'll see that they're kids have plenty of that kind of time! This video is focused on bringing order out of chaos...and helping us see its possible! Can't touch on all things.

[@Amgirl03]

Well said. So true! ❤

[@jmljasmine]

Agree with the gifting question. I buy very little for my kids but they get sooo much from grandparents, friends, everyone

[@FostersFollowingJesus]

Thank you so much for sharing this I would love to see your kitchen, other rooms, closets etc just what all you really keep and organize! Thank you all so much for sharing this from a momma who was not taught and is really thankful!

[@seasonalliving2881]

I love that she instinctively made her dollhouse minimalist! lol smart little girl!

[@layne751]

I can't even express what a blessing this video has been. I already aim to be a minimalist and cling to open-ended toys, yet this was encouraging to see how little they truly need. Thank you!!

[@houda89k]

I have already started implementing some of these tips in my home and I am starting to feel in control of the toys/crafts activities we have. I love the idea of keeping things where you need them and not just where they should be. Much love from a fellow God loving Muslim mother xxx

[@kayleeh3770]

How do you navigate birthday gifts? How much do you purchase your kids and what about allowing family members to buy lots of gifts? I dread my kids birthdays because the influx of toys is so overwhelming (of course I’m grateful! But still..).

[@rachelbeaty136]

Same!

[@erikacook3056]

I also need help with this. We have a relative who is very generous. When we try to set limits it lasts a few months and then goes back.

[@sarajohnson9030]

Yes I dread birthdays too and Christmas. We don’t even throw birthday parties but family will still stop to drop off gifts. Christmas kids get at least 10+ gifts per kid and we have 4 kids.

[@jcimlas210]

I told my family not to but then anything anymore, that they can take them somewhere for an experience, etc And even so my kids will be asked where this or that is and they share that I’ve donated it all lol

[@StephanieGiese]

We have generous relatives too. One thing that worked well for me was asking for contributions towards large gifts. Or something fun but practical. For example, I would say “instead of buying five separate gifts this year, would you be willing to contribute to the backyard playground we’ve been saving for?” Or something that I might like for the kids to have, but didn’t want to spend money on myself, like matching Christmas pajamas. It was a happy compromise because it still made them look very generous but kept the toys down. My MIL started buying our kids snow boots every year as a holiday gift after I asked for them, which was a huge help. Boots stuffed with a gift card, some candy, and maybe one small toy like a Hot Wheels car were a very appreciated and generous gift! You can also ask for accessories for toys you already own. Like instead of asking for a new doll, ask for a few new doll clothes for the old doll. Or a new video game for a system you already have.

[@juliequates9529]

My son wears a belt across his shoulder too. Like a true soldier. Blessings!

[@NJG85]

I love this so much! I get SO overwhelmed with all the toys and homeschooling supplies. We purchased the large clear bins from Costco but those are so big there is no where to store them- I love how your bins aren't giant and easy to manage. Those ziplock bags are brilliant! Thank you for sharing, you guys have a beautiful family! God bless you all. 💖Love from San Diego 🌴

[@A107S]

Love this. I have 3 boys (8, 6, and 2) I have been minimal with toys and doing this with my 3 boys since they were about 1 and 2. And it’s a GAME changer! You walk in and it’s not kid clutter all over. So peaceful. For bdays, we make an Amazon list of any gifts we would be ok with the grands and aunties purchasing. Most of the gifts on there are books too. ;) We do have a whole book wall because books are important to us. Keep up the good work.

[@ammyreyes1910]

❤❤That is what we do!! I put clothes on our list also besides books and educational workbooks. My baby turned 2 last month and we were bless by relatives buying from the list even her stride rite shoes I added it were gifted to us 😇

[@wiseguysfrith4688]

It took me way too long to learn that less is more when it comes to kids toys. The first 12 years of being a mother, toys were so overwhelming and caused a lot of stress - for me and my kiddos. I remember we used to have this large Rubbermaid of trains and I couldn’t figure out why the kids didn’t play with them anymore. I downsized to a small bin that was easy to take out and put away and all of a sudden they were interested in trains again. Thanks for sharing how you manage toys - it’s very inspiring!

[@shb8212]

Everyone has the problem of people buying toys for their kids😅 Me too. Luckily grandms volunteers at a thrift store so I use her as a "toy rotation". Ive definitely noticed if you keep most toys put away and bring them out only occassionally, they appreciate them much more. I keep two big bins that we rotate between slime, moon sand, kinetic sand, or whatever cool new thing ive found on pinterest!

[@sapphire965]

Just ordered the pouches! Excited to toss those bulky boxes 🎉😅

[@Dana-mb1hd]

I look forward to your videos so much -and this video comes at a perfect time for me. Thank you.❤

[@vickyfisher-bz4jj]

With regards to Lego, Lego is definitely one of those things that kids will grow with and spend loads of time with what I also recommend with. Lego is like put like a sheet or like a mattress cover sheet and you can put the Lego inside there and then when you are cleaning up, all you have to do is pick it up and just put it back. In the box. Lego is one and things that my eight-year-old still plays with is a massive fan of books. He lights play my Biel and he likes magnet tiles and arts and craft.

[@ourevergreenhome]

This has really helped me guys, I keep coming back to it! Thank you for sharing and God bless and protect you and your family always, thanks for what you do !

[@Discovering.jess.]

I love your perspective and the thought you put into your home and videos ❤

[@nataliefecht4693]

Thanks so much! This video was so helpful! I'm extremely overwhelmed by our kids' (2) toys-you have inspired me to simplify and look to create more peace!

[@lenafreeze7131]

The bags for games, and crafts etc is brilliant!!! Going put those bags in my Amazon cart right now! 🙈

[@ackreft]

I just bought it too and a label maker 😂

[@nelsonfam5342]

I have the same ice cream play set as you! My kids love it!! Love your videos! I wish I could be that organized!

[@jcimlas210]

what’s crazy is, our stuff is organized almost exactly the same way 😂 and my kids are 6,5,4,18M 🤣♥️

[@simplysojourners]

The zip lock bags for games is genius 👌

[@allthingsthroughhim3856]

Thank you, this gave me some great ideas and motivation considering I've been thinking about organizing my kids toys much more lately Ordered those mesh zip bags too.

[@mariadavisstinnett3494]

Where did you order them from??

[@allthingsthroughhim3856]

I tried copy and pasting the link to you but it's in their video description if you scroll down it says something like Mesh File Zip Bags 🙏👍

[@deborahcrr]

Dear Katie and Elisha, thank you for your channel and the great posts you make! Can I recommend you a topic for a new video? When it comes to small kids, could you kindly approach the pro-active and intentional child-trainning that you guys do (in contrast with reactive discipline in light of bad behavior) in the specific case of sibling relationships, promoting voluntary solidarity and desire to make the other sibling happy during play time and interactions (instead of bickering and self-seeking, defensive behavior)? Thanks a lot!

[@Zinbin15]

Really love the zip lock bags for games and puzzles!

[@katekatiekate]

love your channel so much! such a Godly couple and love everything both of you do!!! BLESSINGS to your family ❤️

[@irislikestosew]

I have one baby boy on the way, and a craft room that needs to be organized and created downstairs in the basement. Its so helpful to see how you have things organized! I am also hoping to not get too many toys and want to be very intentional about what gets brought in. My dogs toys all fit in a little bin, and I want to train her to pick up after herself to model this for my son lol.

[@beccaholland3602]

Thanks for posting this! Your videos always make me want to buy the get it all done club!

[@kawaiiheather5696]

I was just thinking yesterday that I need to look up if you've done any videos on toys! Gods timing 😊 as we prepare to move into a new home

[@Princess4Hvn]

Some great ideas here! Got no kiddos myself, but grew up with too much stuff, and have been concerned for the next generation having to face a similar issue. Nevertheless, it was mainly kept in the playroom or our bedrooms, so there were peaceful areas like you spoke of, and we had special toys kept aside for Sabbaths. Thanks for sharing your systems. I would be interested to know how you deal with gifts, as that is one avenue that can bring more into the home than you would like, especially around birthdays.

[@jessrawlings7532]

While watching the DITL homeschool video you just did, I thought to myself I need to see if you two have a toy organization video. First recommendation from KZbin today was this one. Look at that.

[@kendratai]

Birthdays and Christmas are just stressful now. I have 3 a little older than yours and it's just out of control. Before and after every birthday and Christmas I am going through and giving toys away. You would think by now we would have nothing, but no, we still have way too much. It's the most stressful part of my house next to clothing and we live in a small house. I've been working on pairing down to what the kids can handle but we still aren't there and we have a new baby coming and 2 birthdays all the same time

[@cassidyfrix5262]

Love these ideas! How do you go about managing the toy quantity (and quality) when it comes to others giving gifts for birthdays or Christmas?

[@biker5662]

Yessss. I, too, need to know this!!

[@nerdygrl647]

With my nieces, I would always ask my sister about getting certain gifts before purchasing them. This is mainly to make sure that they didn't already have the toy, but also to confirm that my sister is okay with that kind of toy. My mom would do the same. My sister would also give us some ideas based on what her daughters like. Being proactive can help.

[@kebvr25]

How do you manage the incoming toys that are birthday and Christmas gifts from family and friends? What kind of conversations did you have and what expectations did you set?

[@tatyana1324]

Thank you 🙏 Being a mom of eight, I do feel like my home is overtaken by toys🤦🏼‍♀️ No matter how I tell my family members to stop buying toys... they still do 🤷

[@CG-mj8tk]

We go through stuff all the time. Donate and or toss. Gifts from well meaning family as well.

[@actmrhata5079]

We have always tried not to buy junkie “baby” toys. We always buy toys that facilitate imagination and that they’ll use for a long time. The downside is that our daughter still plays with ALL her toys because she hasn’t yet outgrown them, and her room (which is the only space we have in our small house) is PACKED. Everything has a place but even cleaned up it’s kind of crazy. We go through every few months and she is VERY good about donating unused and outgrown toys, but not enough to be minimal. If just hate to force her to get rid of something she loves to play with, and she genuinely does use everything.

[@vickyfisher-bz4jj]

I think it’s really important kids do not need a lot of toys. It’s okay for kids to get bored. It’s nice for kids that you can help me with activities and doing things for kids. Do not get bored is really bad for them it’s good 77 imagination what they have, and I’ve seen this over and over time with my friends kids when they come to my house.

[@theswampstead559]

Ah I wish you went over how you deal with gifts from others. I feel like I'm drowning and relatives (especially grandmas) love to gift physical gifts.

[@saraigomez9573]

I believe she mentioned in one of her podcasts that she lets her kids play with gifted toys for about 2 or 3 weeks and then she donates it, gets rid of it. Gave the kids some time to play with them.

[@AlmostHomeChannel]

Very helpful tips! Thanks for sharing!

[@aletteanne1]

Very timely as I was just pondering arts and crafts organisation ideas today! Question - what do you do with your kids artwork when they are finished with it? Do you display it or throw it away - I find that stuff collects so fast and as much as I love my child I don't enjoy hanging it up everywhere. . . What about junk toys (their little treasures) they get from birthday parties? I tend to throw stuff quickly but there are times that has broken their little heart(s). . .have you had to navigate that?

[@AlmostHomeChannel]

We have a little “treasure box” that he can place his treasures in, but when it gets filed up we go through it and he needs to clean it out by throwing out whatever he doesn’t like anymore. Same thing with his art projects, we have a basket and once full we go through it together and he gets to keep only what he likes (most often than not he ends up throwing away most of it). A great way to teach little ones organization, prioritizing, and critical thinking!

[@carmenharbin]

My friend has all her Littles pieces spiral bound or in a 3 hole punch binder, their own scrapbook... I love this idea so much, can't wait to implement with my baby in the future ❤. Hope that helps!

[@aletteanne1]

Thanks great suggestion!

[@aletteanne1]

Love this idea thanks for sharing!

[@capturedbyannamarie]

Love this ❤. We do this too

[@christineharden5222]

Hi Katie, Thank you for sharing this. I noticed in your comments that you mention that you hope not to purchase a lot more toys. Do you have a video about how you make birthdays and Christmas special without adding a tonne of toys?

[@eijo5792]

So inspiring! What about baby toys? Do you have educational skill developing toys for your baby's like you do for the big kids?

[@paulaa6373]

Katie thank you! You’ve inspired me to organize my cluttered closets!

[@batiagabrielleeven154]

Thank you for your wonderful ideas! Im exactly in this time where i must organize my boy's (5,4,3,baby) toys and im just overwhelmed. Everything is in boxes by types but the games and smaller puzzles give me the most difficulty. I was trying to save the boxes and keep them in good shape. But what about instructions or puzzles you kind of need the picture?

[@peggydelozier8636]

you can cut out the picture of the puzzle abd put it inside the Ziploc and same thing with instructions. You can always take the picture or instructions to a ups and have them make a smaller version of it to fit inside the ziploc.

[@abigailschmidt6963]

Great video! Thank you for the tips. Do you have a link to the label maker you use? Mine keep breaking, unfortunately! Thank you!

[@TheBibleDIET]

Awesome tips ! Thanks! What do you do with the drawings and paints 🎨 ? That can accumulate and become a lot. I personally hang some on the wall and for the rest I put them aside. But would love to know what you do 😊

[@BraceletQuetzal]

Can you share outdoor toys and what kids enjoy doing outside

[@saraigomez9573]

I love this! I’m going to start decluttering and implementing your method, especially with a 4th child on the way! Where did you get that doll house and ice cream set btw?

[@nowthatimamother]

Link for the Ice cream set - amzn.to/3Jsq0Qi

[@amberatwood]

Do you have stuffed animals? My kids like stuffed animals but there are so many, how do you organize stuffed toys or dolls?

[@nctb23]

We have one chest for all stuffed animals and dolls. My kids know that if the chest gets too full they have to pick their favorites and we donate the rest.

[@saraigomez9573]

@@nctb23what about the boys with all the dinosaurs and hot wheels cars or remote control cars? My boy loves those and its so much

[@ministryformama4111]

What kind of labels do you use to label the zipper bags?

[@kathyesargent9088]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@jmljasmine]

How do you donate the game when they outgrow it if you don't have the box?

[@bethburleson6684]

you could just put it into a ziplock bag and donate!

[@valeriesearles3000]

Could you share where you bought your couch from ?

[@bethburleson6684]

I'm planning to discuss the investment of bins and pouches with my husband! this looks like a great solution for our toy closet! I've been trying to get away with using the bins that we already had to try not to be wasteful but they are just not working!

[@opulentelephant9532]

So if this is where we want to be with toys, but we have way too many toys that my three daughters play with, how do we get to where you are with less toys. I am overwhelmed every day with toy mess but I feel guilty getting rid of things that they play with.

[@aprilh5186]

Those sterility containers are much, much cheaper at Walmart.

[@elizabethshaklee8450]

Where did you get those bags that you use for your board games? I’d love to get those! It’s always bothered me how much space the boxes take up because I live in a smaller house with minimal storage.

[@nowthatimamother]

The storage bags are linked in the description under the video :)

[@elizabethshaklee8450]

Oh awesome! I somehow missed it the first time but found it. Thank you! :)

[@CG-mj8tk]

What do u do when your little one refuses to put the toys back? Asha no it’s not overwhelming. It’s just a few toys. Very age appropriate

[@mycupofcocoa1125]

Like the limit the toys so never grows out

[@aubriehale4157]

A bit creepy how it's sooo organized. Shoes all matching and labeled. Yikes uptight vibes. I would take some tips from this but overall just turned off by this video.

[@mrsvhodd15]

We have very different definitions of creepy 😋

[@sevasxtra08]

It's actually really great for kids to have organization like this/labels! And it makes it easy for the parents to tidy up and keep up with the house... Which is great for the whole family. Kids get overwhelmed by too much, so do adults. Nothing creepy about making your home work for you and keeping things functioning.