2407: 3 Toy-Purging Rules for Less Pickup and More Play by Rose Lounsbury on Decluttering with Kids

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[00:00:30] This is Optimal Relationships Daily. 3 Toy-Purging Rules for Less Pickup and More Play by Rose Lounsbury of roselounsbury.com

[00:00:42] Toys used to feel like the Achilles heel of my house, and I know I'm not alone. When my kids were toddlers, I often found myself having conversations like this with other moms.

[00:00:52] Me? How was Ella's birthday? Other mom? Great, but OMG, she got so much stuff. There's nowhere to put it all. It's driving me nuts.

[00:01:04] Me? I feel you, sister.

[00:01:06] And we go on like that for a while, bemoaning the Legos, Barbies, and Tonka trucks that had staked their claims in our living rooms. Yet, rarely in all this kvetching did we actually discuss a solution for the problem.

[00:01:19] I think most parents have resigned themselves, albeit grudgingly, to the fact that toys will rule their households while those households contain young children.

[00:01:28] I say, it does not have to be so. I'd like to share with you three tried-and-true toy purging rules that will result in less pickup and more play in your household. Sound good? Listen on.

[00:01:42] Rule number one. Purge like the devil is on your heels.

[00:01:47] Okay, I don't know why the devil would be on your heels while you purge toys, but it just sounds dramatic and sometimes we need a little drama to get moving.

[00:01:56] This is especially easy if you have young kids under age four who won't notice if half their matchbox collection disappears one day.

[00:02:05] Take advantage of those oblivious youngsters and purge while they're sleeping.

[00:02:08] When I started minimizing way back in 2012, I immediately purged about one-third of my kids' toy collection, and it felt great.

[00:02:18] Some questions to ask your children's toys as you purge would be...

[00:02:23] One. Do my kids play with you? And by play, I mean regularly engage with for extended periods of time.

[00:02:30] Occasionally dumping Mr. Potato Head out of his container and leaving him on the floor does not constitute play.

[00:02:37] Be picky here.

[00:02:38] Two. Do you foster educational or imaginative play?

[00:02:43] The teacher in me comes out on this one.

[00:02:45] I give more leeway to educational toys, like books, wooden puzzles, instruments, alphabet blocks, etc.,

[00:02:52] and those that encourage imagination, like dress-up clothes, play dishes and food, puppets, etc.,

[00:02:58] than toys of the light-up variety.

[00:03:01] Three. Have my children outgrown you?

[00:03:04] Two. Be honest. Are you keeping toys designed to hang on infant car seats when your kids haven't seen an infant car seat in over a year?

[00:03:12] Four. Are you part of a herd?

[00:03:15] Meaning, are you one of 35 plastic farm animals?

[00:03:19] One matchbox car among a thousand?

[00:03:21] If you have a herd, aim to cull it to a reasonable number with which your kids can actually play.

[00:03:28] Alternatively, divide the herd.

[00:03:30] Set a reasonable number out for play and put the rest in a storage location to be rotated in every few months.

[00:03:37] Five. Are you missing something important?

[00:03:40] Ditch the puzzle that doesn't have all the pieces and the train with the missing hitch.

[00:03:45] Save your precious space for toys that are fully functional.

[00:03:49] Rule number two. Set limits.

[00:03:52] This can be hard to do, but I've found that simply limiting the space available for toys helps.

[00:03:58] For example, my daughter used to love dress-up clothes.

[00:04:01] I used to put all her dress-up clothes in a large plastic tub.

[00:04:05] The tub presented several problems.

[00:04:08] First, my boys recognized it as the perfect platform for climbing onto the furniture.

[00:04:12] Second, the kids greatly enjoyed dumping all of the clothes out of the tub in order to climb inside of it.

[00:04:19] Third, I was picking unworn dress-up clothes off the floor.

[00:04:23] All. Day. Long.

[00:04:25] I needed another tactic.

[00:04:26] So, I sorted out the favorite dress-up items and put them in a small basket.

[00:04:30] I placed this basket on a toy shelf so the kids can easily access it for play and cleanup.

[00:04:36] I put the rest of the dress-up clothes in attic storage to rotate in every few months.

[00:04:41] My kids were just fine with about one-third of their original dress-up options,

[00:04:46] and I was no longer spending significant portions of my day returning errant tutus to a tub.

[00:04:51] Bliss.

[00:04:53] Rule number three. Less is more.

[00:04:56] Yes, it's a cliche, but cliches exist for a reason.

[00:05:00] They're often true.

[00:05:01] I challenge you.

[00:05:03] Set out less toys than you think your kids will actually play with.

[00:05:07] Offer what you consider a paltry number of playthings, and watch what happens.

[00:05:12] You will be amazed.

[00:05:14] First, your kids probably won't care that there aren't copious amounts of plastic dinosaurs and board books about.

[00:05:20] Second, and I promise you this, they will get more creative.

[00:05:24] Pictured in this post is my son, Reese, seven years ago at the sweet age of two.

[00:05:28] Be still my heart.

[00:05:30] Pushing small plastic balls around the floor with a wooden spoon.

[00:05:34] We'd had these balls in the toy box forever, but they had always been buried under mountains of stuffed animals and blinky toys.

[00:05:41] When I purged the excess, he discovered them anew, and they became part of his new favorite game.

[00:05:47] It also helped that the floor was no longer constantly covered with toys so he was able to play games like this.

[00:05:53] I hope this post encourages you to purge those toys so you and your kids have less pickup and more play.

[00:06:01] To your toy purging success.

[00:06:07] You just listened to the post titled,

[00:06:09] Three Toy Purging Rules for Less Pickup and More Play,

[00:06:13] by Rose Lounsbury of roselounsbury.com.

[00:06:18] And thank you so much to Rose for a great post to actually get parents moving on making changes

[00:06:24] rather than just talking about it, as she alluded to in the beginning.

[00:06:26] And her bit of humor certainly didn't hurt either.

[00:06:29] Though there are definitely some exceptions as kids get older,

[00:06:32] she is right in that children are adaptable enough to make do with fewer toys.

[00:06:37] As a matter of fact, making these changes when children are young, like she said,

[00:06:40] especially around age two, like her son Reese was when she started moving things away,

[00:06:45] it helps kids to grow up expecting less and being more creative and equally happy with less.

[00:06:51] While the comparison to other children with more toys may challenge them a bit as they get older,

[00:06:56] they're more likely to meet these feelings with grace and appreciation if,

[00:07:00] from before they're old enough to even gauge what is and isn't a lot of toys,

[00:07:04] they've had nothing but fun and imaginative experiences with the amount of toys they have had.

[00:07:10] Not to mention some lessons about not comparing oneself and maintaining gratitude could help

[00:07:15] a lot in that department too.

[00:07:17] And now folks, it is that sad time where we wrap up the episode for today.

[00:07:21] I thank you so much for being here and listening through the end,

[00:07:24] and I will see you again over the weekend where your optimal life awaits.