Day 5 - Toys
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[00:00:00] I wanted to give my kids every opportunity to use their imaginations by buying them endless amounts of toys. They literally had everything available to create an entire full life Playhouse within our home. From kitchens and all the play food and appliances, you can imagine to every toy house available like Peppa, bluey Paul patrol. LOL houses, Barbie houses, little people, houses and castles. And planes and trains and cars and superheroes and cleaning toys and vacuums and trolls. I mean, I could go on and on because we had all of it.
We had an endless supply of toys and I kept buying them more toys because I wanted to give them the world.
But then one day I stepped back and realized the [00:01:00] extent of my actions. Our garage was filled to the brim, literally with thousands and thousands of dollars worth of toys and the worst part about all of it was I realized that I was the one who was emotionally attached to all of them. But my kids couldn't care less. And with every single month that passed, their toys were played with less and less. It was so eyeopening to reflect on all the money that I spent and the very few hours, they actually played with much of it at all. So I'm sharing this with you because if your kids are still in that the stage, the toy stage. I want to encourage you to stop buying them more toys.
And I know, I know that this is so much easier said than done, especially when you're standing in the target toy aisle, and they're begging you for a new Barbie [00:02:00] or a new Batman toy. But.
Remember that in five or less years, all of those toys will just be more clutter.
And what's really hard to accept is that an overabundance of toys, an overwhelming amount of toy clutter, it's not helpful for our kids in any way. I personally kept buying my kids toys because I wanted them to have everything possible to, to really be able to use their imaginations to their fullest. But what ended up happening was I just made them feel so overwhelmed because they had way too many toys to choose from.
So today. For the new year, new space decluttering challenge. For day five, we're going to be focusing on getting a headstart on de cluttering, your kids toys. Because less toys overall will improve their focus. It will give them a much better chance [00:03:00] at making friends. It will help them be more mindful of their belongings. And it will help them be better equipped to manage their own households as adults. Now, if you are tuning into this episode and you don't have kids, or your kids are past that stage and they no longer play with toys. You can still participate in today's task.
All you need to do is substitute the word toy for book or even something like craft supplies.
So anytime I mention decluttering a toy, you can do the same thing for your books or your craft supplies in your house. So here's what you can do. Grab a laundry basket or an empty box and walk around your house, looking for toys that your kids have not played with since before the holidays. When you identify something that they haven't played with, add it to that empty laundry basket. And then once you feel like you have done a pretty good job of [00:04:00] gathering up all their unused toys, make the decision to let them all go without a second thought. Now, if there's a toy that you come across, that you feel like you personally want to save, well, that's perfectly acceptable. For now, at least. Just set it back down and move on.
Now there are dozens of strategies I can share with you to help you let go of your kids' toys. And we have an entire section devoted to this inside of my program, decluttering Made Easy to help you easily clear away all of the excess toys, even if you have an overwhelming amount of toys, even if you have piles and piles of toys. We also can help you de clutter with your kids and get them on board, as well as organize and maximize space in their rooms. But for today's quick decluttering task, I want you to focus on [00:05:00] looking for toys that you're easily willing to let go of. Because this is the very first stage of de cluttering when your really prioritizing the top layer of your home. And as a side note, you can use this same strategy for any category of items or any space in your home. But it also works super well for toys. As a matter of fact, This is how I accidentally stumbled across the short and sweet declutter bursts, because I was trying to quickly make a dent in my kids' toys several years ago.
So I decided to gather up the ones that they didn't play with anymore. And I was so shocked at how. Simple it was and how much space I was able to create with very little effort in less than 10 minutes. So for today, I want you to spend a few quick minutes gathering up the toys that your kids haven't played with since before the [00:06:00] holidays.
And then when you're done, send me a photo of the ones that you are letting go of for a chance to win some of the prizes that we have on the table for this decluttering challenge.
Now, if you are looking for a roadmap and a guideline to help you clear your clutter with ease so you can have a peaceful, orderly home that puts time back into your day. A home that serves both you and your family for years to come. De cluttering Made Easy is a self study program that will give you all the tools and strategies and methods that you need to make it happen in less than two months. And right now we have an incredible new year special where you can enroll today and get instant access for 35% off the full price. Go check it out at the link in the show notes.
And if you have any questions at all, you can send me a DM on Instagram, or you can always send me an email.
So that's [00:07:00] all that I have for you today. It is very late at night. I just got off work and I'm recording this because I have to work again in the morning. But thank you for being here. Thank you for tuning in and listening to the Take Charge of Your Home Show and thank you for participating in the new year, new space decluttering challenge. I will be back again tomorrow on Saturday, January 6 with our day six task.
We have two more tasks until we complete this week long decluttering challenge. And then on Monday, January 8th, we have our bonus Q and A call to help you get clear on how you're going to declutter your entire house in 2024.
So make sure that you're signed up to the VIP email list so that way you're getting reminder emails. I will drop the link down below in the show notes so that way you can add your name. If you need to. All right. Thanks again for listening. I'll talk to you soon. Bye.
