The Great Toy Purge

Let’s start this off by saying I’m a mixed bag when it comes to the current trend of minimalism. I love the idea in theory, and I think it is fantastic that more and more people are embracing it.  There are many areas in life where I strive to cut back on all the STUFF society seems to tell us we want or even need.  However, in other ways, I can be very materialistic and want more, more, more.  Then of course I feel guilty about wanting more when I have all I really need.  It’s a vicious cycle already, and it just increases when one has children.  All the toys.  All the clothes.  All the little doodads.  It’s endless.

Toys are my special bugaboo.  There is nothing wrong with toys, but they just aren’t a big deal on my radar. I tend to spend my money on books and cute clothes for my girls.  Toys, not so much.  I like toys, in fact I can sit down and build a Lincoln Log cabin that would knock your socks off, but so many toys are so… uninspiring.  And I feel like our family just had too many dang toys.  Which is funny because my kids don’t really have a lot of toys compared to many other children. I always feel vaguely weirded out after going to a play date at another house, because I’m simultaneously amazed and horrified at the sheer number of toys so many children have now.  Amazed because… toys can be awesome.  Horrified when I think of the clean up every day.  And…because I believe children can actually become overwhelmed by having too many toys.  In my mind, toys exist for those days when children can’t go outside.  And in S. Texas, there simply aren’t a lot of those (obviously I am speaking from the perspective of someone who has a secure backyard; those living in apartments by necessity need a different approach).

Just like every other mother on social media, I have seen the occasional flurry of blog articles talking about how they purged their children’s toys - you can read one of the most popular ones here.  I loved this idea but I had some squirmy feelings about it.  Because my kids don’t seem to have a lot of toys (by comparison), how could I sift through the ones they do have and eliminate them? 

So enter the idea of toy rotation.  I had heard some about the idea but had never known to have actually put it into practice.  However, when I attended a wonderful tot school class put on by Lone Star Signers, I learned more about it in great detail.  So I thought I would give it a try.  I purged a few toys altogether, but the rest I divided into two groups and rotated them in and out.  I think the method is fine, but I have a poor memory – what is supposed to be a 4-6 week rotation would turn into 3-4 months.  Of course the plus side is rotating day was the children were exuberant when they received their “new” toys.  It seemed to be a great idea and it worked.

But something was still bugging me.  I guess I have a philosophical issue with children having so many toys that they NEEDED to be rotated in order to have enough room for them.  Or that their level of contentment was so poor that toys needed to be fresh and new in order to warrant playtime.  And the constant mess in the room was draining us all…it seems to suck the energy out of an otherwise clean house.  My three year old has always been very good about cleaning her room and even her almost-two year old sister enjoys picking up, but the constant mess overwhelmed them.

So it was time to get hardcore about it.  A genuine toy purge, eliminating everything that didn’t fit comfortably within their room, without relying on hidden corners or precious closet space.  And oh, what a lovely peace afterwards.

What's remarkable is looking at this picture, I do not see deprived children with no toys.  It's cozy, colorful, and ready for play.  My three year old visibly relaxed when she checked out her reduced inventory.  She didn’t cry, she didn’t as for a particular toy, she just settled down and began playing with a long-time favorite. 

A toy purge may not be for everyone.  Some people like knowing they have lots of toys available for their children, and that is fine.  It's just not for us.  

My purging tended to focus on broken toys, unloved toys, obnoxious Noisemakers or Batter Eaters, or excessive duplicates (one can only have so many stuffed bunnies).  I kept anything that inspired creative play.  I should add too that this isn’t even everything they have – their books are in the main room and they have puzzles and educational toys that are on a shelf out of their reach.  These have smaller pieces, so they are taken down, used, and put away, one at a time.

It’s amazing how the energy in the entire house lifted.  One of my New Year’s resolutions was to keep the house in a relatively neat state every day (not clean…neat…important distinguishing point there) and that room was the one that was holding back that sense of organized peace.  But it’s been a week now and the room has stayed clean, the girls play happier, and mommy cleans less.

When momma is happy, everyone is happy  ;-)