About a year ago, I got fed up. I have 3 young children — 7 months, 2 1/2, and 4 1/2. Over the past two years as we moved and renovated our home, I experienced much trial and error related to kid spaces and kid stuff. Because boy, there can be so.much.stuff. Last fall, I hit a wall. No more hoards of mini plastic animals! No more repetitive, battery-operated noises! No more mountains of half-used craft supplies stuffed in cabinets! No more shelves crammed with never-read books! Something had to give. So I went on a pregnant-mama purge (aka serious) and got rid of/gave away over half of our kids’ toys and books. 😳

Ok, then what did we keep? During The Great Purge, I came across this brilliant post on Toy Minimalism. It was such a huge help! Lacey shares her similar experience becoming overwhelmed by all her daughter’s stuff and embarks on a purge (also while pregnant - ha!). She outlines some helpful criteria for what to keep and what to get rid of or give away. Here is my criteria, based on her initiative:

Keep: Favorite things, Toys that invite imaginative play, Toys that develop fine and gross motor skills, Art supplies. Living books.

Discard: Unloved, unused, or broken toys, Multiples of the same toy, Noisy and/or plastic toys, Character toys, Electronic toys (except for an old iPod that we use for traveling).

The idea of less stuff resonated with me, thus this idea of “toy minimalism.” But over the past year this criteria for our children’s toys has narrowed even further, adopting many aspects of Waldorf and Montessori-driven philosophies. I received an email from Sarah Baldwin at Bella Luna Toys outlining what sets their company apart. Sarah says that before adding a product to their website, she asks herself the following questions:

Is it beautiful?
Is it safe?
Is it eco-friendly?
Was it ethically made?
Would I have used it in my classroom?
Would I have given this to my own children?

Check out that first line!! Yaaaassssss. Finally someone gets me! 😂 This is what I had been missing for 3.5 years while buying things for my children. I curate a limited aesthetic for our home and even for my wardrobe, but for some reason I had not been applying my same standards to our children’s things. Children deserve well-made, beautiful things, too! They deserve toys that spark imaginations, pique curiosity, and endure their tough love. And if the toy is made of natural, sustainable, safe materials, then that’s even better.

This is really hard, though, right? Our children receive hand-me-downs and thoughtful gifts, and it can be painful to say no or get rid of things. So I have found it best to just take it slow. Start with one category or one problem area and purge there. Take your time building back in quality, specific items as you come across them or have the budget. (I have found most “new to us” curated toys and books at second-hand and thrift stores!)

During this purge, I also started rotating toys. You are probably familiar with toy rotation from the Montessori educational philosophy. I am no Montessori expert, but you can read more about it, specifically related to toys here. Basically, I arrange our playroom zones and shelves so that each space has a specific, small number of toys. For example, we have a crazy amount of play food. My kids LOVE playing tea party, picnic, restaurant, etc, so I didn’t want to get rid of our nice wooden play food and kitchen toys. But if everything was available at once, things just got dumped or shoved into bags or baskets and not played with properly. Toy rotation has pretty much solved that problem! I will rotate toys in and out seasonally, or sometimes my daughter will ask where a specific toy is and I will get it out for her then.

Do you know what else happened? My kids now play independently for long periods of time with less toys and less things. They role play together frequently. They create elaborate imaginative worlds daily. Do they still fight and bicker and yell and disobey and misuse their things sometimes? Yes, of course! But I have noticed a HUGE difference in how well and how long they can play.

Also a disclaimer — we still have plastic toys in our home! We have a few Disney princesses and character related books. There is no perfect formula! I offer these thoughts and suggestions hoping to inspire you to reduce clutter and noise in your homes. So don’t stress! This process takes time. Give yourself lots of grace.

Wishing you a smooth and cozy beginning of autumn! Happy Fall, y’all!