If you’re struggling with an overabundance of toys, you are certainly not alone. The average American child has way too many toys.  Many American homes have whole spaces or rooms dedicated to toys.  If you’re feeling the overwhelming mess of toys in your home, here are my Top 5 tips on how to get a handle on the whole situation.

1.       Decide where toys will live in your home and stick with it

Many homes have toys in the living room, basement, playroom, and the child’s bedroom and it becomes nearly impossible to keep track of all of these toys and to clean up properly at the end of the day, leading to stress and overwhelm.  You need to decide where the toys will live and don’t budge from that.

If you have the space to have a whole playroom in your home, Great!  But make that the only space toys are allowed- don’t let them overflow into your living room or other shared spaces. Knowing where to put the toys back will also allow your children to help clean up and will eliminate any confusion as to where something goes.

For us, our kids are 8 and 7 and they keep their toys in their bedrooms only. Our reasons for this are: they are in school most of the day and have activities some nights and on the weekends, so we no longer need an entire play space like we did when they were babies. They have way fewer toys than they used to, and the toys they do still have, they prefer to use in their own rooms. Their favorite toys are bikes & sporting gear which we keep in the garage.  We have family board games and cards which I keep in a cabinet in the living room.

When my kids were little, we did use our sunroom as a playroom because we needed something on the main floor where we could keep an eye on them while we cooked or worked. 

When deciding where to keep your toys, you should consider your child/children’s ages and need for supervision.  Don’t be afraid to make changes, as your kids grow and your lifestyle changes, you can opt to move the toys to different spaces in the home.

Just resist the temptation to make your entire home look like a toy store.

2.       Declutter the inventory

Now that you know where you are going to store the toys, it’s time to declutter the inventory.

American children own the majority of the world’s toys. I’m not sure how or when this started with the overabundance of toys. Kids get toys for holidays, and birthdays, for getting a haircut, for attending a birthday party, and even as a bribe for things like potty training. It’s too MUCH!  Kids cannot keep track of all these toys in their minds which leaves the parents to have to manage all of the inventory.

Do you as a parent have the time or bandwidth to know each and every little toy your kid has and where it’s located, I know I don’t! Living with fewer toys will actually make for happier children. There are too many options, have you ever seen a child dump an entire bin of toys on the floor and then walk away without playing with any of them? It’s because it’s too much and they are overwhelmed. With fewer options, kids are proven to play with their toys longer and be more engaged. They will learn how to share and play better with others when there are fewer options to choose from.

Here is a quick declutter list:

• Start with the Trash- broken bits, papers with scribble, dried-up art supplies, playsets with missing pieces- gather up all of the actual trash and remove it from the space.

• Decide on categories: Building Blocks, Dress-Up, Action Figures/Dolls, Art Supplies, Stuffed Animals, Board Games, Books, etc.… once you know what categories you have in the home, have your child show you their favorites in each category. These are usually the most played with items. Keep a few of each category out to play with, if you have the space and want to opt for a toy rotation, pack away some others to swap out periodically. Anything leftover, donate.

• Keep up with this: declutter often- keep an eye on when your child’s interests are changing and repeat the steps above. Kids will happily show you their favorite things over and over and it’s ok if they just do not like something that you thought they would. My boys NEVER were interested in cars, trucks, or action figures so we quickly knew to donate those items and not get them again in the future.

• Remove Donations: Once you have a solid donation pile, have it picked up or drop it off immediately. Clutter starts from delayed decisions, do not let the clutter creep back in by having it still in the home once the decision to donate it has been made.

3.       Stop the Inflow

Decluttering and simplifying is an ongoing process. It does get easier over time but things still will constantly be coming into your home. You will need to stay on top of it to not revert back to an overwhelming mess. The easiest way to do this is to stop the inflow of new stuff (as much as you can). I do not mean to stop gifts for holidays or birthdays but you can work towards getting gifts that are less material and more experience. Our kids get a good mixture of something they want, something they need, something we can use as a family, books, and experience gifts.

If you have family that is constantly dropping by with gifts, it will be awkward, but you will need to let them know what you are doing. Let them know that you are trying to simplify your life and that includes having fewer toys. You may get some pushback, but I would bet that many people would be happy to have you let them know what you need for the kids and when. Suggest that instead of coming by with a new toy, they can take the kids to the park or out for ice cream. It creates more of a bond and the memories they will make will last longer than a toy.

Another way to stop the inflow is to stop shopping with your kids, if you have kids who beg for a new toy every time you go out, stop taking them with you. If you can’t avoid it, compromise and let them know before even going in that you are only here to pickup xyz and that you will not be getting any new toys. I sometimes let the kids pick out a treat like a bag of popcorn to eat for when we watch a movie later that day. It keeps them busy and they usually do not bug me about buying anything else. We also sometimes just walk the toy aisle and I take photos of things that they “want” and we save those photos for birthday ideas

4.       Pick the right container

Many times, I’ll see families try to micro-organize the kid’s toys. I would advise against this; kids work better with broader categories. If you want the kids to help clean up then it needs to be clear where things go, you can’t expect a kid to sit and open a tiny box labeled barbie shoes and then put the shoes in there. In the same idea, you can’t expect a kid to put all of the red Lego bricks in one box and the blue in another even if it does look visually appealing, those types of systems just won’t hold up.

I like to divide the toys into broader categories, like toy food, dolls, cars, and action figures. Then use bins that they can toss the items into and tuck out of sight. Check Out my Post on My Favorite Toy Storage Solutions.

Pick storage containers that you like to look at, if you do not want to see toys at the end of the day, get a cube system with dark-colored cubes so once the toys are picked up, you can enjoy a calming space. Choosing the right container will make or break your system. It has to be easy enough for the kids to know what is located in each container, it has to be sturdy enough to hold up over time and it has to be easy to put away.

It is a bit of trial and error; you may try a system and see that it fails (like the fabric toy boxes we had when the kids were little that they just climbed on and destroyed) so you’ll have to try something else until you find what works.

Make the container the bad guy! Say, “we can keep any (insert toy) that you want as long as they fit into this container, once the container is full, we will need to sort them and get rid of some”. I like to do this for almost all of my kid’s toys, when you create a designated space then it is nearly impossible to let it overflow that space as long as you stick with it.

5.     Have a good cleanup routine

Once toy space has been established, your collection is pared down and everything that needs containing has its proper space, cleaning up should be a breeze. To make it go smoother, try to get the kids into the habit of putting something away before taking out the next thing. I thought this would never work until I realized it is exactly what they do in pre-school so why not copy it at home!

Make it fun to clean up. Set a timer and see if they can get everything cleaned up before it goes off, kids love a challenge, and they actually love having a routine and helping out. Once this becomes part of the day-to-day process, you should get a lot less pushback and a lot more cooperation.

Good Luck! Happy Tidying