Kids’ toys are something that is probably one of the biggest struggles when it comes to keeping things minimal with kids. Too soon, those tiny little clothes everywhere aren’t needed, infant car seats get outgrown, cribs get put into storage, and most of these things don’t last more than a year. Having simplified kids’ toys, or so to speak, a minimalist toy collection has so many benefits.
Why simplify kids’ toys?
When it comes to toys, there are so many different interests and stages a baby/child goes through over the years. There are holidays, birthdays, garage sale seasons, and sometimes even just going into a store…or drive-thru! Toys accumulate… they can get so overwhelming so fast, not only for the parent, but for the child as well. Did you ever ask your child to pick up a room full of so many mixed toys before? How did that go? If it’s anything like my personal experience, they either picked up a few things and gave up, or they just looked around and broke down in tears because they were so overwhelmed by the chaos, their brain couldn’t handle it all.
Is there a solution for this? Should you just constantly clean up all of the toys that your kids play with? Because, quite frankly, you are probably the ones who put them there, or at least the one who allows them to be there. Is there a solution to the overwhelm? And I get it, I am by no means perfect. Especially when it comes to nostalgia, I am a sucker for jumping on whatever my kids are interested in and scouring thrift stores or Amazon for that perfect missing puzzle piece to their play.
Things are never going to be perfect, but there are some things that have helped me keep kids’ toys at a minimum and ways to help you and your child not want to break down in tears at the sight of toys spread everywhere. But also not requiring you to have to put so much thought into rotating toys, adding and removing toys to your child’s stages of life, and trying to keep up. We have enough on our minds. Our child’s toys shouldn’t be something that we have to keep mental space for. Do you agree?
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What Is A Minimalist Toy Collection?
A minimalist toy collection isn’t getting rid of all of your fun, colorful toys to switch them out for plain, aesthetic-only toys. Yes, that may be what we want in our Pinterest-perfect vision of a playroom, but now let’s come down to reality and look at the toys our kids have and what they truly want to play with.
Minimalist toys are open-ended toys. What are open-ended toys? Open-ended toys are toys that can be used in many different ways. Not just restricted to a simple use only.
Having simplified kids’ toys means having a few core sets of toys that can grow with your children. Whether your child is 1 or 6, they can still play with the same toys. In different ways, yes. But having these types of toys already eliminates the amount of toys you have if you have multiple children, because these aren’t so age-specific.
Benefits of having a minimalist toy collection
Minimalist toy collections encourage imaginative play
Having fewer toys and having general play toys makes room for your kids’ imagination to blossom. Not having specific toys that can only be used for certain things can make your child think about all of the different ways they can use that item. You will be surprised watching your kids and seeing what they come up with. It really is so beautiful to watch them play. This is something I always didn’t take advantage of. Yes, seeing your child run around with a stick horse is cute and all. But seeing them turn a couch cushion and a dish towel into a horse and a bandana, with their Picasso Tile campfire, seeing the joy on their face as they are “riding” around the living room, just so proud of what they came up with, is so beautiful.
Reduces overwhelm
Teaching kids to pick up toys is such a good way to show them responsibility for their actions. You play with toys and make a mess; it is your responsibility to clean up the messes you have made. However, for a toddler, this can be more difficult than it should be. Having to pick up a floor full of toys and whatever else might be lying around can be intimidating for a little mind. Having only a few categories of toys can make it easier to direct, let’s say, “pick up the animals” and then once that is done, “pick up the cars,” and really it doesn’t take that long when there aren’t many things to pick up.
A good practice I’ve been teaching my kids is that they can play with one category at a time. You want to play with animals? Okay great. When you want to stop playing with animals and you want to read books, then great, but then you need to put the animals away before taking a book off the shelf, and so forth and so on. This has been so so helpful.
Helps when it comes to gifting
Everyone wants to buy kids toys, and I get it. Toys are fun, and kids get very excited when kids get toys. But when you have this character and that character, it can so easily go from joy to overwhelm, and more than likely, that Toy Story character doll won’t be liked by the kid in 6 months, he will move on and like a Cars character. Then what… You are stuck with a gift you don’t want to get rid of because a few short months ago, your child loved it so much. And what will Aunt Sally think when you declutter it?
Having a good core collection of toys is an easy way to say, “They love magnet tiles, you can get them more of those,” or “they would love more animals added to their collection”. Yes, in 6 months they may change interest in building roads with magnet tiles, but now they are using the magnet tiles to build zoos for their animals. Their interests change, but the interest in the toy is still there. Do you see how that works?
How to build a minimalist toy collection
Don’t overthink this. Don’t throw away all of your kids’ toys and buy new ones. Access your kids’ toys and use your imagination, and see what would be the core pieces for a minimalist toy collection. You know your kids better than anyone. Do what will work best for you and for them.
Getting rid of the excess can be tricky when you have older kids. Explain to them what you are doing and why. My 5 year old daughter loves giving away toys for other kids to play with.
Once you do that, then make a list of things you think would add value to your home, and then think about it. Observe when your kids play. Think, would they actually use it? Your collection might look completely different from mine.
Remember to ask. People want to get your kids toys for the holidays or from sales. Guide them on what to get. Explain to them why. If dear Aunt Sally doesn’t listen to mom’s wishes, then don’t feel bad about decluttering that Toy Story doll in 6 months that your kid hasn’t reached for after the initial excitement was over.
Our minimalist toy collection
Wooden Play Gym
This has been such a good addition to our home! After having a son and realizing how much energy they need to burn off, this is definitely one of the best purchases we made for our kids. We have this one, but I see it isn’t available anymore so here is a similar one
Magnet Tiles
We love the Picasso Tile brand. I feel like it is the best quality from the expensive Magna Tile brand. This is the pack that we got and we have 2 sets. We usually get these on Prime Days and they usually have great deals on them. My son also got this pack for Christmas.
Play Animals
Schleich is definitely our favorite brand, but we have some others as well. These are such great learning tools for your kids as well to help them learn about different animals.
Dress Up Clothes
This is the first thing kids run to when they come over. Play dates are so much fun when everyone can dress up and play. The sets that we have are these career ones, princess for girls, princess for toddler girls, cowboy vest, and of course, the hat.
Cars
We have all sorts of cars from Hot Wheels to these wooden cars, perfect for little hands. This is the car rug we have. Did I mention nostalgia? This is very similar to the one we had as kids as well.
Play Kitchen, Food, and Dishes
This one from Walmart we have been loving. It is smaller for sure but it doesn’t take up a lot of space. The kids love a lot of the Melissa and Doug food sets like this one.
Nugget Couch
Of course I didn’t spend the money on a Nugget…Good for you if you have the money to spend on one, but I also did not want to get a cheap one on Amazon that warped right away and wouldn’t withstand 3 toddlers. I found this one and it definitely exceeded expectations. I know other people who have gotten them on Amazon, and they are slouchy and just not good quality. This one is really nice. The kids will play with this for hours! Whether they are using it as a house, a couch, a horse, or an obstacle course. This is definitely a “must have” in our home 🙂 Is also makes a great toddler bed for guests as well.
Baby Dolls
My grandpa asked if my daughter had a doll. When I answered yes, he replied with “Oh good. I don’t think little girls play with dolls enough anymore. Girls need to learn how to be feminine and caring when they are little and dolls are such a great place to start when they are little. I thought about this and think it is very true in today’s world. Needless to say there will be baby dolls all around here always! I love the traditional-looking dolls like this one.
Books
Where do I start here? Books are such an important thing for kids. The amount of time my kids will spend on their bellies looking at books, just looking and listening to me read to them, is beautiful. Here is an Amazon Book List of books we love. I will link that here if you are interested.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post and that this can help you create a calm and cozy home. While avoiding the overwhelm and meltdown. This season is so short, and we deserve a clear mind to focus on this beautiful season of motherhood.
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