5 Super Simple Ways to Minimize Your Kids Toys without Stealing Their Joy

Are you overwhelmed by toy clutter? I was too. I felt like I lived in a toy store that was constantly destroyed by little minions on a daily basis. Toys were everywhere.

I knew that my kids didn’t play with all of the toys, but every time I tried to encourage them to get rid of toys something happened. They would get sad because they didn’t want to get rid of them, I would feel bad, and nothing would change.

I soon realized something though. I’m not a happy mom when I’m surrounded by clutter. I too often yell and lose my temper when toys are everywhere. I knew something had to change.

I set out on a mission to rid my home of the unused and unloved toys. These are the 5 super simple steps I took to encourage my kids to minimize their toys without stealing their joy.

I said to them,

#1 - “It will take you less time to clean up your toys.”

This one can be a huge motivator for kids. How many times has cleaning up toys been a huge cause of tension in your home? I know it has been in ours. Before clearing out a good portion of our toys, my kids would melt down when it was time to clean up.

They were completely overwhelmed by the mess and didn’t have any idea where to begin. And honestly, I couldn’t blame them. I am in my late 20s and often become overwhelmed by large messes. I couldn’t imagine what my 5 year old was experiencing. When I mentioned that clean up would be easier, he instantly brightened up. Less toys=less mess. This can be a huge motivator for kids.

#2 - “Mommy will be happier and won’t yell as much.”

Raise your hand if you’ve ever yelled because of the toy mess. Both of my hands are raised because I’ve done it way too many times to count. I was constantly stressed by toys be strewn about everyone, but yet it didn’t seem like my kids were actually doing a whole lot of playing. They would dump out everything we had in the matter of minutes and then not really know what to do next.

I yelled because I was overwhelmed and I they didn’t play nearly as much because they just didn’t really know what to do. The amount of toys was just too much. I was very encouraging to my 5 year old that if he would work on finding some toys to get rid of, then I would work on not yelling as much.

#3 - “What are your 3 favorite toys (or toy sets)?”

By encouraging our kids to pick out what they really love, it gives them the freedom to acknowledge what they don’t. I’m not about to tell my children to get rid of all of their favorite possessions. But it is important for them to be able to distinguish between what they really love and what they don’t.

After I asked this question, I found a few things that I knew he didn’t really play with anymore and asked him, “Since you really love those 3 things and you don’t often play with this, could we give it away?” My son’s favorite toys are Legos, Superheroes, cars, and dart guns. (Yes, he picked four! That’s okay. If they really love them, let them keep them!) We did keep a few other things that he grabs for once every few days like basic wooden blocks, bristle blocks, and dinosaurs. However, everything else that was rarely played with left.

#4 - “We are going to give some of these toys to other boys and girls who don’t have any to play with.”

We’ve tried to encourage our children to have giving hearts. I believe it’s very important for my children to know that they are very blessed, but not everyone around them has the same blessings. I think it’s good for our kids to learn to be a blessing to others and one of the best ways is to teach them to give away their own possessions.

#5 - “We are going to give you a lot more room to play!”

We are very blessed to have a small room off of our kitchen that we use as a playroom. I realize not everyone has a playroom, but this idea can definitely be applied to your kids even if they keep their toys in their bedrooms.

By clearing out some of the toys, children will inevitably have more space to move and play. This was a very big motivator for my kids because I think they were just so overwhelmed by the amount of toys all over the floor on a daily basis. Yes, my kids still scatter their toys. But even if all of the Duplo blocks are dumped on the floor, we still have plenty of room to walk. This didn’t used to be the case. My kids now love to have so much room to play.

Do I think each of these ideas will work with every child? Probably not. But I’m sure if you try them, at least a few will help you and your child to clear the toy clutter.

It’s very important that we teach our children to let go of things that they no longer love. Teaching children to value people and relationships over things is a lesson that will last them a lifetime. Materialism and consumerism is surrounding us at every turn. Let’s be the generation to change that.

How do you encourage your kids to minimize their toys?