Leave Batteries out of the toys!!

Found this cool and interesting tip...

Leave the batteries out of toys to double the fun
By Ash@ Dornfe$t on fun/toys

Tracy, I don't know how long it will be till the kids are onto this, but it's brilliant.
At our house we get double duty out of our toys. When introducing a new toy we try to use it without batteries first... Then after using it that way for several weeks or months we add batteries for an almost new toy with all new experiences! This is especially good when your children are really young - it helps to develop their imagination in a world that is so "electronic crazy."

This brings back memories of my kids' loud toddler toys. The worst was an older version of the vTech Sort n' Go car (I don't know how it sounds now). We were so happy when the batteries ran out. Why we didn't take them out I'll never know.

TOYS

Found this here.

Getting Rid of Toys

"DECLUTTERING TOYS AND MORE (12/16/97)The day before you open presents is a great time to pull out toys that need to be thrown away or taken to Goodwill. W/ the new toys coming in, the kids usually don't even notice when you pull things that are broken or they don't play with anymore. If you have young children, do it the nightbefore you go to bed. W/ older children give them a grocery bag & ask them to fill it with things they don't want any more. Offer the kids $2 for the first bag they fill, and $1 for every bag after that, you'd be surprised what they might get rid of. In most homes this wouldn't be difficult at all. For some kids having them do it after they open presents might be a little easier, it just depends on the kids. And before you ship things off to Goodwill, look a little closer to home, does your church nursery need some of those toys, could the church kitchen use the appliance that you never use?? POST IT...on your calendar."

TOYS

"Turn unused wall or door space into storage with peg, Velcro, and hanging-bag systems. They can clear the floor of everything from stuffed animals to backpacks to scooters. A plastic chain is workable for children who are old enough to use the attached clips. A shoe bag can hide inside a closet door or serve as wall decoration. Affixing a Velcro strip to a wall and Velcro pieces to stuffed animals makes cleanup fun for toddlers. " (photo by Bob Hiemstra, from here)

"A Basket in Every Room Place a bin or a sturdy basket in each of the main rooms where your children play. Teach your kids to deposit their toys there when they move from one room to the next. Your nighttime cleanup ritual will be quicker and simpler as the kids will need to go to only one place in each room to retrieve the toys they've played with during the day. "

(from RDLiving)

Label, Label, Label.
"When it comes to keeping kids' rooms organized for the long haul, labels save the day! Use a computer printer to make simple graphic labels for young children. Pictures of socks, shirts, dolls or blocks help remind the child where these items belong. Enhance reading skills for older children by using large-type word labels.

Slap labels everywhere: inside and outside of drawers, on shelf edges and on the plastic shoebox storage containers that belong there, on boxes and bookcases and filing cubes. Playing "match the label" can be fun--and turns toy pickup into a game" (from here)