Are you tired of stepping on toys all over your floor? SAME.
Reducing toy clutter isn’t just about keeping your house clean. Too many toys can actually affect your child’s ability to have fun while playing and even their development.
A recent study from the University of Toledo in Ohio found that kids with too many toys get distracted too easily and miss out on quality playtime.
They will play with each toy longer and more creatively when they have fewer choices.
Kids will even take better care of their toys if they know they have fewer options if they break it.
Here’s how to reduce those mountains of plastic pieces and stuffed animals cluttering up your home.
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Getting Rid of Old Toy Clutter:
1. Keep only quality toys
Be selective about the toys you choose to keep in your house.
First go through and get rid of any toys your kids have outgrown or broken.
Do you have puzzles with missing pieces? Throw them out. You’ll never find them. Dolls with broken arms? Toss.
Your 4 year old does not need toys intended for babies under a year old. Give them to a new mom.
Plastic toys from McDonald’s. You don’t need to keep them. Your kid won’t play with them 30 minutes after they finish their food.
Pro tip from my sister: Give all of your Happy Meal toys to doctor’s or dentist’s offices for their treasure chests. My sister works at an eye clinic and I give her all of our McDonald’s toys to give to kids when they finish their appointment.
Keep the toys that stimulate your child’s imagination and social skills rather than providing mostly passive entertainment.
And you can keep the toys they really seem to enjoy playing with. You can usually tell when they like a toy because they keep leaving it on the living room floor after you’ve put it away 30 times.
2. Wait until Bedtime to Declutter
It’s great if your kid is ready to participate in the decluttering process, but until then you might have to do it yourself. Otherwise, they can just be a hindrance.
Your child will probably not even notice they’re missing a stuffed animal that was in the bottom of their closet for over a year.
3. Rotate Your Toy Collection
One strategy I use is to keep only some of my daughter’s toys out at any time, and I keep the rest stored in boxes around the house.
We keep some toys in her closet, in my closet, under all of the beds, hidden behind the couch, in the tv stand.
Everything seems new each time you switch out the toys from their hiding place.
Just make sure to put some toys that were out back into storage or you’ll have another clutter problem. And occasionally go through each storage bin to get rid of old toys.
4. Keep Favorite Toys Out in Designated Spots
Arrange toys in an order that makes sense in small stations.
Your child will spend more time playing and less time dumping bins out onto the floor to check what’s on the bottom.
Keep cars and tracks together in a small station. Have a small bin or area for dolls or their dollhouse.
Anything they play with on a regular basis like maybe their PJ Masks toys can be kept in a separate box or area where they can find it.
I keep Toot’s Peppa Pig Toys in a Peppa backpack in a cubby under the TV where she can easily grab it because they’re her favorites.
5. Ask Your Child To Help with a Garage Sale
How can you motivate a child to thin out their toys on their own? Ask for their help selling the toys online or at a garage sale.
Give them some of the money you make or put the money towards an outing or something new that they want.
It’s hard to tell when a kid is old enough to understand how a garage sale works.
I remember giving my mom my favorite doll to sell and then regretting it after it was sold. I just thought it was fun to sell stuff. I didn’t realize I wouldn’t get it back.
Make sure you explain it in terms they an understand and the consequences of selling stuff. (e.g. they won’t get it back.)
If they’re under 3 years old, I would probably just say do it yourself and not ask for their input.
6. Swap toys with friends
Consider setting up a toy exchange with your friends who have kids or at your child’s school.
Box up toys you’re getting rid of and give them away permanently or temporarily.
You can trade toys with a friend for a bit or just let your friends take when they think their kid would like. And they might have toys your child will like.
If you trade toy for toy, you’ll still have the same amount of toys but it will be a NEW toy (at least to your kid.) And that makes it a better toy.
7. Donate to charities
Decluttering can also teach your child about giving.
We give our toys to Goodwill but there might be other charities in your area that take used toys.
Check with churches or shelters to see if they need used toys.
Preventing New Toy Clutter:
1. Plan for Birthdays and Holidays
Birthdays and holidays could undo all your hard work.
I know. I get really excited about buying my daughter gifts.
Find out what your child wants most. Make a short list and stick to it.
Don’t buy little toys that are just going to make a mess and your child won’t care about them after a week.
And can we talk about party favors? No one wants that crap. Just say no to party favors.
2. Advise the grandparents
Do you have well-meaning family and friends who add to the mess?
Let them know that you’re trying to reduce your toy clutter.
Ask them to buy experience gifts or send them an Amazon Wish List with things your child actually wants.
Sometimes people will give your child toys they don’t actually care about like from a show they don’t watch or something they aren’t interested in.
You can get around that by telling family and friends exactly what your child will like.
3. Test it out
It’s easier to say goodbye to a video game or science kit when your child knows it’s just visiting.
You can check out toys from your library. Yeah, they have toys! And you can just play with them there if you don’t want to bring them home.
Local place centers that have toy areas are great to test out toys too.
You can subscribe to monthly toy rental services online like Toy Library. You can choose two toys per month to play with and if you like them you can keep them.
4. Give experiences
Instead of buying new toys, give your child an experience.
Take your little one to a Paw Patrol concert or a horse farm or zoo to celebrate birthdays.
Give your child a class for Christmas. Dance, gymnastics, or music classes are really popular. Probably because kids like them so much.
5. Encourage reading
Giving your child a love for reading may be the most wonderful gift of all.
Books take up less space and are more easily manageable than toys. They’re flat and there are entire pieces of furniture dedicated to housing them.
Just make sure you occasionally declutter your kid’s books too.
A library card takes up very little space. And the books you borrow can be taken back.
How do you declutter toys that are taking over your house?
Let me know in the comments below!
Cutting down on incoming toys and thinning out your child’s current inventory will help your child to engage in more constructive and creative play.
Your whole family will also enjoy a tidier home and less stress. And it might just keep you sane.
Jackie says
Everytime we put toys away that he no longer plays with, a few months later he always asks where that toy is. Its crazy!
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Kids sometimes have really good memories. My daughter will ask where a toy is that she had when she was a year old and I’m like “uhh we gave that to a friend for their baby.”