How to Declutter Toys
/Let’s declutter some toys!
As a Professional Organizer in Calgary, Alberta I am often hired to help busy families organize playrooms and children’s toys. With the ease of today’s world of simply clicking a button on our phone and having an item on our doorstep within days we can often become overwhelmed with stuff - and children’s toys are no exception!
Many exhausted parents call me saying “I’m just so overwhelmed!” “There’s too much stuff” “we don’t have the space for all these toys!”
Here are my top 5 tips on how to efficiently declutter children’s toys and feel like your home is still yours and not a children’s play place!
One in, One out Rule
This is a simple and easy rule to follow! When your child gets a new toy they need to donate an existing toy that is the same in size comparison. Don’t get fooled by those sneaky little minds! If they get a large remote control car then they need to donate a large Tonka truck that they no longer play with, not a small Hot Wheels truck. Keep a donation bin in your storage area or garage. The toy goes into that bin and once it’s full you can place all the items in a blue donation bag to be dropped off at local charities. This also provides a great teaching opportunity to discuss giving back to others and helping your community with your children.
Recycle Puzzles with Missing Pieces
These are great for crafts or framed art! Many church organizations or daycares will accept puzzles with missing pieces. Have a puzzle of your own that you could use? click here for puzzle craft ideas
Let’s Purge
As parents we know which toys our children are playing with daily and weekly. Simply grab yourself a donation bag and start purging! First step is to get rid toys your children have outgrown. Still have fabric baby books and your youngest is 3? Time to let that go! If you plan to have more children store your favourites in a tote to store away (make sure you label it so it makes it easier when the next child arrives. ie: 6-12 month toys) If that XBOX controller no longer works you can drop off for electronic recycling at Best Buy. Pro Tip - Don’t save purged toys from the fall for that garage sale you are thinking of having in the spring. Get rid of them now, don’t purge toys only to store them as clutter in your garage for 6 months
Less is More
Studies show that children only play with 21% of their toys (ie: 11-20 toys) so why do they have to many?! When children have less toys they tend to be more engaged with a single toy and feel less overwhelmed. For example, have you noticed that the second you tidy or organize their toys they dig right in and start creative play? Our initial gut instinct as a parent is “NO! I JUST organized that!” but to our children they are thinking “wow I feel so much better and look at these toys I forgot I had because I couldn’t’ find them before!”
Sort into Categories
Our go-to organizational method for organizing toys is to create categories:
Action Figures
Adventure (flashlights, fort sticks, bug collection kit, etc.)
Dolls
Barbies/Playmobil
Cars & Balls
LEGO/Blocks
Kitchen/Cooking
Video Games
Musical Toys….and so forth
By organizing the toys based on the type of play helps make clean up quick and easy but also helps you see how many items you have per category. Ie: does your child play with all 45 Barbies or can we get those down to only 20 dolls that are favourites?
If you stumble upon nostalgic toys or keepsakes or toys from your childhood that your children don’t play with consider creating a Toy Keepsake Bin where you can hold onto those cherished items…but try to keep it to one bin!
