Here's a poser for you all

[Mouse]

Imagine you had only 9 storage boxes or baskets to keep all your toys in. They can be varying sizes, but none bigger than the Ikea expedit type boxes. You don't have to include dressing up or art & craft stuff in that, or big items like the farm or garage. What would be the essentials you put in them? The items in the boxes can be swapped regularly (ie. small world could be happyland one time and fisher price little people another time), so what categories would you decide on? I should add, this is for pre-school children only.

I'm thinking:

1. cars/vehicles
2. dolls and accessories
3. treasure basket
4. small world toys
5. jigsaw puzzles
6. investigation - magnifying glasses, magnets, colour paddles
7. baby toys
8. role play (kitchen stuff or tools etc)
9. shape sorters, stacking rings etc


So, over to you...

[Blueeyedminder]

I've pretty much got exactly the same except for the 'jigsaw draw' instead I have megablocks in a draw... I like to keep jigsaws separately so the pieces don't go missing!

[AgentTink]

I would most probably have a few boxes as follows:

1) building blocks/materials to create structures
2) natural products/open ended items - such as bottle tops, shells, corks, jar lids, pine cones, toilet rolls , brushes...basically everything that i collect (basically your treasure basket type box
3) Natural products x 2 - ie things i have made such as egg boxes with numbers in for counting, measuring tubes, different types of tubs to open,
4) small world toys - happy land etc which would include cars and vehicles
5) jigsaws/puzzles/games/shape sorters
6) investigation - magnifying glasses, magnets, colour paddles,
7) role play (kitchen stuff or tools etc)
8) plastic animals, habitats for the animals, etc
9) musical instruments

[bunyip]

Ah, that failed radio show "Desert Island Toy Boxes."

Mine would be thus:-

1. Stuff
2. Stuff
3. Stuff
4. Stuff
5. Stuff
6. Stuff
7. Stuff
8. Stuff
9. All the missing stuff from other stuff and loose stuff that belongs somewhere else, but I really can't be ar5ed to sort it just now.

Must get organised some day......

[munch149]

Shape sorters and stacking rings come in my baby box so I would add xonstuction of some sort to that list. Duplo, wooden blocks, sticklebricks, etc

[Mouse]

Thanks. I realised today that I was missing construction toys from the list.

I am having a mega downsize of resources and want to maximise what I offer within the minimum number of boxes.

At the moment I am very much as Bunyip describes, but much worse