*I am an affiliate for Pley and am compensated for my honest opinions here if you click through to purchase from my links.
“We need to go through and throw out or donate more toys again, because this is getting out of control!”
I have lost count how many times, my husband has said this around our home over the last few years.
My girls if they had their way would block this move at every cost. But still, some semblance of order needs to take place. This time of the year with spring cleaning most definitely is the perfect time to get cracking on this.
So therefore with this statement begins anew with decluttering and organizing the toys in our home.
Here are 5 ways that we have used to declutter the toy issue in our home…
1. Go through toys when kids aren’t around.
I have found that even attempting to tackle the toy clutter when my kids are home is a futile task. See my kids will put up a massive fight to discard even the oldest, most broken toy. Therefore, I have learned that this task must be performed when they are not home, possibly at school during the week or on a playdate on the weekend. Therefore with the lack of interference from the smallest offenders, so much can and will get accomplished in this vain.
2. First discard of broken/not functioning toys.
The first steps in going through the toy clutter is to separate the 1-2 years toys. One pile, I immediately make is for toys/items that are so far beyond repair or help, that they are just simply trashed. Sadly, my kids would hang onto old scraps of paper if they could. So, old pieces of toys or broken toys aren’t unheard of either in this mission.
3. Next donate old toys.
Once we have gone through and thrown out the misfit toys. I also, have toys that are still perfectly good and acceptable, but my kids have simply outgrown. These are honestly too good to throw out, but need to find a new home. Therefore, I will usually put together an assortment of toys, books and more that are able to be donated. Looking for some places to donate toys? Check out this list here.
4. Invest in oversize/decorative toys bins.
Once we have thrown away and donated the old, now it is time to organize what is salvageable. But one of the grips I had about storing toys in the past was that the containers for such weren’t very appealing. However, I have found alternative ways to do this that are more suitable. The best method I have found for my home are in purchasing decorative canvas/burlap bins, such as these from Amazon. These bins are not only functional, but are also decorative sprucing up the home living area all the more.
5. Sign up for Pley.
Honestly though, it is a vicious cycle of cleaning out toys to either donate or throw away, only to buy new toys for our girls and is a difficult process nonetheless.
These new toys are fun at first, but then go pretty much unlooked at and just end up cluttering our home more often than not as months go by.
So usually it only takes a few short months before we start to lose our patience and then the clean out phase begins anew.
But there is a way around this decluttering issue, that I happily became reintroduced to in recent times and am also dispensing with all parents, who may very well experience similar toy cluttering catastrophes in their homes. Honestly, not sure, how I could have forgotten about this. But giddy with joy that I re-found them and think you are going to love them as much as we do.
Who am I talking about?
The answer is simple and can be summed up in one word—PLEY.
See with Pley, kids get to play with the best toys, all while parents save money, reduce clutter and help the environment. This therefore teaches children to share and conserve the planet by reducing the amount of toys that ends up in landfills, plus parents get to worry less about the amount of clutter in their homes.
Sounds like a win-win and a no-brainer, right?
But if you still need more convincing, Pley also is a socially responsible company that actually donates a toy to an underprivileged child for every new sign-up they get.
But Again Why Pley?
First off, Pley has been around for quite some time with an excellent reputation, but now they have also added even more toys for kids of all ages and genders, too. See they now offer a variety of categories for rent; from building toys (400 LEGO sets), cool electronic toys, doll clothes, etc. And they are actually constantly adding more toys still, too. Also, they are now catering to younger audiences (baby through preschool) through our new preschool assortment.
Plus, their service has improved so even more as customers now have more control over the toys they select; And as an added bonus, they have also improved their systems to avoid missing pieces. They even make it super easy to offer Pley as a gift, too.
Do you think you will try Pley for your kids?
Tell me how you declutter with toys in your home now…
Seana Turner says
Ah yes, kids and toys and clutter. An ever popular topic! This is an interesting idea… toy rental. I’m interested to see how parents feel about it. I love the theory, that you use it until it is no longer feels fun, and then another child can use it. I’m going to look into this company!
Janine says
Seana, I love the concept in all honesty, because many times over my own kids get easily tired and bored with toys. So, this allows for new toys to be played with and used, returned and then more new toys to be played with/used. So, a never ending cycle.
Meredith Spidel says
YES!! We need all the help with this we can get! Thanks for the tips, Janine! And Pley is such a cool concept–what a fab way to reduce all the toys piling up!
Janine says
My pleasure and we also need all the help we can get. So, was happy to share some help and Pley with you, too 🙂
Dara says
I always wanted a toy library in my area and this sounds similar to that idea!
Janine says
I do think this is similar and glad to share with you, too Dara 🙂
Jhanis says
Great tips, Janine! We donate toys every December but of course new one gets added every now and then so our house is still littered with toys! Pley sounds like a good idea! I wish I can find a local one in our area.
Janine says
Aw, I wish you could, too as they really are a good idea for helping with toy clutter!
William Holland says
This can apply to dog toys as well, so I’m going to use some of your suggestions on this one, Janine. Thanks a bunch and Happy Hump Day to you!
Janine says
My pleasure and yes you could apply many of the tips to dog toys, as well! Happy Hump Day once again!! 🙂
Mary says
I need to declutter my crafting supplies, Janine. They have taken over my apartment and I’m not too happy about it, but that doesn’t stop me from purchasing more supplies. I know I know I have a problem 🙂
Janine says
Mary, you made me smile and my problem is more with clothes and accessories for me, as this is hard for me to resist! 😉
Echo says
I seriously need to go through some of my kids, mainly my daughter’s, toys! They are overtaking the house! I love the idea of Pley! I am going to look into it, but I worry about my dogs and my kids taking proper care of “borrowed” toys.
Janine says
Echo, I know and honestly haven’t had an issue with the kids or my dog on this believe it or not! 😉
Tamara says
Your husband and mine both! It’s hard for me and harder for the kids. Cassidy is an ace at it. When we do donate, the kids are more inspired because they are compassionate. I hope that lasts!
Pley is cool!
Janine says
Even our husbands are twins! Seriously though, I couldn’t agree more with donating teaching our kids compassion and also just love the concept of Pley for this and more 🙂
Allie G smith says
What a cool concept! We’re almost out of the toy phases
?. Can you believe it?
Janine says
Omg, I know our day will come soon enough, but not yet!
AnnMarie John says
I’m not so sure if I can get into Pley. I kinda like owning everything we have. My kids aren’t that gentle with stuff so I would always worry about breaking things etc. Sounds like a great way to go for some, but not quite for me. As for those tips, we’ll be doing that this weekend. Madison has a lot that needs to GO!
Janine says
Totally understandable, but the other tips really do help quite a bit still, too 🙂
Aunt Gloria says
Great idea….and not too hard on the budget! xxoo
Janine says
Truly agree and thanks Aunt Gloria!! xoxo
Rabia @ The Liebers says
We’re moving (again) in a few weeks and my kids will finally get their toys back out of storage! I’m wondering how many they’ll have outgrown since then!
Janine says
Glad you will be able to take stuff out of storage and sure you will find things though they have outgrown as I feel like this happens here every few months with my own kids, too.
Kristi R Campbell says
It’s so true that new toys only often get played with for a couple of weeks before they end up with all the other old toys in bins (or on the floor). Pley sounds awesome – thanks for sharing, Janine!
Janine says
Happy to share and couldn’t agree more about the duration of new toys!
Christine Carter says
Well isn’t THAT a brilliant idea! Man, I wish I knew about this when my kids were into so many toys and our house was always in need of major purges on the regular!
Thanks for letting us all know about this Janine! So cool.
Janine says
My pleasure, Chris and thank you for sharing, too 😉
Nellie says
this is a fantastic idea as I a currently DROWNING in toys around here. I need to make an appointment get rid of them when the kids are at school! I tried to get them to do it but they “Loved” everything so much — meanwhile they never play with it!
Janine says
You nailed it Nellie and trust me pretty much the same here, as well. Hope you can go through the existing toys you boys have and also look into this for them, as well.
catherine gacad says
we joke that franco’s is practically a toy store. he has so many toys and books. ironically, we are totally minimalists. so it’s really just his stuff: train table, trains, planes, cars, books, balls, stuffed animals, magnatiles…it goes on and on! we so need to purge, but he knows when something’s missing!
Janine says
I always have joked that it looks like Toys R Us exploded here!!