Are you tired of all the toy clutter in your house? Lately, I feel like we have too much stuff, especially the kids things. Now, I know with children comes a lot of toys and equipment, but why is this necessary or become the standard? I have found some YouTube videos about living more minimalistic with kids. This is a great video and the one that helped me! click here
Let’s face it, their toys take over.
The issue
The most overwhelming was obviously the big toys. We had a train table that they never play with (they play with the trains though). We were given a swivel chair that I thought our older son would use, he doesn’t. We had a kitchen that our oldest played with, but our youngest didn’t. We had a crib (I know it’s not a toy but it was taking up space) that we won’t use anymore taking up space in the basement. I finally sold that. The youngest would dump the little toys and run or play and not them put back (I mean what kid does that anyway?!?) I was getting tired of telling them clean up your toys! I would say “If you don’t I’m donating them to kids that want and need them!” There were days they were just too tired and fell asleep and didn’t clean them up!
Some things I learned from those videos:
- Too many toys is a distraction and overwhelming!
- Kids only need a certain amount of toys. They do not need every toy.
- They need to use their imagination, so toys that foster that are great to have.
- Flashy and noisy toys do not help their brain develop. These toys tell them what to press next and so on.
- Montessori toys are best and you can do it from home- I will show you how in this blog post.
- Wooden toys are best. They last longer and are great for open ended play- imagination.
- Sensory play is very important for brain development- outdoor play is great for that!
When we moved into a bigger house two years ago, I told my oldest that the toys are going to stay in his room or in the rec room in the basement because I wanted my living room back. The toys were taking over in our townhouse. Well that backfired, they didn’t want to go play in the basement unless I went down with them. The other week, I decided enough was enough. We got rid of the train table and moved one of those cube shelf units into our youngest son’s room.
Some Montessori ideas to incorporate into your toy collection:
- wooden toys- animals, blocks,
- cash register
- play cleaning tools
- playdough
- wipe clean books or cards
- animal figures
- river rocks to play with
- beads and string
- Any Melissa and Doug toys
- trains and tracks
- sensory bin with dry beans or corn
- Books (quality over quantity) and especially Usborne (shameless plug, if you are interested, I can help you with this). They are very educational and are the UK equivalent to Scholastic but in my opinion are even better. I think Scholastic books have gone down hill since I was a kid, especially in quality.
- Art supplies: crayons, markers, water color and finger paints, colored pencils, pads of paper or construction- especially thick enough for paints
- Puzzles
- wooden musical instruments
- balls
There is one thing you may need to get over- kids do not need you to play with them. It actually hinders their development. They need to use their imagination.
If I could go back in time and redo all the toys we bought for them, I would purchase more wooden toys, none that made noise, more basic toys. That’s all they need. Think of what kids in Colonial times (sorry it’s my favorite era) had. They used their imagination and had one doll or security item. They had wooden toys. They played outside. Things were made to last! IT is just mind boggling, how many toys children own nowadays. We have toys that are made of plastic and sometimes break, especially with my boys, they can be rough. We have a lot of toys that run on batteries. I don’t know about your house, but at least in my household, it seems like we are constantly replacing AA batteries! This stems from my youngest leaving toys on and not turning them off!
So, I plan on getting these toys- priced, tagged and ready for the kids consignment sale. Come September, they will be out of my house and we can be a little bit lighter during the winter months and see what else they actually play with when they are cooped up in the house.
So what about you? Are you tired of all the mindless toys and the clutter? I challenge you to take a look at your kids items and see what they don’t play with and sell or donate them!
Have a great week!
