Our lives are very full of activities and things.  Sometimes so much so that instead of enjoying any of it, we are just stressed out.  One area to take back the enjoyment of life is to reduce the number of toys.

It can be really hard to part with our favorite things.  There are memories attached, someone special gave it to you, it’s super cool, it cost a lot of money, you waited a loooong time to get it…..

But how can you truly enjoy new things when old, outgrown, worn-out, or out-dated things clog your space like acne clogs your pores.  Eewww! is right.  In fact, how can you even enjoy what you currently have if you can’t find it or there’s so much its just one jumble mess too stressful to look at or touch?  Playing with toys should be fun.

To take back fun with toys when they become boring, try these things with your kids.

1. Create a game of who can find the most toys around the house not stored in their proper place. Give each child a bin, bag or box to collect what they find. Determine success by weight or by number. Don’t forget the winner’s prize!

2.In an open area, sort collected toys by child so each child now has their own toys. You collect family toys. This is a great time to reward the child with the least amount of toys.

3.Help each child put their toys away in their proper place with simple directions i.e. Let’s put the Legos into the Lego box.  Now let’s put your books on the bookshelves.

4.Either while you are putting toys away or after, talk to them about toys they don’t play with anymore.  Tell them that before they receive any new toys, they will need to let go of 10 toys or a number that works for you.

5. Now go do something fun to reward everyone for their hard work.