Is your home overflowing with toys already?  Are you or your child's caregiver constantly picking up toys that seem to lie here, there and everywhere in the house?  Are you getting more and more injuries from tripping over toys? Or do you wonder what sort of toys to buy for your child, what is good and what is not?

Throughout your child's first few years, you will be faced with the challenge of buying toys, and managing the mess they make at home.  It is also a challenge on your bank account, unless you are really very rich.  As in everything in parenthood, different people tackle the issues of toys management differently.  I will share with you how we tackle toys epidemic at home.  As a homemaker with no domestic helper, toy management is an issue close to my heart.  I cannot say that I am an authority on this subject, but I can share with you a few principles I adhere by, some of my convictions on this subject and some of the things that I do to keep myself sane.

Basically, toys management can be sub-divided into buying toys, keeping toys, and discarding toys. 

Buying Toys

I don't profess to have any expert opinion on the type of toys to buy or not buy.  This is pure sharing of what I do at home.  If it helps you, I am happy.  If not, do whatever you are comfortable with!

Firstly, I seldom buy toys for Dominic.  Then, when do I buy toys for him, you may wonder?  When I know that that's the toy I want him to have.  This means that I must have a certain conviction that it is a good toy, or at least, it is something I don't mind him having.  Hardly do I buy toys when I am held hostage by his whining and crying at the toys department.

One guideline that I try to adhere to is this: Dominic has two toy boxes bought from IKEA.  On top of that, he has a little boy's table with storage capacity underneath.  The guideline is that he shall not have more toys than these three containers can contain.  When the toys start overflowing, I will do a housekeeping and either keep/give away some of the toys that he has outgrown, or discard some of the damaged or meaningless ones (like toys from MacDonald's Happy Meals).  Of course, big toys like his tricycle and cooking stove that cannot fit any of these containers are not counted within the quota.

Update :
Now with more than 1 child, naturally, 2 toy boxes will not be enough for all their toys, especially when I cannot retire baby toys.  The toys terrority has expanded but the principle remains the same - we try to contain the amount of toys by containing the space toys can take up in our house.