OMG, all the toys!
Is anyone else overwhelmed by all the toys?
The holidays are quickly approaching and I’m starting to sweat about the soon-to-be inundation of kids’ toys that seems to go hand-in-hand with Christmas. It feels like no matter how hard you try, more and more and more and more kid stuff accumulates. Are they replicating on their own?!
It’s become clear to me, having two kiddos, that too much of a good thing is just too much. I remember one Christmas that we went completely overboard and the kids were crying by the end and not wanting to open another bleepety-bleepin present (I’m sure they would have said that if they knew how to ;-). They didn’t care what was in the box, there was no way they were going to open another one. I don’t know what we were thinking, let alone where we were planning on storing all the stuff.
It was after that miserable gift experience that I started to rethink how I looked at gift giving. Why was I over-gifting? Was it about the kids or me? Organizing can be a hard/good lesson in self-reflection. But that’s a blog post for another day.
In everyday life, kiddos get overwhelmed with too many distractions. Heck, adults get overwhelmed with too many distractions. We organize and put things away to minimize this and allow ourselves to be calm, to focus on the important things.
So, how do we solve this toy-accumulation problem?
Just say “No”
Without getting too deep into the psychology of organizing, tell yourself that it’s ok not to get your kiddos all the things on their Christmas list. If nothing else, ask yourself where all of it will go if it does make it’s way into the house. Do you have room for all the stuff? Are you going to be adding to an already giant pile of toys that never gets put away?
And if you have a friend or family member that notoriously gives your kids tons of stuff, think about kindly telling them about your new toy philosophy of less-is-more.
It can be so fun opening all the gifts, but “experiences” are also amazing gifts and don’t take up any room. Spread the word that your kiddo would rather take a trip to the zoo or amusement park than get another toy they won’t play with in a month.
Start a Family Donation Tradition
How about starting a “donation” tradition with your kiddos? Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to bring the kids’ attention to giving back to the community. Something that always gets my kids is reminding them of other kiddos that may not have a stuffed animal to love, like they do. My kids start thinking about how hard it must be to not have something they love. It makes it a whole lot easier to go through the toys, stuffed animals, games, and really reflect on if it’s something they use or if it’s something that another kiddo could love and appreciate more.
Sorting through toys BEFORE Christmas makes room for all the new items that will come in.
Age Appropriate Toys?
As my oldest is entering the tween/teen phase, I heard her say the most amazing thing ever - “I think I want to get rid of some of my stuff, Mom.” Wait, what?!! This is the child that I secretly fear is a hoarder. Are my organizing dreams coming true, are my tendencies rubbing off on her?!
Maybe, maybe not. But at least she’s come to the realization that a lot of the stuff in her room is no longer what a tween/teen plays with or even wants around. I’ve put a bunch of paper bags by her door (I’m not allowed to help), and she slowly fills them with items she wants to give away. It’s a good/sad day seeing the Barbies pile up in the bag and no longer on the floor.
If your kiddo is not at this stage yet, you can still help them go through their toys and talk about how other kiddos may enjoy the items more. This can be exceptionally hard, as most kids want to keep every piece of paper for as long as they live. If this is the case for you, my rule of thumb is to go through their items on your own. Put them in a bag that then goes to the garage for a couple of weeks. If no one mentions the missing toys, off they go to the donation site! I have been very grateful for the “garage holding period” when my kids asked about a certain missing toy that I then had to dig out and bring back inside. Dodged a bullet there.
Try these strategies out and watch your toy clutter start to disappear! And if you need a little extra help, schedule a free phone consultation with Sleek Home Solutions.
“Life can be crazy, messy and chaotic. Your home doesn’t have to be.” -Natalia Chappelow