“We need a bigger home because we’re outgrowing our space!”
Sound familiar?
If those words have come out of your mouth recently, you probably feel like your home is busting at the seams!
Of course every circumstance is different, but chances are, a few boundaries and a little rearranging could make you feel less like your stuff is letting you live with it, and more like you are living with your stuff.
How do I know? Because I’ve spent the last four years living in a teeny, tiny home.
1 bedroom.
1 bathroom.
3 people.
740 square feet.
It’s been a blast living in this little loft but I’ve learned some valuable lessons over the past few years. If you’re living in a small home (or just feel like you need a bigger home) you might enjoy a few tid-bits found in my Small Spaces series!
Today we’re going to talk about kids….and all their stuff!!
Whether you live in a mansion or a shack, you probably know that kids can have a LOT of toys! Every holiday, birthday, and even a trip for a kid’s meal will bring new toys in the home. Sometimes you don’t even know where the toys come from; they just seem to appear out of thin air!
When living in a small space, you have to be intentional with every single thing you bring inside. That includes toys! To limit the amount of toys and prevent them from taking over the house my husband and I came up with a few guidelines that you may want to consider.
Keep a running list of needs.
People are going to ask what your kids need or want for holidays, birthdays, etc. so you might as well be prepared. Our family created a “wish list” blog for our son so we can update it with pictures and links as we find things he might need. Another option is to share a google document that you keep updated, or you can even track it old school with pen and paper. Any kind of list will work. The important thing is to have an answer when the Grandparents ask what your little one needs.
The great thing about keeping a list of specific needs or wants for your child is that you can control the size of the toys that are allowed in your home. This is especially important when you live in a small space. The thing is, when you’re in a large department store, it’s hard to estimate how much space a toy will actually take up in your small home.
On more than one occasion, I found a great kid’s item that I just knew would work wonderfully in our small space. When I arrived home, though, I realized the toy was much too large! And I’m the one used to living in a small space! There’s just no way someone who only visits occasionally can have an accurate picture of how little space there really is available.
One thing in, one thing out.
This rule can be applied in other areas of the home but I’ve found it’s especially important when it comes to children’s toys. You can only have so many stuffed animals and Happy Meal toys. If they’re old enough to have a choice, let your kids decide if that new toy will be worth giving an older one away. If not, you get to choose!
Decide on a toy location.
Our son has one location for toys. His “toy box” is in one cabinet.
Limiting toys to a specific location helps eliminate toy overload in a small space.
If the toy fits, he gets to keep it. If it doesn’t fit, the toy gets to find a new home.
Unfortunately, this means that while we’re living a small home, our son won’t get a basketball goal, a retro kitchen, or train set. Those toys may be nice for him to have, but it’s just not a reality at the moment. Necessity is the key…and those aren’t necessities.
Many of you may think eliminating large toys is next to impossible! But, I promise it’s not. We decided early on that our home couldn’t be overrun with toys – especially while it was on the market to sell! We’ve stuck with this guideline and it’s been worth it.
Stay strong.
I know it’s tough. Trust me, I know.
We all want to provide our children the very best. We want them to be able take advantage of every possible learning opportunity.
Kids do learn by playing with toys. But, they also learn by using their imaginations, exploring their world, and playing with you!
Families shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars to move into a larger home that’s only used to hold more toys. If you think your outgrowing your home, try one or more of these suggestions for reducing the size and amount of toys in your home. You may just find out that you can live in a small home and love it…toys and all!
What do you think? Is it possible to limit the amount of toys your child has? Have you found a way to eliminate toy overload?
iDreamOfClean
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I was just thinking about this problem this morning while being surrounded by hot wheels, barbies, and blocks in my tiny living room. All toys are to be kept in the closet of the owner in a basket/box. During the day toys always make it out to the LR, so…we have 10 min tidies through out the day so I stay sane!
I am new to your blog and am liking what I have read. :)
10 minutes tidies during the day…a life saver!!
For birthdays etc people ask me all the time what to get for my kids. My bigger kids don’t really play with toys they have, so IMO they’re a waste of space and money. So what I keep telling people to buy when they ask is books. Until we run out of shelf space too! :)
Seriously, every time I read post here I have to turn around to make sure you aren’t in my house! :) My kids have way too many toys, I’m pretty sure there isn’t a room in my house that doesn’t house at least a few toys. My biggest problem is getting rid of the toys, I always seem to fall into the “they’ll miss it” trap, when in actuality, they never play with it anyway. I just bought some new storage containers and I’m going to try to be strong and stick with the “if it doesn’t fit, it goes” mentality. This was exactly the type of post I needed today!
We just moved and I gave away a lot of toys in the process. Once we got to our apartment, I refused to unpack all our toys, since we won’t be here for long. I thought for sure my girls would be missing out on something, but they haven’t. And anything we’ve been missing, we make up for in more creative ways {like doing more art projects and reading more}. With the rare exception, I don’t plan on getting anything more for the girls for a while.
I have 3 kids, 2 boys and a girl and the toys seem to be multiplying everyday. I found a cool way that helps keep the toy problem under control, I cycle the toys. I have two rubber maid bins and then their toy shelf and while the kids were napping one day I sorted all their toys into either one of the rubber maid bins or the toy shelf. Every two weeks I then swap the toys on the shelf out for one of the bins. Not only does it help keep things neat but it feels like the kids are getting new toys every two weeks. When Birthdays and Christmas roll around I go through each bin with the kids and say they each have to pick 2 toys to donate or give to other kids. That way it makes room for their new toys!
I did the tub method when mine was younger. It worked WONDERFULLY!
I needed to hear this today, need to be better about it. I have a friend who has a playroom for her kids (wouldn’t that be wonderful!) and she is vigilant about everything staying in there. If she finds a toy in the front room or kitchen, she confiscates it. Her kids know she is serious about it and even though they are young, they keep their toys out of her space… I need to do something like that in my house, my biggest problem is just carving out the space for toys… right now, we have a little bit here and a little bit there. I need to get them all in one place!
This is the best Idea. Gives you the feeling of adult space in the house. The no toys zone in my place is tiny but it works wonders when you need to just sit and feel calm.
We are currently building a house (a cottage really) that will literally JUST be the rooms we use. There are three of us (me, hubby, princess) and we will have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, dining area, and living area. That’s it (well, laundry and garage too). We purposely are moving down from our 4 bdrm 2.5 bath to that because when we have space, we buy @##&@ to fill it up. That being said, we have seriously purged and are continuing to purge. It will be the first time in her life the princess doesn’t have a playroom. It’s going to get interesting. So, these are some GREAT tips. Thanks for sharing everyone.
Wow you have some great ideas!
Great tips. We feel like we’re too big for our house, too. But I’m going to try some of these.
Great tips. Now all I need is a way to convince my MIL from bringing stuff for the kids over to our house
My best tip: play with other people’s toys! Taking turns visiting the houses of friends means my kids have varied toy experiences without us owning so many. We also enjoy more toys by joining the children’s museum and playing with theirs—such as the train tables that my son loves!
We’re 4 people in 700 sq ft. We utilize a large shed (if it’s not used weekly it goes in the shed), a family closet, a toy rotation, and lots of thinking put of the box.
4 people! Whew! It’s not too bad when you get used to it, right? :) There were times I would have loved a shed. But, thankfully, we were in a highrise so we didn’t need yard equipment, etc. Plus I would have filled that thing to the brim with “good deals.” :-)
I love your website….you’re someone I can relate to vs other websites where the parent only has one child. I have 3 boys (ages 8,5,4) and they literally have taken over the house with their toys. I have a hard time getting rid of toys (I might be a closet hoarder!!), and I always think “what if the younger ones want to play with it later?” Part of me hates to get rid of toys because that would mean spending more money later, but I’m so tired of drowning in toys as well. One room is designated for toys and video games while the other room is suppose to be the craft and board games (which are hardly ever touched unless they have a project for school to do). As you can guess, it all blends in and spills into other rooms. Any suggestions?
I also forgot to mention that when I try to sort thru the toys to try and get rid of them it’s not very successful. 90% of the toys I keep because of sentimental reasons or I feel that maybe they’ll be worth something in the future (like all those Star Wars toys from when I was a kid).
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