How We Keep Toys From Taking Over Our Home

6 simple tips for how we've reduced the amount of toys in our home

Over four years ago, our lifestyle went through a pretty big upheaval. It was the beginning of the pandemic and consequently my husband started working from home (he’s never gone back to the office but has taken up permanent residency in a tiny corner of our bedroom).

A few months later, I cemented my decision to begin homeschooling. Like many at that time, our entire family was home together nearly 24/7— we joked that we lived in a bubble, and kind of still do today. It came with its obvious benefits but also with friction. This was our new normal.

That shift gave us the space to notice how our home actually felt when we were all doing life under the same roof. All day. Every day. That first year required us to reevaluate our habits, our rhythms, and our stuff.

And one of the biggest areas…toys.

Our kids were six months, two, and four at the time, and somehow their toys had multiplied a lot over the past 4 years since becoming parents. Baskets, bins, shelves, drawers, even my daughter’s clothing closet, had become toy storage.

It was during this time that we began our simplicity journey.

We started asking hard questions about what we actually needed to live well and what was just getting in the way of pursuing the life we really wanted to live. And when it came to the toys we owned, we realized that more wasn’t better, but likely hindering our kid’s ability towards contentment.

Since then, we’ve learned how to be much more intentional about what we own, what comes into our home, and how we store and manage toys. And now with four young kids, it’s become a system that’s become more beneficial than we’d imagined.

6 Tips To Keeping Toys from Taking Over Your Home

1. Fewer toys means less overwhelm
We noticed that the more options of toys we had out, the less focused and creative the kids played. They jumped around from toy to toy, never really settling into anything for very long. Interestingly, a study from 2017 found that toddlers played more creatively with just four toys instead of sixteen. Today, instead of having 5 options of toys to build with, we have 1-2— and the kids are so much more satisfied!

2. We watch what they return to (and find another home for the rest)
We’ve learned to pay closer attention to what our kids actually play with, than just take their word for it when we ask, “Do you still like this?” What our kids say they love isn’t always what they actually play with. So instead, we notice what gets chosen again and again and we keep those. Everything else either gets put in the attic for another season or younger sibling, or donated to a new home.

3. Toy rotation is the secret weapon
We store about half of our toys in a few large bins in the attic and swap them out every few months. When we bring those toys back out, our kids act like it’s Christmas morning all over again— every single time! We don’t need to refresh our toys with new items, just put them away for a season and pull them out when some novelty is needed. It’s the simplest way to make old things feel new again.

4. Everything needs a home
One of our most said rules is that every item has a home. When toys are in their homes, this means much less time spent searching for a lost item, less clutter in our spaces, and easier cleanup when the kids aren’t pondering where to put everything. When our organization is simple and we limit the amount of options we have available, it makes the idea of everything having a home much more doable, especially for the kids.

5. We limit toy buying to special occasions
Rather than letting toys trickle in all year long, we keep these purchases to birthdays, holidays, and three “spending days” each year — the first day of spring, summer, and fall. This builds anticipation, helps our kids make thoughtful choices rather than impulsive ones, and prevents the toy pile from getting out of control.

6. Strive for contentment
More isn’t always better— which is something our kids are learning right along with us. We talk about contentment and gratitude often, and try to model it with how we determine our needs and wants. Some of their best play happens with cardboard boxes, a pile of sticks and rocks, or made-up games with neighbors. Instead of thinking that the answer to life’s boredom is to buy something new, we encourage creativity (like making homemade movies), outside play in their mud kitchen, or being flexible with what we already own and seeing if there’s new ways we can use those items.

Why It Matters to Us

Our home is tidier and less cluttered from the build up of toys and trinkets— and I’m grateful for that. But the biggest benefit has been what happened to our kids’ attitudes and the way they play when we simplified what we own. In our home, this means more opportunities to engage in focused play, fostering greater creativity, and a surprising amount of independence.

We’ve found that simplicity isn’t about striving for a perfect, minimalist home with only a handful of toys but about making room for what matters most— and for us that’s the relationships with each other, less time tidying and sorting, and more money in our pockets to use intentionally.

Having a system of how to deal with toys is just one category that we teach ourselves and our children about building habits that reflect what we value. It’s certainly not a prescriptive method of how to best handle toys in your home, but one we’ve found a great deal of success in as we strive to live intentionally and fight against the ever-present consumerist lifestyle.

As always, thank you so much for being here! If you found this post helpful, I’d love if you liked, shared, or sent it to someone else who would be encouraged by it!