It is time to get the kids working with you to regain the adult spaces, the kid spaces, and the kids’ bedrooms, especially their beds!

It has now been over a month since Christmas. Use this as an opportune time to go through the kids’ toys with them and ask them to really think about what toys they actually enjoy playing with! Make it a bit of a memory maker by pulling out the old toys and playing with them with the kids. While playing, even the kids may decide they don’t have fun with it anymore! Take a close look at what they gravitate to.

If you still have bouncy chairs, play kitchens, or even large ride on toys, think about the last time the kids played with them. Maybe it’s time to say goodbye! I remember when we got rid of our play kitchen; I think I was more sad about it than the kids! They hardly played with it, and it took up so much space!

Make your kids line up all their stuffies on their beds (if they’re not on there already!) If your kids have a particularly hard time getting rid of things, ask them to pick 3 stuffies to part with. If they’re ok to downsize their collection and are willing to pick through the collection, challenge them to get rid of half of them! If any of them are broken, toss them! Any of them tucked away to be stitched up? Toss them!

The greatest thing about decluttering toys, especially kids’ toys, is that you can actually get a bit of money back! Sell the toys on social media, sell them to used clothing and toy stores, sell them at garage sales or mom-to-mom sales, even sell them to your friends! Usually, toys are not used to the point of breaking – even the really annoying, loud, sing-a-long toys! They somehow last forever! Making them a perfect toy to sell.

This decluttering of toys doesn’t only apply to kids!

Think about your own stuff. Even as an adult, you may either be holding on to toys from your past, or you may have toys that you play with now. Lego comes to mind as a timeless toy! Do you still have any toys or stuffies you have kept since you were a child? How much meaning do they hold now? Have your kids seen them yet? Are they worth money and potentially worth the money to you more than the space they take up? Try selling them! Do you still have any memorabilia from old movies or tv shows? Are there any of these items that sit collecting dust on a shelf? Or, worse, are any of them tucked away in a box and not even on display? Maybe rethink why you’re keeping them then. Try writing a short note about the item and why you consider it a keepsake. Or take a picture and edit the photo to digitally add a note right to the picture itself!

Make sure your toys evolve as you and your kids grow

When the kids are young, in the 2-5 years old sort of age, it’s easy to end up with more toys than you can really manage. Being able to get a couple minutes out of each toy means that you might have enough time to go to the bathroom in peace, or maybe you can spend a couple minutes throwing food into a slow cooker. As the kids get older, though, having so many toys for them to pick from can make the kids overwhelmed when they decide to play. It creates too many options. Instead, holding onto just a few really fun toy sets can be a big game changer! Especially as the kids get even older and reach those pre-teen years. Most kids these days just want to spend time with their electronic devices or online games rather than play with toys.

My recommendation for older kids is to re-focus from keeping the kids busy playing on their own to creating time to play as a family. Whether that is some sort of family video game like Mario Kart, board games, or even a house-wide Nerf battle. Making memories as a family creates such a powerful bond. No longer do the kids need time to figure out their toys, you don’t need to worry as much about what they will get into while you prep dinner, and now you can, for the most part, go to the bathroom in privacy! Everything sort of shifts away from toys and no one needs to hold on to the clutter they all create.

So, make some space, sell those toys, and make some lasting memories!

Thanks for coming home!