Once Again, the Playroom

I just returned from a fantastic vacation in our pop-up trailer and realized, again, that our kids have too many toys (is there a mom in our country who doesn't actually do battle with the toys in her house?). So this week's project will be to re-sort and re-organize the playroom.

First, the plan, or "starting with the end in mind" as Steven Covey would have us do (and Peter Walsh, too).

What we're after:
1. A space for play that includes a system for easily cleaning up.
2. Making better use of the toys that we already own (as a former educator, I'm passionate about purchasing toys that, at least as I see it, help my kids develop their minds).
3. Reduces the amount of on-going work that I have to do.
4. Following Julie Morgenstern, is a space that can be cleaned up by anyone, in under 10 minutes (that may not be her actual time-designation, but it's my version of it).

To that end, I've made a list of the things that need doing by the end of the week.

1. Gather the toys from the four corners of the earth and group them according to type (throwing out, of course, the broken ones and the ones that are missing pieces).  Find some to donate, too.
2. Decide which ones will go into more long-term storage (this is a system that I already do, following the idea that every 6 months we switch the Lincoln Logs for the wood blocks [except I don't seem to actually get to it every 6 months]), but this time around I'm increasing the amount that is stored and making them easier for the kids to switch one toy out for another one).
3. Find boxes, on the cheap, for the long-term storage items, and for anything new.
4. Create labels for the toys and a way for the kids to swap out labels as they swap out toys.
5. Put everything back into its place, and give the room a good cleaning.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear about how YOU sort through the kids' toys. . . go ahead and leave a comment (even if it's just to let me know you stopped by).