Declutter Your Kids Toys (The Best Method Ever)

I have come across a lot of different ways to declutter your kid’s toys over the past few years. Oftentimes this can be a difficult task.

Your kids are attached to their toys. They are attached to their toys even more so than we are. You may understand this if you have ever tried to declutter their toys and they start crying. They just don’t understand why you would be taking their beloved toys away from them.

However, because of the benefits of decluttering your kid’s toys, it is something that I highly recommend. It will help the state of your home and everyone’s mental health.

Your kids will play more independently. You will also have a cleaner home without having to constantly pick up toys.

It is because of these benefits that I have searched for the most unique and best way to declutter your kid’s toys.

I do think that this way works better with kids that are a bit older. I tried it with my three-year-old and it did work, but I think it will work even better when she is older.

I’m going to give you this amazingly awesome way to declutter your kid’s toys. They will even want to help you!

Then, a few tips for getting this done in the most efficient way possible.

Also, once you are done you don’t want to have bags of toys sitting around your house. You want the clutter to be gone for good, so I will give you some ideas for where you can donate toys when you are done.

get your kids to declutter their toys

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How To Get Your Kids To Declutter

Go inside their room or their playroom and have your children stand outside the room with the door closed.

Then, you are going to dump all the toys into the middle of the room.

Then, through the closed door, they are going to name all of the toys that they can remember.

It’ll almost be like a game to them. They will think it is a fun challenge to see how many toys they can remember.

Every time they name a toy, that must mean that they really enjoy that toy and that they use it often. That toy is in front of their memories.

When they name the toy, you take the toy and put it away. Put it where it belongs. If you don’t have time to do that right away, put it off to the side and find a home for it later.

Continue to go through this process until they cannot name any more of their toys. Whatever is left in the middle of the room you will put in a bag.

Don’t let them see inside the bag. These are things you are going to donate.

Your children may never even remember the toys that you put into the bag.

They can come back into the room and see all the toys they get to keep and help you get them organized.

What About Younger Children?

If you have a younger child you may need to use a different approach. I have a 3-year-old and while she was able to remember most of the toys she plays with, she didn’t remember a ton.

She did, however, name all of the toys she plays with the most, like her castle, her farm, her little people, multiple stuffed animals, and her dinosaurs.

To be honest, I could have stopped there and gotten rid of everything else. Those are the things she plays with the most. However, this would have meant taking out her whole kitchen and her blocks. I know she would have missed those things.

I decided to take a few additional steps with her to help her learn that these are just material things and there’s no need to have an attachment to them.

This is not something that is learned overnight, so I don’t follow any harsh rules with this.

Ideas For Decluttering With Young Children

You can start by talking to your child about how they have a lot of toys and you would like to give some of their toys away to kids who don’t have the opportunity to have toys.

When I talk to my daughter about this I tell her we are going to take some of your toys that you don’t want anymore and we are going to give those to some other kids.

You can help them by picking up each item in the room and asking them if they want to keep it or if you can give it to a kid who doesn’t have toys.

Most of the time my daughter says that she wants to keep it. Which is what you would expect from a three-year-old.

However, there were things that she said we could get rid of.

There were about 3 or 4 toys that she voluntarily donated.

Now since she might not quite understand the concept at this age, I put those toys in a bag and put them away where she can’t see them anymore.

I will hold onto the bag for a small amount of time before taking it to a donation center. This will give me time to see if she misses those toys.

Declutter Often

Another suggestion I have is to do this often, especially when you have young ones.

Doing this often will keep your toys down to a level you are comfortable with.

I do this before every birthday, before every Christmas, and whenever the toys are starting to drive me nuts.

Decluttering toys often helps you see and get rid of broken things and old small trinkets that you know they are not playing with.

It will also keep you from having a house overtaken by toys.

Don’t Buy Toys

Secondly, don’t buy them toys. Buy them toys for special occasions and that’s it.

This will keep your house under control. Your house will be cleaner and like I mentioned before there are a lot of benefits to kids having a smaller amount of toys.

There are studies that show that kids with fewer toys and live a more simplified lifestyle have better imaginations and learn to play independently.

Fewer toys are just better.

When You Do Buy Toys…

If You Have To Buy, Buy Open-Ended Toys

When you have to buy them toys, buy them toys that are open-ended toys. Open-ended toys are toys that grow with them, encourage them to use their imagination, and toys that have more than one use.

Here are a few examples of open-ended toys…

Magnet Tiles

Doll Houses

Sensory Sand

Additional Tips For Decluttering Kids Toys

In addition to the declutter approaches I have talked about, here are some tips to help you through the actual process.

Put all toys in the middle of the room and touch every single toy. Put each toy in a corresponding pile. It’s either…

broken and is going in the trash,
is something they don’t play with that you’re going to donate,
or it is something you know they love and is going to be kept.

When putting toys away that you are keeping it is a good idea to categorize the toys.

Putting toys away into categories will help your kids find them easier and put them away nicely.

What To Do With Toys You Want To Donate

Make sure you have a plan for what you are going to do with the toys that you are donating.

There are your popular options like a local thrift store such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. These tend to be easier to get to and are convenient.

You do have other options if that is not the route you would like to go.

You can donate toys to local churches to use in their nursery rooms or to donate to families in need.

Your local community center often knows of families in need in the area. Make sure you are donating toys that are still in good shape.

Even though they are known for taking new toys, Toys For Tots will also take used toys that are in good condition.

Then if you know yourself and that know you are not going to take the initiative to take these toys somewhere, you can arrange for a pickup.

There are a number of companies that will pick up your donation for you.

One of these companies is Vietnam Veterans for America. Scheduling a pick up with them would be great if you are working on decluttering your whole house.

You can schedule a pickup with the Salvation Army as well.

Related: How To Find Time To Declutter

Go Declutter Those Toys!

I hope you found these ideas helpful and are encouraged to get some toys out of your house.

Need More Help?

If all of this declaring is new to you and you are feeling overwhelmed by the mess in your home, I have a lot of helpful resources that will help you declutter your house. From toys to clothes, to every specific area of your home.

Below I have listed many blog post that you can read for free.

I encourage you to look at my Declutter Guide. This will take you through your whole house and help you declutter everything on your own schedule.

In addition to those resources, I have a free 3-day challenge. The challenge helps you declutter your bedroom in just 3 days.

I hope you are on your way to a clutter-free home. Thanks for stopping by. Come again soon.