Let’s talk toys.
If you are a parent, you know that toys can kind of take over your home and life if you let them. I found that out very quickly once Willow became a toddler and people started coming over all the time with every toy under the sun.
But let me just say first – I am not a minimalist by any means (though we are totally working towards a less is more approach) and I do not follow Montessori method or anything (but there is a lot that I do love about it!) However, I do find myself leaning towards toys that are wooden, practical, and challenging. That isn’t to say she doesn’t have character toys from shows/movies she loves or some plastic around the house, but I definitely have begun to monitor a bit more and am making a conscious effort to move forward in a mindful and eco-friendly direction.
This all came up when I started working on the nursery for baby girl #2. It was Willow’s old playroom and as I began cleaning, I really noticed how much stuff she had and how much she didn’t play with. Partly because it was just a jumbled mess of too much stuff and partly because it wasn’t organized in an appealing way! So I began the process of donating what did not serve her and discreetly storing what did into our living room downstairs.
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Here are some of the ways that I minimized and organized her new space:
- I tossed about 75% of plastic/blinking/overstimulating toys that were simply not being played with. With these kind of toys, I noticed that she would see it, press a couple buttons, and then move on. They do not challenge her in any way when they are blinking PRESS HERE or telling her what to do and how to do it. Plus… they are obnoxious.
- The plastic toys that I did end up keeping are ones that she tends to play with for longer periods of time (shape sorter, some puzzles, musical xylophone, Elmo game, etc.). I stored these in a large basket in a separate corner of the living room. She knows where they are if she wants them, but they are not in the main area. She has a ton of Little People figurines and cars too, but she really does love them and plays with them constantly. I do feel that those foster some creativity, too.
- Toys that I kept and find that she uses the most includes: wooden puzzles, wooden blocks, animal figures, play fruit/veggies, magnetic building tiles, bead maze, tea set, pounding bench, dress-up headbands, stuffed animals (I had to rid of a lot, but also kept more than I’d like). These toys are more challenging, promote creativity and the use of her imagination, etc. Oh, and all the books!
- I hit up a local thrift shop for some baskets to store her toys in so that she knows where things are. Tip: never buy baskets at full price because thrift stores are LOADED with them for soooo cheap and they are beautiful and unique! With the basket system, everything has a place that is easily accessible for her, which is not only great for me to clean-up at the end of the day, but is teaching her to do the same.
- To hide toys discreetly, I placed the majority of the organized baskets in our entertainment center (you can see above) so once the doors close up, you’d never know there were toys there! I also grabbed this storage unit from Ikea and have this in a separate corner of the living room holding things like blocks and such.
- I designated a kitchen cabinet to all her crafty items (crayons, paper, stickers, play-doh, kinetic sand, paint, etc), which she goes over to when she wants and I let her pick out what she needs.
- I rotate out the toys every week or so to keep things interesting.
- I let close family members who tend to buy her things frequently know of our efforts to keep things on the minimal side, so I am hoping that this will help keep us on track…
The thing is, we are not perfect and never will be. But these little efforts have added up and made our living space feel much less cluttered. When there were just brightly colored, crazy loud toys everywhere, the house just looked like a disaster. It was not only chaos to me, but to her. Kids are just like adults in the way that they will thrive in a tidy space without distractions. Now that she can focus on the toys she has, she is much more likely to sit and play independently for at least 20 minutes at a time. That has been sanity-saving alone and will definitely help once we have a newborn. Knowing she can entertain herself and play in her own little world is so beautiful. I love the just observe from a distance… it’s so sweet.
I hope that this post has inspired you in some way to minimize or make a better effort to choose toys that are engaging and challenging. I’d love to hear from other parents who have a toy system in place. Share some of your thoughts with me below or shoot me a message on Instagram.
Have a beautiful day – thanks for reading! xx bianca
