What does a good play space need? If you spend a lot of time on social media, you might think it needs all sorts of trendy toys, but the answer is actually very simple, and it's not expensive. We want to create an environment that facilitates play – one which allows your child to freely access the resources they need and want without any fuss or difficulty. As a parent, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that buying the next ‘thing’ will make your child happier or encourage them to play more independently. Believe it or not though, the problem is often that our children are already overwhelmed by choice. Their bedrooms or playrooms are stacked with boxes, baskets and bins overflowing with resources which they still like but rarely use. If this sounds like you, before starting our system, I recommend a declutter.

Like adults, children enjoy calm, inviting spaces. By investing a small amount of time in curating their play space, you will see a huge return in engagement. So where do you start? If you have a bit of time on your hands, Go for a proper sort out. Sift through the mounds of toys and thin them down to the ones currently being played with. The space will be much clearer and your child will find a renewed interest in their toys. If you don't have a lot of time, then try the following: instead of trying to declutter by choosing what to discard, pick out up to ten things which you know your child does enjoy and leave these out. For the moment, put the rest of the toys into a box or bag and stash them in a cupboard, on top of your wardrobe or under the bed. You can sort through these later when you have time.

Now I know what you are thinking . . . “Sure, I can spend all that time organising, but as soon as the kids start playing, it will be undone!” The good news is that when you genuinely organise everything so that it has a home, you will be surprised at how quickly you can get your space looking tidy again after a play session. With no dithering over where to put things, tidying is much faster. I have been asked many times by people who have seen our playroom, “How does it stay so neat?” The answer is, of course, that it doesn’t! In fact, it looks like a small tornado has just passed through it DAILY (sometimes twice daily and sometimes not that small). A play space needs to have a messy-tidy cycle. A room which must stay pristine won’t invite play, but a constantly messy space is hard to play in too. The trick is to regularly whip round and reset it. To smooth this process along, we have a four step system. I first used this in my classroom when teaching, then in my own setting, and it has since worked a treat in our home.

1 Sort everything properly by category. Dinosaurs go with dinosaurs, trains go with trains and so on. Nothing is muddled up and it is clear what is in each drawer, bag or box. There are some inexpensive ways to get your toys sorted and keep them that way. One of my favourite simple fixes is to bag them up. You can buy cheap, plastic mesh zipped bags around A4 size and they work a treat for categorising small toys, within larger drawers or boxes.

2 Label everything. By labelling, you are committing to the system and making it so that you are not the only person who knows where things go, facilitating the children (and your partner, if you have one) to help tidy up. Yes, really. I have had children as young as one who are able to put objects back where they belong with the help of a pictorial label. You don’t need to buy trendy stickers for this. In fact, often they are less effective, as they are harder for little ones to read. We keep it simple and just use a photo of the contents with clear writing underneath. Like anything, they will take a little training at first, but before long it will become second nature, and dare I say it,even a game to put everything back in the right box. 3 The ‘bit box’. I got this idea from the fantastic Nursery where I did my teacher training, and it is an invaluable cog in the machine. What is a bit box? It’s a catch all for those little bits which you can’t quite find the place for right now, but will be able to later. In my experience, random bits and pieces tend to accrue in jumbled areas (the kitchen work top, sideboard, one end of the dining table). You know what I mean, a few pens, a stray bouncy ball, some hair clips and a Lego man in a pile. By having a ‘bit box’, when you are trying to have a quick tidy up, but can’t find the rest of the puzzle for that stray piece on the floor, you have somewhere to put it and the temptation to leave it to be absorbed into the house is gone! The key to the bit box is to empty it regularly, otherwise it becomes a vessel for odds and ends, rather like the drawer everyone has with batteries, string and old baby medicine syringes (just me?).

4 Toy rotation. Now for the really magic bit. Have you heard of toy rotation? If not, it’s about to become your best friend. When we talk about toy rotation, we just mean switching out some of the toys which are available regularly. This keeps the area clear of clutter and means that toys don’t go ‘stale’. You do not need to do this with every resource. In fact, it pays to have some ‘evergreen’ toys which stay out all the time. Having certain resources available for longer periods allows for sustained play, letting children build on their ideas over the course of a few days or even weeks. However, renewing a selection of less-frequented toys will help to keep play fresh. When we talked about having a sort out earlier, we mentioned putting some toys away to avoid overwhelm. Once you have done this, watch your children as they play. You may notice that some of the toys which you left out haven’t been played with. Having the extra resources stashed away means that as and when your child’s interests change, you can try swapping some of these back into your play space. When they come back out it feels like having something new and exciting, but without the need to buy anything. You might be surprised at the enthusiasm your little one has for these toys which haven’t seen any play for a while. Hurrah!

Alongside this system, always involve your children in the upkeep of their play space. Having pride in our environment and taking care of belongings is a key life skill. By getting your child on board, you are setting them up from the start. Your child’s first girlfriend, boyfriend or university housemates will thank you for it and you won’t have that frazzled “Why is it always me?” feeling, as you pick up the toys for the thousandth time. Wins all round!