Best Toy Organization Ideas after Christmas: 7 Easy Steps to Declutter
If you are stressing about all the clutter to come after Christmas because of the avalanche of toys, read on! Here is a step-by-step plan you can use to organize the toys after Christmas (with decluttering tips BEFORE Christmas, to ease your anxiety!). Budget-friendly, smart, and practical!
Taming the Christmas Chaos and Clutter
We are on the countdown to Christmas over here (less than 2 weeks – AND, they are on break this Friday. As in December 17. C’mon, man!!!). As I’m anticipating the new toys my sons will receive (also that I’m clued into what Santa is bringing, right?), I’m already starting to twitch. Where in the world are we going to put all this new stuff that comes in over the holiday season? I know Christmas is so much fun, but it can feel a tad bit overwhelming when you think of the material overload that is likely to come.
In order to ease my anxiety, I’m doing a little planning and preparing now, before Christmas morning arrives and we are literally overrun with stuff.
How to Organize the Toys after Christmas (Pre & Post Steps)
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As I’ve been giving it some thought, here is my game plan to tackle this in a way that will hopefully make everyone happy. This is my step-by-step process that I’ll be using to organize and make room for the new toys after Christmas. I’m sharing my favorite tips with you in hopes that you can avoid some chaos as well.
What to Do Before Christmas
1| Do a pre-emptive clean-out of old toys and declutter before Christmas.
I’m actually planning to do this in 2 phases – with the kids and without them. Before I let them pick what they want to keep, I’m going to go through their stuff and take out toys that are broken, have missing pieces, and ones they’ve definitely outgrown.
One of my sons is VERY attached to his things (we call him a hoarder, lol. #funnynotfunny), so I want to let him make the final decision on items that are questionable, that there are definite possibilities of him wanting to play with them again.
Warning from experience: During this process, toys they haven’t touched all year will suddenly become their favorite toys again. The key to succeeding in this tenuous game is to frame it in a way that he or she has given this toy so much love and it’s brought him/her so much joy – now it’s time to let another child love it and be brought the same joy. It may take coercion, but hopefully you can get them to loosen their sticky little fingers.
That being said, for certain, I’ll be purging toys that I know they definitely won’t want along with the broken toys. I’m going to get rid of those beforehand, which saves a lot of time and potential drama.
Some people like to wait until after Christmas to do this clean-out, but personally, I like to do it before new things arrive.
2| Decide what to do with the unwanted toys.
Trash
Obviously, trashy toys go in the trash. If it’s broken and unplay-with-able for your kids, it will be the same for other kids so you can skip donating those. However, if there are toys they’ve just outgrown but are still in good condition, you have a few options for those items.
Sell
If you or your kid are the entrepreneurial types, you can sell them on Facebook Marketplace, Mercari or in a yard sale. We are not, lol. That is way too much work for me. But if you like to get a little bang for your buck, I’ll certainly cheer you on! Some kids really love the idea of making money from their old toys – not only to buy more for themselves, but to give it to a good cause.
Donate
We definitely prefer to donate. Many non-profit organizations have toy drives. Stores and other drop-off areas have boxes for toy donations to low-income families as well (another reason I vote for cleaning out before Christmas). The local Salvation Army or Catholic Charities typically offer Christmas assistance and will take toy donations. Even a thrift store is a perfectly acceptable option.
Either way, getting children’s toys out and giving them new homes with other families is a great way to teach your kids about the spirit of giving as well.
3| Prepare the area for new toys & get necessary storage containers.
Make Space
As the keeper of your home, you probably have a good idea of what kind of space you have available in addition to knowing most of the new toys that will be coming in. This is where you want to rearrange furniture, clear space, and think of creative ways to make additional space.
Organize What You Already Have
It also helps to begin to group like toys into categories and keep them together: action figures, trucks, dolls, Legos, board games, building blocks, etc. All of these items will need homes in addition to the new, incoming toys. And some of these categories may be growing so they may need a new space.
Take Inventory and Purchase What You Need
Hopefully, you have some extra room now that you’ve purged some of the baby toys or other toy clutter. Take inventory of what you have – both in available space and toys that may need new homes – and brainstorm what you need to keep it clutter-free once the new Christmas gifts arrive.
You may find that you need new or different types of storage for your new and improved space. Ideally, you’ll want to make some of those purchases ahead of time, so you’re ready.
You can think in terms of a typical storage bin or other kinds of plastic bins or small containers you can even get from the dollar store. New items with many or tiny pieces work well in those kinds of containers. And if you’re really type A, break out the label maker and start making those labels!
If you’re like me and still have little kids, my boys love to play in the living room, and so many of their Christmas presents stay there all year long (Case in point: Last year, they got a HUGE Hot Wheels Super Ultimate Gorilla Garage that stayed out there ALL year). I get it. They don’t like to be in a room away from us; they want to play where we are (and I’m going to soak that up for as long as they’ll do it!).
If that’s the case and your kids still like to play in the living room, you’ll want to utilize some ‘prettier’ storage containers – decorative baskets or bins, trunks, anything that can camouflage with your decor.
You also want to think of ease of access – what toys do you want them to be able to get and put away themselves and which child’s toys need to be out of reach, that come out only when you get them?
4| Think Creativity for Extra Storage
If you are tight on space, or you just feel overwhelmed with where all of the toys, new and old, will go, there are spaces and storage items you may not have even thought of.
Think about including some of these in your toy storage system: hanging baskets from the ceiling, hooks on the doors and in the closet, under the bed, wall shelving, cube storage cabinets, shoe or clothing racks, closet organizers. All of those items work wonderfully to give you more space to work with, without adding clutter.
I added these fabric bins to my cube cabinet so I could hide toys in the living room, where my boys love to play!
If all of this has made you think about possibly redoing or updating our playroom, here’s a post with lots of budget-friendly ideas for a playroom!
As far as what you can organize before Christmas, all of the above pretty much maxes out your options. However, once Christmas Day rolls around, here’s how you can stay on top of the clutter until the toys find their new homes, out from under the Christmas tree.
What to Do on Christmas Day and After
5| Get rid of whatever boxes you can.
Once all the wrapping paper has been thrown out, you might be left with a lot of boxes. I recommend unboxing what you can (Barbies, etc).
Obviously, there are things you’ll want to keep in the box, like puzzles and games, if that keeps the pieces more organized. I also recommend hanging onto boxes of items that may break quickly – such as electronics or things with fragile parts, in case they need to be returned.
But getting rid of a large box or unnecessary clothes boxes, etc., early in the game helps. That small step will immediately make your home feel tidier.
6| Slowly move toys out of the living room into their new homes.
As I mentioned in the story above about the Gorilla Garage, this is easier said than done. I usually let the toys camp out under the tree through the new year until the end of Christmas break. By that time, I can figure out which toys we should store in the living room (neatly) for easy access in large bins or low shelves and which ones can be placed in an organized playroom or bedroom.
As you notice their enthusiasm for a certain toy waning, you can surreptitiously move it to its new, predetermined home. Or, once they go back to school, you can also do this without drama (or having to be sneaky).
7| Rotate toys in and out of use.
If you feel like your kids have gotten so much stuff that your entire house has turned into one enormous play area, take a few toys out of the mix, store them in a closet, and bring different toys into the rotation when your kids need some new ways to be engaged. It will seem like new gifts all throughout the next year.
This works better with younger children, as the older kids will probably be on to the jig and want to hang onto their stuff, but this is a great way to cut down on the immediate clutter and bring new life to playtime throughout the year.
If You Want to Reduce and Avoid the Toy Clutter
I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a minimalist (though sometimes I wish I were, lol), but one way to ‘organize’ the toys is to not have them. By that, I mean, maybe opt for a different kind of gift altogether.
Experience Gifts
One way to do this is to give your kids an experience type-gift – such as movie tickets, zoo or theme park passes, or a special trip to one of your favorite places or one that you’ve always wanted to take together. This is the perfect opportunity to make time for these amazing memory-making experiences. Not to mention, this is a great gift idea for older children who might not be into toys so much.
Less stuff = less to organize = less clutter
Gift Cards
Gift cards are also another way to reduce Christmas clutter. The kids can pick the toys they really want, eliminating toys that they are just ambivalent about – ones that were chosen for them but maybe they wouldn’t have chosen themselves. Ones they are just sort of ‘meh’ about.
Experience gifts and gift cards will reduce the need for following the above steps in an intensive way. Speaking honestly, these two ideas might actually be the best way to stay organized all year, as a lifestyle.
Storage Resources – Cheap Toy Organization Ideas
This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosures for details.
Here are some options for storage that are budget-friendly and that you can get delivered quickly! (Thank you, Amazon!) Click the link to browse!
Hanging Baskets (so many pretty options to choose from here – for the ceiling and wall!)
Handing the Christmas Chaos Like a Pro
In spite of our best laid plans, the Christmas season often snowballs into this out-of-control thing, when we don’t mean it to. I’m there with you, sister. And Christmas shopping and gift-giving seem to always take on a life of its own. We love our kids. We want to see them happy. And while we know that possessions don’t buy true happiness, many of these toys provide not only a great time but many learning experiences as well as developmental skills. They have their place.
There’s no guilt here, but I understand the conundrum of how toys take over. The idea is that we are prepared ahead of time so this doesn’t turn into an avalanche of stuff we just can’t get clear of. You can let the kids have their things AND be organized about it as well. These gifts are great things when they are managed in the right way.
Whatever it takes for you to create a special Christmas for your family and retain your sanity – my friend, do that. The important thing is that you are together, creating memories, and remembering the most important and special gift of the ages: our sweet Jesus’ birth.
Organizing, Decluttering, and Home Refresh Resources
If you’re on an organizing kick for the new year or wanting to refresh on some spaces in your home so they function better for your family, check out these posts!
21 Free Printables to Help You Organize Your Life & Home
7 Easy Decluttering Baby Steps When You Don’t Know Where to Start
EASY Family Room | Living Room Makeover Ideas on a Budget
15 Genius Ways to Update & Refresh Your Kitchen on a Budget
Did any of these ideas work for you? Thoughts? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below!
Toy organization is something I just accepted would never happen in my house. But, your ideas are incredible. I tried out your tips and it’s like I have a whole new house.
I am so, so happy to hear this, Tiffany! Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m so glad you found something that worked for you! 🙂