By TMoM Team Member Anna Keller
If you’re a parent of young kids, here’s a reality: There are going to be a lot of new toys in your house VERY soon!
Last year, in preparation for that influx of new things, I had my then-5.5-year-old daughter help me with some toy decluttering. It went so well, she asked if we could make it a tradition, and she and I are already looking forward to doing it again this year before Christmas.
In case this is something you’d like to try out in your home, too, I thought I’d share a bit about the approach we used!
First of all, I’m a huge fan of decluttering in general. I try to keep our kids’ playroom more pared down rather than stuffed to the gills. This is a constant task, by the way, and it means we keep a lot of toys in the attic at all times to give the playroom breathing room.
It’s truly amazing to watch our kids (who are 6 and 2) enter the playroom after I’ve spent time clearing toys out of it. They immediately and intuitively play longer, more cooperatively, and with toys they haven’t played with in a while. Plus, there’s much less complaining when it comes time to clean up, because there’s less stuff in the room in general and everything has a place, too.
I’ve seen the effects of decluttering in my own life (and the mental and physical benefits it brings), and I find it fascinating to watch my children have the same response to a less crowded space.
So that was my mindset going into toy decluttering last December.
I got out two big bins – one for things to keep, one for things to donate – and I decided I was going to let my daughter, Maggie, take the lead. SHE got to make all the decisions about what stayed and what went. (That was hard in a couple of situations when I realized I had some sentimentality attached to a toy, but I still let her make the final call on everything. I wanted her to have ownership over this process.)
We methodically went through toys in both the kids’ playroom and in Maggie’s room and she made decisions (mostly quick ones, by the way) about the toys one by one. Before long, we had to get out a second bin to house the items to donate, and I think we ended up with three donation bins in total.
Our next step was to find a place to donate these toys. I wanted Maggie to be part of the donating, too – to see where these toys would go to have a second life and be enjoyed by other kids. I found a great organization that helps families, and Maggie and I were able to donate the toys in person together. It was neat seeing Maggie realize that her toys were going to be a meaningful addition to other kids’ lives.
Right after donating those toys, Maggie asked if we could be sure to do this again in future years. I’m so happy to make this an ongoing annual event at our house.
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