How to Create A Toy Library

When my girls were younger, their room was a mess all the time. They had SO many toys and had a really hard time remembering to pick up one thing before getting out another. I wanted to teach them this habit, so I decided to create a toy library. I can’t say they do a perfect job picking up before getting something new out now that they’re older, but it’s definitely better. We no longer use our toy library, but it was wonderful for those younger years, so I wanted to share it with you all in hopes that it might help some mama who is as desperate for a bit of organization as I was.

Why Create a Toy Library?

I know that the current trend is to just get rid of things. I can understand that to a certain extent, but with kids, their interests change so much as they grow, I prefer to keep toys around until they’ve outgrown them for sure. The Toy Library allows me to see what they’re playing with and eliminate the things that they don’t “check out” for a long while. It also helps teach kids to take care of what they have. If they don’t properly care for the toys they have checked out, they don’t get to check out more. It’s a great way to teach responsibility.

How to Create a Toy Library?

For me, the easiest way to create my toy library was to run up to Walmart and get some cheap plastic containers. Then I sorted all the toys so that each different category had its own box. Once that was done, I created a document on my computer with pictures of each type of toy. I used pictures instead of words because my girls were still so little, they weren’t reading yet. Then (and this is key!) I put all the toys out of reach. For me, that was in the attic. For you, that might be in a closet or even just in your room. You don’t want your child to be able to get out the toys on their own because you need to check their previous toys back in, insuring they’ve cleaned up satisfactorily. This way you’re habit training in the process of playing.

How Does the Toy Library Work?

The way we ran our toy library, each girl could check out one box at a time. If they wanted to play with two things at the same time (for example, the fabric box and the Barbie box so they could make clothes for their dolls), I would allow that — IF they had done a good job keeping their room clean for several days. The girls would look at the list, tell me what they wanted to play with, and I’d get it out for them. When they were ready for something else, they’d have to bring back the previous box and I’d do a room check to be sure they’d cleaned up properly.

Finally, I want to show you what our toy library checkout option sheet looked like. It was nothing fancy, but it did the job. The girls could glance at it and remember all the toys they had and hadn’t played with in a while.

As you can see, we had (and still have) quite the variety of toys. Having them put away and checked out a few at a time was a life saver! I hope this post gave you a new idea and perhaps helped move you toward a more organized, peaceful home.