Category: A Simpler Home

Wrapping paper strewn across the living room.  Cardboard, those annoying white plastic strips, bows, coffee mugs, lone Reese’s tree wrappers and fuzzy blankets.  An accurate picture of our living room after the big day.  A picture of a morning savored.  

In an ideal world, the kids play happily the rest of the waking hours as Kevin and I cuddle on the couch, drink our coffee, and sneak bites of quiche and muffins.  The quiet, slow beauty of Christmas morning is one I savor each and every year.  And every year I wish it would last a teensy bit longer.

But, it doesn’t and inevitably over the next few weeks we teeter back and forth between routine and cookies for breakfast.  Somewhere between the blurry days of Christmas and New Year’s we get in a good Christmas Toy Purge.  If you were around before Christmas, you know we did a Pre-Christmas Purge, but we always get more than we think hence the need for a good purge post-Christmas.

From experience, I think a good Christmas Toy Purge is best done the few days following Christmas.  A few reasons:

1.  Your kids are excited about new stuff and are more willing to part with old stuff.  

2.  It relieves some stress and frees up space when your home (could) look like a toy war zone.  

Let’s get to it.  Here is how we do a Christmas Toy Purge and if you’ve been following along you might notice it’s pretty similar to the Pre-Christmas Purge.

1. Motivate your people

Announce that your home looks like a toy war zone and some things need to go.  Remind your people they just received some fun things from friends and family and it’s a good time to let other things go.  This is a great opportunity to talk about how letting go of old things will bring joy to someone else.  Maybe do some research with your family to see if there is a certain organization that will take gently used toys and books.  Kids knowing where their stuff is going is a motivator.

Another way to motivate your people is to be an example. Go through your closet, kitchen, or storage area and part with some things of your own. Actions speak louder than words.

If you have older kids, another option is having them sell their gently used toys online.  I have done this a few times with my two older kids (7 and 5) and it was a big motivator for both of them.  Cash=More Motivation

When you’re telling your people about the Christmas Toy Purge, try and dangle a carrot.  What I mean is, tell them First we purge, then we ____________.  Have a movie night or pizza or take them for ice cream after the purge.  A little reward never hurt anyone.

2. Get organized

Decide how you want your Christmas Toy Purge to work.  A few options:

1. Have each child choose 10 things to donate.  Take a tote or box (not see through) into each child’s room or playroom and have them choose 10 things to put into the tote.  Anything goes (except for the new stuff, unless you’re cool with it).  This is hard, but if your child doesn’t find value in a stuffed animal you got them for their 2nd birthday, it’s okay to let it go.  A caveat to this:  If the thing has real sentimental value, put it away in a closet and decide at a later time.  Don’t let a sentimental item hold you back from completing the Christmas Toy Purge.
2. Maybe you need a big purge.  Take 30 minutes for each kid either done in a day or divided up into different days and go through their rooms and the playroom to purge unneeded and unwanted stuff.  This can be done with or without your kids. 
3. Maybe your kids aren’t old enough to purge and make decisions or maybe you know it will be a nightmare if you try.  Go through each child’s room and the playroom and do a quick declutter.  Put the items in a box in a closet and write the date.  In 3 months if no child has asked for the toys in that box, it’s okay to let them go.

3. Do it

Begin the purge.  I like to do it in a day, but if you have a lot of kids or a lot of stuff, it can be done over the course of several days.  Make it work for you and your family and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed.  Progress takes work and making your home manageable, simple, and a fun, cozy place to be requires some effort.  

There is no substitute for hard work.-Thomas Edison

4.  Celebrate

If you have something to look forward to at the end, the work is always a bit sweeter.  Reward your people with a movie night and popcorn. Or maybe you take your crew out for pizza or to the museum or for ice cream.  If you dangle the carrot (or the ice cream), they will come.  

5.  Enjoy

Enjoy your simplified spaces with less toys and less stuff.  Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.  You deserve it.

Are you in for a Christmas Toy Purge?  Tell a friend and make it a challenge with each other to see how full you can get your tote or box.  You and your home will feel lighter when you’re done.

A cold day in October I pulled out Luke’s toy cars.  We were doing a big toy purge and his cars were the reason the garbage sacks came out that day.  I was finding them everywhere: in the bathroom by the toilet, under my feet in the kitchen, under the fireplace, on shelves in the dining room.  Everywhere.  I brought all of them to the living room, the cars in his basket in his room as well as the cars in the ziplock baggie in the toy closet.  Friends, he had over 70 cars.  When I counted them out, it took me a minute to wrap my head around this number.  What five year old needs 70 cars?  (He has two hands like the rest of us.)

In five minutes we whittled his collection down to 30 cars, a number still a bit high for me, but it was progress.  We proceeded to go through the toy closet, playroom, and bedrooms, donating dress up clothes, a bunch of play food, puzzles, and other small forgotten toys.  We did a big purge that day and reduced our toy stash by almost a fourth.

And afterwards?  The scene was better than expected.  Three children playing happily with the remaining whittled down toys.  A borderline miracle.

Toy simplicity has been something I have been aware of since before I started having babies.  Although I was aware of it, I didn’t understand the weight or importance of it until I actually had some children to play with all the toys.

Kim John Payne and Lisa Ross, authors of Simplicity Parenting, write in their book: ‘A smaller, more manageable quantity of toys invites deeper play and engagement.  An avalanche of toys invites emotional disconnect and a sense of overwhelm.’

Not only can toys be overwhelming for our kids, but let’s be honest, they can be overwhelming for us.

Piles and bins and boxes of toys require organization, pick up, care, and attention.  What if we clear some of the excess and make room for the most beloved toys?  Like a capsule wardrobe, what if kids get to play with their favorites everyday?  If you are ready to do a big toy purge in your home, here is the process I use:

How to Purge (all the) Toys

1. First, be convinced that less is better. Less toys mean your child or children will be able to focus on the toys they have and will foster better engagement and deeper play.  If you need some more information check out this post here.
2. Collect all your toys in one room. If you need to do a big overhaul, don’t include the kids.  I promise you, they will profess their undying love for every. single. toy. If you include them on a big purge you will get rid of exactly 0 toys.
3. Look for three categories of toys: any toys that are broken or missing parts, toys your child has outgrown, multiples.  Begin to make two piles: donate or throw away. Look at your pile and pick out the toys that fit any of the categories above and put them in the donate or throw away pile.  This will eliminate lots of toys right away.  For you sentimental mommas, this could be hard.  Help yourself through it by thinking about another child getting value from a toy your child no longer uses.
4. Look at what you have left and ask yourself: What toys do my kids actually play with?  Are there any toys that play super loud music and make you want to pull your hair out?  Are there any toys that do ‘too much’ and break easily?  No one said you have to keep those toys forever.  It’s okay to let them go.
5. Find the space you are going to keep the toys. Give yourself a finite amount of room.  Limits are good, friends.  Put the toys in that space and make it visually appealing and uncluttered.  Box up the rest of the toys for a ‘toy library’ located in a closet, the garage, or basement.  Make sure the box is solid and not see-through so if your kids happen to catch a glimpse of it, there isn’t a massive meltdown.  Use the toy library to rotate toys every few months.
6. You did it!  Pat yourself on the back, grab your favorite drink, and put your feet up.  Invite your kids into the space and watch the magic happen.  You just created a space your kids are going to love.

For our family, owning less toys makes sense.  It makes life easier because there is less to care for and pick up.  It also allows for deeper, more meaningful play.  Luke can only fit one car in each hand anyway.  Those 70 cars he ‘owned’ weren’t bringing him joy, it was the play he engaged in creating towns and worlds with them that brought him joy.

Are you ready to do a big toy purge?  Here is a FREE PRINTABLE to help you through it.

I would love to know if you are doing a toy purge in your home!