Simplify: Decluttering Kids’ Toys — 10 Useful Tips

Image By Vanessa Bucceri

This past month we began simplifying the kids items in our home. While this process is extremely rewarding, it is not always easy. Sharing our process might be helpful to other families, so I wanted to give some pointers from what we learned. Decluttering kids areas can be done in phases, so they don’t feel forced, or feel a sense of loss for any toys.

Here are 10 easy tips:

1.Start with a discussion. I thought it was very important to be clear about our objectives and motivations. We believed, therefore, it was key to talk to our kids about the reasons we thought this was important and explain the benefits we gained as a family. We had a family meeting and asked the girls what their thoughts were about the process.

Rather than impose our views, we let them see us declutter first for weeks, so it was easy for them to see the benefits. In fact, our girls began to willingly suggest areas to declutter once we got started. Talking about this process before we began physically decluttering, was an extremely important step so our kids understood that it wasn’t about taking their things away, but giving them more time. You may want to focus on what you gain as a family, rather than on what they must give up.