The Benefits of Decluttering Toys – Part 2

How To Declutter Your Toys

Step 1: Watch and reflect on your children’s play habits.

Watch your kids play for a week to get a sense of what they enjoy. Make notes of which toys are most frequently enjoyed and which toys they play with for the longest period. Look to see which toys are being entirely ignored. Have those toys been outgrown? Do they need new batteries? Are they broken? Are they missing pieces? Evaluate the toys so that you understand the real reason they are no longer being used.

Here are some questions to consider as you watch your children play:

What toys are played with in different ways by both boys and girls, and kids of different ages?

What toys stimulate creative and/or imaginative play? 

Which toys encourage physical activity?

What toys does your child play with independently for significant periods?

What toys does your child quickly move on from, or hardly play with? 

Which toys does your child truly love?

Step 2: Sort your toys.

Sort your toys by category. Having everything visible in one space makes it much easier to pick out the favorite toys and the ones that add value. It is also, as Marie Kondo explains, important to make the pile so that you see the number of things you own. Think about excess. A dozen stuffed animals in different rooms around your house may not seem like a lot, but a pile in the middle of the room will show you the enormity of what you own. Then, gather all the toys of a specific category in one room. If you have a lot of toys or just want to divide them, tackle one category at a time.

Here are the major categories of toys:

Baby toys: play mats, stacking toys, pull toys, sensory toys (musical, light-up, textured, etc.), bouncers and walkers, rattles and teethers, soft books, etc.

Dolls and stuffed animals: Barbies, baby dolls, doll accessories, and plush toys

Building toys: blocks, LEGOs, Lincoln Logs, Duplos, K’nex, Zoobs, magnet tiles, etc.

Creating toys: art and craft supplies, jewelry-making kits

Imaginative toys: play kitchen, doctor’s kit, costumes, puppets, etc.

Transportation toys: Cars, trucks, trains, toy garages, racing tracks, etc.

Figurines: action figures, superheroes, Playmobil, etc.

Games: board games, card games, puzzles, video games, etc.

Active toys: bats, balls, ride or push toys, bikes, scooters, trampoline, etc.

Musical instruments

Step 3: Declutter one category at a time.

Now, it’s time to let go. Here are the steps to take to make this project easy for you:

Grab a few supplies. You’ll need 4-5 trash bags or cardboard boxes, a couple of old rags (one damp, one dry), and a small hand vacuum to clean empty drawers and shelving as you go. Labeling the piles with sticky notes will help keep things organized.

Designate separate areas for trash, and toys to recycle, donate, sell, and keep.

Set a timer. This will help keep things moving and keep you from spending too much time dwelling on one toy. Go back to those questions you reflected on previously to help you differentiate open-ended toys from closed-ended toys and identify toys that add value to your child’s life.

Set some boundaries. Boundaries not only help you declutter, but they also help keep toy collections manageable in size. You can set boundaries by limiting the number of something or designating a certain amount of space for the collection. An example of this might be limiting your Matchbox collection to 25 cars and trucks or designating one storage bin for LEGOs.

Separate the favorites. Regardless of whether it’s an open-ended or closed-ended toy, if your child truly loves and plays well with it often, keep it. At least for now. Then you can pass it on to someone else once your child has lost interest in it or outgrown it. 

Declutter duplicates, broken toys, toys with missing pieces, and toys that have been outgrown. They are quick to identify and the easiest to let go of because they no longer serve you or your kids. Starting with these will give you an instant sense of accomplishment and help you build momentum.

Reference your boundaries often. Let the boundaries you set guide your decision-making as you declutter. Keep only the most loved toys that will fit within those boundaries and trust that they will be enough. And remember, the research shows kids play longer and more creatively with fewer toys.

Step 4: Organize and arrange.

Toys that you are keeping and want your kids to play with should be easily accessible and visible. If we want kids to play with their toys, they need to be able to see and access them easily.

Embrace small bins. Organize small toys and toys with lots of pieces (i.e. Matchbox cars, magnet tiles, LEGOs) in small, individual bins to keep like-toys together. 

Curate a few mini toy collections. Arrange 5-10 toys individually on a shelf close to the action. Kids play where their people are — so keep a small selection of toys in each of the main areas of the home. 

Store the rest and rotate. Put the rest away and rotate your toys every few weeks, or whenever you sense your kids might need a change.

When toys are carefully curated and arranged with care, you’ll find your kids are more likely to value, care for, and clean them up themselves.

Step 5: Get rid of your unwanted toys.

The last step to decluttering your toys is to remove them from your home. I recommend doing this while you’ve got momentum — within a few days or so. Here are several options for toys you want to remove from your home: 

Donate: Donate toys in good condition to a local shelter, hospital, resell charity, church, preschool or nursery.

Sell: You can sell gently used toys online or at yard sales.

Recycle: Consider recycling whatever you don’t donate or sell. Most plastic toys are hard to recycle. If a toy has a recycling code, do a search and you might find someone who will accept it, although this is rare.

How to keep the toys decluttered once you’re finished.

Now that you’ve decluttered the toys, create a plan to maintain them.

Identify the source of toy clutter. Take a good, long look at the source of most of your toy clutter. How did all those toys get into your home in the first place? Did you or your spouse/partner buy them? Were they gifts, or hand-me-downs from friends?

Change the way you buy and receive. The only way to keep toy clutter from accumulating again is to change your buying habits and let others know your intentions.

Think before you buy. Resist making impulse purchases and discuss potential toy purchases with the rest of the family.

Learn how to say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Politely decline boxes of hand-me-down toys from friends and family.

Embrace experience gifts. Ask friends and family to give experiences or to donate to the kids’ education funds.

Curate new toys with intention. Having more open-ended toys will foster longer, more creative, imaginative, and independent play. Of course, there will be closed-ended toys your kids want, maybe even need. And some are great! However, the key to getting more enjoyment from fewer toys is having the majority be open-ended toys. Resist impulse purchases and the urge to buy more of something your kid is into just because it keeps them occupied. Let them get every ounce of enjoyment they can from the toys they already have. 

Implement a one-in, one-out (or two-out!) policy. For every new toy, have your child select one or two they no longer play with to donate, sell, or recycle. Preferably before they get their hands on the new one. We did that when our kids were small and it worked very well at keeping toy clutter under control.