I cannot be alone in having a pet peeve of watching my kids open a new toy to see it comes with an unnecessary amount of little plastic accessories that within 1-2 hours will never be seen again. They are lost forever in my home hiding somewhere with a bunch of single socks. When our kids have toys with missing pieces, they often lose interest in playing with them and the toy is relegated to junk and demoted to the bottom of the toy chest. Eventually we throw it out after a long period of nothing.
There are several issues at play here.
- Unnecessary toy pieces ending up in the landfill and add to the cost of the toy
- More items that take up storage space
- Visual clutter as we all know that a toy with little pieces will not stay scattered in one room alone
Our kids are no better off for these items existing. Play was not more engaging or fun beyond the first day.
Less can be more. Fewer can be better. My vision is to see our homes filled with fewer toys that do more. When a toy can really earn its place in the home and be engaging for kids of varying ages, we can have less toys. Less toys mean less clutter, and who doesn’t want a life with less clutter?
Looking at clutter makes my brain feel cluttered. Looking at a nice clean room makes my brain feel calm. But it is not realistic to have a perfectly tidy home with young kids. So by opting for fewer toys that do more for our kids, we can not only provide our kids with more engaging toys, but also achieve reduced anxiety and overwhelm for ourselves.
If you are interested in decluttering your toy stash and trying to figure out what to keep, here are some ideas from the minimal mom.
- Sara