Hi Charity,
One tip that has worked well for us (we live in a very small urban home with 2-year old twins who are home all day with an au pair) is to sort the toys differently into smaller boxes or areas. We decided to sort them not by type but by function -- what they would teach the kids to do. If we sorted all the dolls together, then they'd be bored of all the dolls and they'd be strewn across the whole living room. If we sorted the toys by function, and then made them put all the toys back into the box before getting out a new box, it keeps them much better occupied and they don't get bored with the very small selection of toys we have the room to store. If it helps, here's how we sorted: 1 box for coloring - sheets of paper, crayons, pencils and erasers, small etch-a-sketch, some chalkboard cloth and chalk, etc. 1 box for "contingency toys" that teach them cause and effect: things that beep when you press buttons, etc. 1 box for imagination play: sunglasses, fabric flowers, ribbons, toy cars, small dolls, hats, paper bags, etc. 1 box for musical instruments and CDs. 1 box for fine motor toys: dressy bessie, peg board, etc. 1 box for gross motor: big balls for kicking and throwing, a sock puppet that we use when we chase them as tickle monster, etc. and a final "melt down" box that contains whatever works to calm them down when they are throwing a tantrum (currently a bubbles box -- a big clear, closed container that makes bubbles when they shake it, some clear plastic packing bubbles and bubbles for them to blow, of course.) This is separate from things like books and teddy bears, which have separate areas. Sorry for the long post but this organizational system for toddler toys really helped us reclaim the adult areas and helped our au pair keep them happy and occupied. Sometimes she ends up cycling through a box every 20 minutes, but each time they get the box off the shelf they play with different things in it and it keeps them happy! Best of luck to you!
