5 Reasons We Took Our Kids Toys Away...and why we do not feel bad about it

That's right, you read correctly. My husband and I (well mostly I) took away 90% of my childrens toys and it has been SO INCREDIBLE!!

A while back I took a gander at this wonderful blog by Living Well Spending Less about how she took her kids toys away. The reasons were exactly what I was going through.

Below are some pictures of Baby Cakes making a campfire with some sticks and leaves she went and found. We have been having some regular outside time (when it's not 100000000 degrees outside) and she's becoming more and more imaginative with the things in nature.

It really does sound silly when I say it that way but we have been beyond blessed with the amount of toys she has received throughout her short three years. A plethora! An overabundance. A surplus! Overkill. MUCH!!

Okay okay, maybe not that dramatic but it always felt that way when it was time to go in there and pick up before bedtime. There was much dumping of toys and very little playing with them.
And LOTS of mommy picking them up.

NOW: before you all start getting huffy, I didn't throw them away. I have them packed away awaiting the day she decided she was ready to play with them. **Hint: its been MONTHS and so far, she's forgotten all about them** We will donate them around November for Christmas presents for children's homes.

I also shared this awesome post from Becoming Minimalist with my husband. He approved of the choice to take away everything that wasn't dearly loved or currently being played with.

1. Too many toys causes disregard
The toys weren't being taken care of or even put away because honestly, there wasn't even a place for half of them. What with two girls in one room, there was MUCH stuff in little space. I noticed that even when gifted with a new toy, it was quickly disregarded with a quick thank you and then she was off playing with something that wasn't her toys.

2. Too many toys causes, well, a big ole honkin mess! 

AHHH! I am embarrassed to even show you this! Do you see toys piled on toys piled on books piled on bins attempting to organize! 

You cannot organize clutter!

3. Too many toys was causing restless nights

When we took their toys away, that night Baby Cakes went right to sleep with no arguing. She had a clean floor and  an organized closet. I'm not a doctor or psychologist but I saw a change in my daughters sleep patterns when her room was clean. :-) Good enough for me!

4. Too many toys left no room for siblings!

This was really the primary reason we HAD to make a chance. Tinker was ready to move from the little co-sleeper beside our bed into her pack-n-play in her sisters room. With all the clutter (and large twin bed for Cakes) there was NO ROOM! Even for a small pack-n-play. Crazy talk!!

5. Too many toys left no room for PLAYING!!

With a great big bed, a pack-n-play, and gobs and gobs of toys filling up the carpet and every nook and cranny, there was no room to play in their room. This led to toys being drug out of the room into the hall or parents room or living room just to have them left there. So that was the first step to removing the clutter toys: Everything left out of the room was the first thing to be packed away.

And now: Why we do not feel bad about it!

1 Corinthians 14:40English Standard Version (ESV)

⁴⁰ But all things should be done decently and in order.

We are doing the same thing! From the living room to the shed to the master room to the bathroom, we are downsizing the clutter! We have given bags and bags and boxes upon boxes of things we no longer need/want/use away. AND IT FEELS GREAT!! If it made us feel better, imagine what it could do for our kiddos. And true enough, it made Cakes and Tinker feel great too.