Toys To Ditch With Minimalism

Today I am sharing the toys to ditch with minimalism and what we ended up keeping. There are six different types of toys that we ended up decluttering. I believe less is more when it comes to toys! This is what is working for our family and I hope it will inspire you to figure out what will work for you.

Toys To Ditch With Minimalism Video:

Toys With Little Pieces

The first toy type that we decided to declutter was anything with a lot of little pieces. When I started decluttering my two boys were very young and did not pick up after themselves.

I found the amount of effort it took to clean up the tiny toys was not worth the reward.

When we had a little kitchenette I decided to limit the amount of play food. I use to think the more the better, but limiting the play food made it easier for us all to clean up.

As my boys get older and learn to pick up after themselves, I will be more open to toys with small pieces.

Let’s not punish ourselves with a whole bunch of unnecessary toys that make it harder to tidy up.

Ditch Bright and Noisy Toys

We decluttered and stopped buying all bright flashing noisy toys. Not all toys are made the same, and some of them are very annoying.

One toy that I can vividly remember decluttering (because it was so annoying) was a big police car.

The unfortunate thing about this toy was it didn’t do anything but make noise and flashlights. The doors didn’t open and it was hard to “play” with. Also, there was no off switch!

If you are looking for some simple ways to declutter check out how to easily declutter toys using only 4 rules.

Ditch Really Large Toys

As I moved along my decluttering journey I decided to ditch really large toys.

Think about the valuable space a really large toy takes up and decide if it’s worth it. I questioned every large toy we kept and tried to decide if it was worth the space it took up.

Eventually, I decluttered a large kitchenette we had in our boy’s room. It wasn’t being used enough for the valuable floor space it took up.

On a side note, we do play in our real kitchen.

My boys help me do dishes and they help me cook and set the table.

Broken or Damaged Toys

Declutter anything that is broken or damaged. Broken toys are not worth the frustration they cause.

My children always want me to fix the damaged toy and sometimes that is impossible. Decluttering these items will save everyone’s frustration.

Toys wear out quickly. I like to go through all the toys seasonally, to make sure everything is working and being used.

Age Appropriate Toys

I finally understand why they have a recommended age on toys!

When my first son was born I couldn’t wait to run out and buy all kinds of toys. I would actually buy toys for him to “grow into.”

This is a terrible idea, which I learned the hard way. Half the time I would forget what I had bought or find it after he had grown out of it.

The other half the time he would be frustrated with a toy that was too old for him.

Kids are all different and it is better to buy the toys as they need them.

This way I can shop for what my child is actually interested in. I decluttered all the non-age-appropriate toys instead of waiting for him to grow into them.

Ditch Junkie Toys

Dollar Store = No More! I decluttered all the toys that were made of flimsy plastic and amounted to a bunch of junk.

Since decluttering and becoming more minimal I know how important it is to love the items in my home.

How can I expect my kids to take care of toys that are poorly made? I have realized it is better to have fewer quality toys over a lot of junkie toys.

Toys We Kept

We decided to keep toys that required the most interaction. Toys that inspired; building, thinking, pretend play, and problem-solving.

Educational Toys

Puzzels

Games

Lego

Duplo

Cars, Trains, Airplanes

Limited amount of Stuffed Animals

Pop-up Tent

Doctor Kit