Kids are the greatest accumulators of stuff on the planet! At the rate they grow, and thanks to the generous contributions of relatives and friends, there is an endless supply of cast-off clothes and toys as well as art projects and school work.

What do you do with it all so that your child can enjoy what she has without getting overwhelmed? Read on for some surefire methods to make order of the chaos!

Sorting toys
First get down and dirty with your child’s toys. Toys with many small pieces can create more frustration than fun for kids and parents! Using sealable sandwich bags, collect all pieces for each toy together and attach them to the larger toy.

Now that you can determine if a toy has all its parts, if this is something your child truly enjoys playing with or whether it can be donated, consigned, held on to for a sibling or passed to family and friends. If the child is old enough, you can get them involved with the process.

Continue weeding through toy boxes and bins until you’ve created piles for “keep” and “get rid of.” For the keepers, consider creating a toy library. Using large plastic bins, stow half your child’s toys away, regularly letting her “check out” a new one, swapping it for a toy from her current collection. This keeps the number of accessible playthings manageable.

In the “get rid of” pile, take anything broken or in bad condition straight to the trash. If there are gently used items your child no longer needs, pass them along to others. Donate these toys to Goodwill or another charitable organization. Or trade the toys on Zwaggle.com, a site that allows families to trade unwanted items for points that can be used to acquire other toys, books and furniture for children.

Sorting Clothes
With clothing, the situation is usually more cut and dried. Items that are too small are obvious candidates for consignment, donation or a younger sibling or family member. If you do consign on a regular basis or plan to, clean, press and hang clothing as soon as you’re done with it to save time preparing for the next sale.

Organize for ease
Toy bins or toy boxes with safety lids are a must for keeping your child’s playthings organized and easy to put away. You can sort by color (blue for dolls or action figures, red for cars or doll clothes), or label each one. Make sure all bins and boxes are easy to reach.

Getting the toys back to the bins is another matter! To make clean-up a game, set a timer and see how much your child can store before it goes off. Most kids love a challenge! Or you can get into the act and race to see who puts the most toys away in a short amount of time. Your child will learn that cleaning up can be as much fun as making a mess.

For art supplies, designate a low shelf in the living room bookcase or entertainment center or have a bin and caddy in the family room so your child can reach and store art supplies easily, encouraging your little Picasso to create whenever the mood strikes. Easy-to-get art supplies in a common area also encourage family gatherings that aren’t based around the television. Have fun with paints and pens instead!

Clothing should be stored in a closet with low-hanging rods that allow the child to reach and hang his own clothes and in easy-to-open drawers in a bureau that has been anchored to the wall for safety. Be sure to weed out seasonal clothing from closet and drawers to make it easier for your child to choose his own clothes in the morning. A clothes hamper in bedroom or bathroom to catch dirty clothes will encourage your child to put the day’s duds where they belong. Washing, folding and putting away clothing and linens can also be turned into a game, while teaching self-reliance and the satisfaction of doing family chores.

Store for the future
As your child grows, so does the number of arts and craft projects, drawings and school work. One way of organizing the work and making sure you know when it was created is to date each possible candidate for the archive and place it in a spacious plastic tub. The cleaning and organizing site FlyLady.net recommends allowing your child to pick one item as their favorite of the week. Keep that item and send the rest to the child’s grandparents or other family members so they can keep up with your child’s progress in school. At the end of each school year, go through the favorites with your child and place the most special pieces in a bankers’ box or plastic file tub with 14 file folders in it — one for each year of your child’s schooling.

For clothing, toys, books and keepsakes you can create a treasure chest in a plastic tub, chest or storage box and store favorite items. Be very particular about what goes into this collection. When your child leaves home, these treasures can go with her to her first apartment, or will always be an easy-to-find trip down memory lane at her parents’ place.

Too much stuff can be distracting, stressful, and cause real frustration for your child. But taming the torrent of your child’s belongings and work needn’t be overwhelming. Be a vigilant sorter and an encouraging organizer and you won’t believe the transformation in your home and, in some cases, your kids!