I have two rain gutter shelves of books that the kids can reach, with two above that they cannot reach, each shelf has probably 10 books on it and I rotate those as I get sick of reading them.

Cars I keep in 2 separate holders under the changing table and they have to ask to get them out.

Play food I limit if it gets out of hand or put in the “freezer” section that my 1 year olds cannot reach but everyone else can still access.

Some things that have a lot, or in some cases small pieces are in the closet and they have to ask for them. Things like our smaller dollhouse, wooden blocks, Lincoln logs.. etc

I think the mistake is in cleaning everything up all when it’s time to transition rather than cleaning up as you go along. If you see a child playing with something or if I child dumps a bucket of something out they are told they must pick it up before they move on to another area. My 3 year olds are great, my stubborn 2 year old needs some reminders and hand over hand help to start the task at times. My 18 month old picks up what is told but gets distracted and my 14 month needs to see others helping to join in or to put a toy in his hand and tell him or show him where it goes but they are all capable of cleaning up after themselves to an extent. I rarely help with cleaning.

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