Are your kids’ toys taking over your home? When the stress from toy clutter starts to take away from the fun, it’s time to teach your children how to pare down their collection and tidy mindfully.
With your help, here are five steps to help your children get their toys in order:
- Do an inventory check. Ask them to bring out ALL of their toys. Seeing how much they have will help them recognize they already have more than enough. Next, sort toys by type (soft toys, plastic toys, games, puzzles, etc.) before making any decisions.
- Edit each group of toys by ranking which ones they love to play with most. Compare similar toys to reduce. Remove broken or less played with toys. Be sure to ask questions that allow your children to express what they love about the ones they’re keeping and why they are letting go of others.
- Teaching them to be grateful for the previously enjoyed toys, then involve your children in responsibly donating, giving away, or discarding/recycling properly will give them a sense of closure.
- With the remaining toys they’re keeping, decide the best locations to store them properly for easy access and put them back. Practice being respectful of the amount of space they have. If there’s not enough room, they may need to rearrange or edit some more.
- Repeating this process every few months will educate you and your children on which toys they genuinely enjoy. Regular editing and mindful purchases will prevent future clutter from accumulating.
It’s always more effective to involve children in the decision-making and actively involved in every step of the process. It will help them understand better what they love to play with, what “enough” looks like, feel a sense of ownership and pride in taking care of their things, and appreciate your trust in them to take on this responsibility.