THE REAL TOY STORY
As a mental load coach and consultant, there is a huge range of support that I provide because the breadth and depth of the mental load extends to all facets of parenthood. However, one of the top reasons why clients reach out to me is this - toy management, decluttering, and organization. Managing the toys is a huge part of the everyday. It’s an integral part of child development but it is also a consistent part of our everyday life as parents. Whether you tidy up as you go along or you wait until the end of the day, it almost doesn’t matter. It is part of your everyday routine. And let’s face it, for so many working moms with two or more children, the toys can get so out of hand. Most moms are so overwhelmed with the clutter and the constant feeling of tidying that it can sometimes create a fight or flight response. Some moms just can’t deal and ignore it while for many it just builds more tension and stress to their mental load.
I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way. You have to reminder that you have control over the toys despite the feeling that the toys are consuming you at this point. There are multiple themes I often see with my clients when it comes to the stress of toy management and I’m going to share the best ways to work through some of those obstacles. While I always recommend to my clients that you declutter monthly, sometimes we just don’t get to it. But if you’re going to declutter only once a year, NOW is the best time to do it. You want to create some space (in your home and in your mind) before the chaos of holiday gifting. It’s a wonderful time to reset with the toys and here are some things you can implement before the generous spirit takes over!
Your storage isn’t being used to its full potential: Most of my clients have the most amazing storage but they aren’t using them to their fullest capacity. Sometimes the solution is having the right size of baskets and bins. Your baskets might be too small or too big. You might have too many or not enough. If you have deep shelving in your storage compartments, make sure you have the organization bins to reflect that so you’re not constantly digging back there for things you need (this can also be applied in the kitchen. Bins are great but they can quickly become a nuisance if they are not used properly. You most likely DON’T need a new storage or cabinet system. You most likely need better organization bins and baskets to truly make the best of the space you have.
There’s too much: often times, there is simply just TOO many toys or there’s TOO many that is accessible in the play area that it can end up feeling overwhelming to both you and the children. Leveraging a toy rotation system allows kids to focus on a smaller collection of toys while still having the breadth and depth. However, it is important to be honest about that part. Do you truly need three buckets of cars and trucks? Probably note! (Side note: this obviously does not apply to neurodivergent kids who truly need to depth of toys and that hyper-focus on a particular theme and category).
Death By A Million Pieces: okay, this might sound dark but it’s honestly just meant to be silly. The million pieces? I’m talking about all the tiny plastic pieces that end up randomly on your kitchen table, or on the staircase or in a random bucket that you think you’re going to address but never do. In almost every home I work on, I end up compiling an entire bucket of these random plastic pieces that are missing or don’t have a home. It tells me immediately that these pieces are not valued in the same way as the other toys and at the end of the day, they create clutter in the home and take up space in your mind to “try and remember to put it back.” As you collect these pieces, you might feel a sense of joy when you realize you found the missing piece to the puzzle. If that puzzle gives you joy, then please keep it! But most of the pieces are not valuable. Free yourself and get rid of them!
Declutter regularly: as I mentioned before, it is truly in everyone’s best interest to declutter regularly. I typically will declutter about once every month instead of doing one major lift once a year. I apply this same approach with laundry. I do a load a day instead of managing a giant pile at the end of the week. Don’t wait until January to do it! If you don’t want to opt for monthly decluttering, you can focus on major points throughout the year: before birthdays, before holiday shopping, and before school are great times to reset and declutter. When I declutter monthly, I simply put toys off to the side in a separate bin in a separate room and I leave it there for a few weeks. If no one has mentioned the toy or missed it, it goes away or gets moved into storage.
Toy management is just one of many and yet it is one of the few things in life that we can control. We can control what comes in and what goes out. We can control how it shows up in our space. There is not a ton we can control in life, but we can absolutely control this. In my free guide, I share over a hundred tips like this in my free download, 101 Tips to Reduce the Mental Load. Subscribe to my mailing list and you’ll get this guide for free. I cover tips across the four major pillars of parenthood, areas in our lives that take up the most weight with the mental load. And when we reduce the mental load in these areas, it ultimately makes the biggest impact in our day-to-day and our mental load. Take a look and let me know what you think.
