HOW TO FIX TOY CLUTTER (and help your kids play better!) #Minimalist Tips for Tidy Toys + Play Rooms

Questions of the day: what are some toys that you regret purchasing? What are some of your kids’ favorite toys?! 😬

As a grandma I'm starting to give consumable items or events as gifts. I sort through the toys and books I have on hand and donate or regift them.

I’m so upset that my kids bedroom got so bad that I had to YouTube how to declutter but also very much thankful that you have this video to share with us. I’m ready to get this done right before the holidays.

Your mindset on too many toys will be a blessing when you’re a grandmother so your children won’t be overloaded with toys in their home for their children

Also parents, do your stuff first! Don't just jump straight into the kids possessions. They'll see how 'easy' it is for you to clean and want the same. Otherwise they will just feel like you are picking on them, it'll make it significantly easier!

We opened a college fund for our kids that anyone can donate into so we always ask family and friends to go this route for gifts instead of toys. That helped us keep down the incoming toys

The other thing I like about when you've shared decluttering with your kids is how you phrase the question. Instead of saying, "Do you want these?" which is going to end with them saying "yes," you hold up two items and say, "Which one of these do you want to keep, because we can't keep both." I think it forces them to think about their actual favorite things, and I like that :) I'm like "ONE DAY, if I have kids, I want to remember this!" 😂

Mom of 6 here. I like to declutter toys right before Christmas. I find the kids are more willing to let go of old toys when they know there are new toys coming in. Another sanity saving tip: have your kids clean their room every day at the same time. We do it before dessert every night. No clean room, no dessert. You could use a different reward, but you get the idea. It makes such a difference! No more do I stress out about spilled lego bins... that's the kids' responsibility at clean-up time. To answer the question of the day, I regret buying too many specialty lego sets... Star Wars legos, Ninjago legos, etc. They were expensive, the kids didn't play with them much after building them, and they took up a lot of space on the closet shelf. If they got broken by a little brother, it was nearly impossible to put back together. Some of my kids favorite toys include magnatiles, nerf guns, keva structures, hot wheels, and Thomas trains and tracks.

"Me and the kids were the team against the problem." I needed that sentence so much ❤️

Toys that are obnoxious are on my Decluttering list too. ❤️😂

One tip I found helpful: start with the big toys they rarely play with: doll houses, kitchen,... i recently sorted out clothes with my seven year old. She was very helpful. I made her try on some pieces so she could see, that they do not fit anymore and she gave them away easily. Might be a good starting point too. And I found out that showing the kids how to do it by decluttering my stuff too helps very much. If mommy and daddy do it, I do it too. We still have a lot of work ahead. We try not to let in many toys. And we vote for smaller things or things to use up for presents.

One other thing which has really helped me with young kids is rotating out toys. I moved about 75% of the toys into storage bins in a locked closet, and require a different toy set be traded in to take one out. It has really helped cut down on the floor clutter, makes it easier for everyone to clean up, and the "new" toys which they just got out get me a nice bit of time where they're busy playing on their own.

For me the issue was Recipients remorse. Feeling like I need to keeps gifts from other people that we never would have bought ourselves. I have had to learned to be heartless about it. If we don't want it in our house I don't try to see if we can learn to love it. It goes straight into the donation pile.

I have such a hard time throwing away/getting rid of my kiddos toys. I need this video right now haha

I don’t have kids so apparently I don’t need to de-clutter toys, but I found those tips helpful that I can apply for getting rid of the stuff in my room!

I have to share this with you as you helped me get here! I started my declutter this month and I started with our garage. It was the biggest burden around my neck. I’m a full time working mom so it took me ALL March and a total of 17.5 hours of labor (I kept track), but I’m so happy. It’s finally done. A pile of chaos that made me anxious is now an organized and fictional space. So happy! Can’t wait to tackle my next project!

I needed this 50 years ago, Natalie.😄 Excellent job explaining how to deal with this problem. 😘

My girls are 8 and 12. They love decluttering, and we sell their toys on marketplace and they keep the money. They usually want to save it for vacation money! My 12 year old has decluttered her own room to the point where I have to check the bags she's taking out because she'll throw out anything, even if she shouldn't. She wants a clean, open, uncluttered space. Who would've thought 😂

Regret purchasing Hatchimals! My daughter really loves American Girl, and it’s truly all she needs, everything else is just clutter! Love your advice!

The MACRO CATEGORIES tip is EVERYTHING! So effective. Thanks for talking about that...it made me realize just how much time I spend “organizing” toys into their original containers/sets. We started making the switch today & I’m already noticing a difference. Always love your ideas!! 💜