Minimalism: How We Get Rid of Unused Children’s toys
This article follows on from a previous blog (which can be found here) where we talk about how we apply minimalism to our whole family, including our two toddlers. This extra blog is about how we streamline toys specifically as we got a fair few questions on the subject (which is great, we love questions!).
So if you are looking for a quick list, here it is:
- Toys that a broken
- Toys that are obnoxious (I hate loud flashing toys, they distract my children from creative play)
- Toys that haven’t been played with for months
- Toys that frustrate you as they get thrown around the floor, never played with and cause issues when it comes to tidying up
- Toys they fight over but then don’t play with
If you are trying to minimalise your children’s toys the last thing you need is someone telling you to go out and buy expensive Montessori wooden toys, which will only add to the issue of having too much.
Once you’ve gone through the above list then you will have a smaller pile to work from.
From that pile I chose a mix of toys that my children love and play with well; both together and individually. Some of them were open-ended toys like the railway track, Duplo, tea set, and plastic animals but some were also ‘closed’ toys like their Robin Hood or Paw Patrol toys.
The way I have found family minimalism to work best for us is to take the tips and advice of others and then apply it to our personal situation. I want my children to be happy and healthy and creative but that doesn’t mean binning all character toys (as recommended by many minimalists) as my children spend many happy hours rescuing their plastic animals with their Paw Patrol toys (and rope, torches and my kitchen implements thrown in for good luck).
So every 3-4 months I follow the above list to streamline the main pile and then we work through the rest as a family. We have a set amount of storage space, which is non-negotiable (and they know this), so that also helps us set boundaries and expectations. There are often tears (also worth noting to obviously try and pick a good day for your child to do this and not one where they are emotional or rundown) but we get there in the end.
If you have any tips to share about how you implement family minimalism in your home then we would love to hear them! Drop us a comment below.
Livvy and Summer
