KIDS TOYS Messy To Minimal Extreme Declutter | MINIMALIST TOY + GIFT IDEAS

[@OurCrowsNest5]

“She’s literally never played with it” 😂😂

[@maggierobertson2962]

Maybe try replacing the blue rug on their floor with the car one and see if it gets used more? Out of site out of mind.

[@NatalieJM4]

Maggie Robertson yes! I did this with my daughters and it’s used a lot more often

[@JM-cb3yj]

My mum did this for me as a kid, having a road mat instead of a normal mat. I freaking loved it. Anything with wheels was my jam. I also remember playing with dolls on it too like here goes Barbie to the grocery shop..😅

[@NatalieBennett]

I wish we could! The car may we have for them just rolls up and isn’t adequate as a traditional rug! That would be so fun though!

[@emilylanz-henderson3083]

I loooove the blue rug!!!

[@amandaapope]

The same thing just happened to us! We were decluttering my 4 year old son’s toy animals and he said he was ready to donate because “they could make another kid happy!” For a brief second I thought to myself how nice it was he understood and was learning the process. Then without a word our 2 year old daughter walked over and dumped the toys back out and said “no!”

[@CMBauer]

😆 lol little ones are so funny

[@Naomirose86]

🤣🥰

[@susanekstrom4565]

Tip for books: The moomin series, written by a finnish author. Really beloved in nordic countries. My soon 5 year old boy love those books!

[@judithcrome7708]

I’m forever trying to sneak toys out of the house past my twins, so this has given me the motivation to try & involve them a little more 🧸

[@EnglishVirgo]

For my nephews and nieces and also for my great niece, I ask their parents for a list of their wants, likes, etc and even what the parents would rather we avoid. It's not my house that is going to be filled up with what I get them, so I prefer to ask first. It's just basically good manners to me. It's good to see that I'm not just being a weirdo lol

[@NatalieJM4]

EnglishStephanie I do this with my friends and families kids too, like this year I took my cousin shopping for school supplies for her birthday because that’s what she needed, I’d rather fill a need than give something that they’ll play with twice and then it’ll clutter their home.

[@EnglishVirgo]

@@NatalieJM4 I'm totally with you.

[@Amanda-ze2ut]

I always ask the parents of kids I’m buying for too. Not only do I not want to get gifts that the parents don’t want in their house, I don’t know what the kids needs are, so I’d rather get something useful/needed/wanted than random junk lol

[@ashleyreed3865]

We got an ikea trofast table with the shallow bins for my boys legos, they don't have to dump out the bins that way to find what they need.

[@melissadixon3527]

The Berenstain Bears is a definite favorite of my son! He also likes anything animals but we're so blessed that he LOVES books! 🧸🧸🧸

[@NatalieBennett]

We LOVE the Berenstain Bears!!! ♥️♥️♥️

[@melissadixon3527]

They're so cute and always have a great message in them! 🥰

[@aileneshots]

I've been so overwhelmed with toy clutter lately! This video was so encouraging. You are so calming and just make it seem doable. Needed to see this! Also, I like what you said about buying a base set to be expanded upon. Great idea!

[@sqiesel73]

Great video. We did a new thing this year to reduce the amount of gifts coming into the house as we are still working through last years birthday gifts (mostly craft sets). We did family gifts only and asked all our daughters friends to donate to a charity my daughter chose (a donkey sanctuary). It totally worked and stopped her being overwhelmed with a huge amount of gift. ❤ it also helped to develop the idea of donating to charity.

[@FeistyPammy]

Yass, Lego bases are key. I used them for basically EVERYthing.

[@benniemorris4872]

I threw away ALL of my Lego sets back in 2019 and my parents have no idea.

[@lenhardtalyssa]

I'm also curious how you feel about Amazon wish lists for kids. My son has a December birthday so it's kind of crazy with Christmas right next to it. I've always told people to please not feel obligated to bring him a gift to his party. He understands (because I taught him from the get go) that his Birthday is in a financially tight time for most people & we'd rather they blessed us with their presence then with presents. But when people insisted on getting him something & wanted ideas I'd send them a link to his Amazon wish list (it also came in handy for family for Christmas gifts). If they want to spend money to get him a gift I'd rather it be on a gift he'd actually want/I'd approve us. It also helps me! As he mentions things he'd like theough the year I put it on the list & when time gets closer show him & ask which ones he's still interested in.

[@blackdog6965]

I think that is a wonderful idea.

[@cassiegirl77]

I wasn’t blessed with children, but I love seeing your sweet family. I hope the boys had a wonderful birthday! 🎉🧸

[@marissaw1596]

Loved the tip about buying toys where they can expand their collection and grow up with it!! 🧸

[@mollyvandellen5961]

My daughter is obsessed with books! Piggie and Gerald are her favorite! We donate to the after school care (well before Covid)

[@alisonsundstrom7411]

What Do You Do With an Idea and that whole series are my favorite! I actually used to read it to my HS English classes when I assigned them their first essay as a sort of inspirational story about the power of perseverance.

[@kirs10dubya57]

You said "limit categories of toys" & omgsh that is such a helpful tip for me! I've been struggling with the kids toys. I get so overwhelmed & irritable about them. I'm going to use that tip to declutter more in the morning!

[@mamallamaandthelittles]

My kids are only 3 but for the past 3 years when over zealous grandma would bring way too many things I would sneak them out to the Garage before anyone could remember them. I just got to donate 4 large boxes of new toys to a wonderful charity for military kids! So there's a tip for while they're little :) As they're getting older I need to keep them involved 🤗🤗

[@annw1395]

As a grandma, I would object to doing that! At least return them to the store, and get a refund. But, more importantly, grandparents spend hard-earned money to buy those toys; they're not just "junk" to be decluttered. I wouldn't want my kids to do that with my grandkids' gifts. Maybe offer some gift suggestions.

[@mamallamaandthelittles]

@@annw1395 She's been my mother in law for 15 years. I know her very well. She is a hoarder, an emotional over purchaser. I've learned she doesn't return anything it just gets buried in her house. I say all this to further explain why I do this. They become great gifts for children less fortunate. Military children in this instance. Most people have the grandparents you described and shouldn't do my method.

[@jdewitt2531]

Razor scooters are on our gift list too! Definitely feel the struggle when it comes to grandparents....they seem to think it needs to have 50 pieces minimum lol. We are also on a journey towards a more minimal mindset. Problem is the grandparents think the kids need an equal number of gifts each...where we would rather see them get one useful gift like a scooter and maybe some stocking stuff.

[@kimbramo5787]

Your leadership with your children is wonderful! It’s so much easier to de clutter without children and I so admire the way you are training them💖

[@AngiDas]

Tomorrow I will be helping my daughter purge before school starts. We might need some prayers. Thanks for keeping up on this series. Need it! Many blessings!

[@alexandraines3796]

LEGO is the best! is not just color or plastic. it helps our mind. ! congrats!

[@finding_fae]

Moving and also have a Liam so we've been talking about decluttering and we got rid of all the mid-sized duplo type legos in favor of the "big kid" lego - we only kept one small set of the duplo, a little pilot and his airplane because he loves it, but he was quite happy to pass the rest of the duplo onto another kid

[@allieemarriieeee]

🧸 I don’t have any mom friends and your content really helps to fill that void! Thanks for all you do!

[@susie7336]

When my kiddos were babies I joined moms groups from MeetUp app and churches. Good luck! 💗

[@brittanys.7191]

I love all your choices for your twins. My boys are not twins but share the same birthday. They are exactly four years apart! So we always celebrate them together. This year because I am taking a more minimalist approach to gifts, We decided to take them somewhere as a family. My oldest son has really gotten into animals and science. We took our children to the Cook Museum of natural science in Decatur Alabama. We let them pick out a small treasure from the gift shop and then took them out to eat at a restaurant of their choice. They did not feel deprived and we had a great time. Kids don’t want things, they just want your time. I knew they would receive presents from family members that would be toys so I was trying to make sure with Christmas around the corner we didn’t overwhelm ourselves. I used to be the kind of mom that thought because it was a good deal I can spend the same amount of money and get more stuff. Years and years of living that lifestyle and I was drowning in toys. One day I came across a video on KZbin that stated “So it’s OK to spoil your kids, as long as it was a good deal?” That really made me think. I thought I wasn’t spoiling my kids because I saved money but I was still teaching them to value physical possessions and teaching them more you have, the happier you’ll be. Now I am so much more intentional with gifts. And I’m teaching my kids to value having less because it’s less they have to manage. They usually only play with only certain things anyways. And at the end of the day all they want is really family time.❤️

[@danielleshockey1816]

Thank you, We have two toddler boys thank you for motivating me to declutter their toy's

[@nattypattyx3]

*book emoji haha I'm on my computer* My favorite books are the Goosebumps series. They're sooo good!

[@simpleshirelife]

The Mother Goose Book with the black and white checker cover! I had it when I was little and read it to my babies. 📚

[@Roxygrl2024]

Love that you say u do have color and my kids do play with plastic toys! Makes me chuckle but like to think I’m on the same type of journey

[@msdecaf]

You are such a good mom.

[@christiana_mandalynn]

Haha we have that IKEA Python! My 4 year old son *loves* it.

[@33snowgal]

Lego is the best gift. Hours and hours of entertainment for my 8 and 5 year olds!

[@a.j.schoppe6873]

My boys(who are now in their 30's) had two main collections growing up. Legos and Playmobiles. They never outgrew them or tired of them. I still have the large totes of them for my grandkids. My boys will still get on the floor and play them with their kids . They have lasted so well through all these years!

[@jamiensimms]

🎉We love to read “Little house on the prairie “ , my kiddos love the Breyer horse books and my littles love “Little Blue Truck books”. Happy Birthday to Liam and Judah😊

[@annawest1517]

🎉🎉 watching while on bed rest after surgery and listening to the lovely fl rain.

[@EyaOHT]

Get well soon hope you have a speedy recovery 😊

[@amandab.6815]

We live pretty minimally as well, but this has inspired me to do another round of decluttering before the holidays!

[@w1f2h3]

Love how the trundle can be used for toy storage! We just moved our boys 6 and nearly 4 into bunks. Watching your video had truly inspired me to go through their room again as it is so so overwhelming with all the toys 😏 My mom kept my berenstein bears collection of books and my littles are loving reading them right now ❤️

[@lenhardtalyssa]

Right now my sons favorite books to read to me are Henry & Mudge as well as Junie B. Jones. Books he's really loving for me to read to him are the Wally McDoogle books.

[@pri.sci.lla.]

I loved the little house series growing up 📚

[@claireeharvey2784]

thanks for the spot on how to except gifts from family

[@laurenw4301]

(Hailey crying over shield) Me: Aww, poor Hailey! Natalie: She's literally never played with it. Me: 😂😂😂 I totally get it. I have two kids, almost 6 and almost 3, and my 5 year old hates parting with toys. We're on a similar situation with Legos too. My kids both love megabloks, especially my son. But they get frustrated with how easily their creations come apart, so we're moving on to duplos. They'll be easier to store anyway. We also feel the same about books. Reading is one of their favorite things to do. If we notice there's a book they don't ask for anymore we get rid of it, but other than that we don't really put a minimum on books.

[@Lab-vk3xs]

🎉Love this series ! I have been minimizing in my home and decluttering. Feels so good and this series gives me inspiration! Gotta get my basement and garage done now that the house is all set !

[@RelatableMotherhood]

Toys are never as precious as when they're about to be gone 🤣 it's hard to be 3. The realness of your response though 🤣🤣🤣 🎃

[@katemcmahon8843]

Good Night Moon 📚 such a classic

[@joseeprevost2350]

My kid is obsessed with her stuffed TY toys, especially Paw Patrol, and I totally understand her. I was the same as a child! Thank you for the opportunity! 🧸

[@heathercheatham2598]

We love legos! Years ago I decluttered the mega blocks and just stuck with duplos for the younger kids in our family and Legos for the older. We’ve done Legoland a few times for a birthday trip and the grandmas let our son pick out his birthday gift in the store at the end- our gift was the trip. He loves it so much! It minimizes the stuff and he has fun with the family!

[@maggierobertson2962]

We are adamant "We are a Duplo Family!" I don't want to get stuck with mismatched sets.

[@alyssaamundson4265]

🎉🎉 I’m looking forward to the sit down videos about minimalism! I also love watching you declutter!

[@doyourememberanna]

Pride and Prejudice and Tale of Two Cities are two of my favorites 📚 favorite kids book right now is called The Garden, The Curtain, and the Cross.

[@MiracleStarr2791]

Currently hooked on Midnight Sun! 📖

[@BrightonDestiny]

Just finished that one! Brought back a lot of memories haha

[@RozaRoos05]

Yeee! Another declutter video! Love your channel! 🎉🎉🎉

[@nicolecroy5949]

Absolutely love your videos!! This gives me insight with my 6 year old boy and almost 2 year old. Of course a new baby coming in about 6 weeks. Happy Birthday to Judah and Liam!! Hope they had a fantastic birthday!!!

[@jmobennett88]

We have 4 bins in the living room. Legos, cars, Legos, magnatiles. These are played with the most. I hate plastic chunky toys too.

[@oarisbek23]

I live in a small apartment and been seriously loving the messy to minimalist series specially when it comes to stuffed bears 🧸 those tend to accumulate pretty quickly.

[@tarahbutler2169]

Can’t wait for the grandparents gift video. Cause Christmas be around the corner.

[@deborahdeboer1175]

My baby boy is 24 and one of my (and his) favorite toys were the train tracks which I have kept. The other one is Lego. He was able to come and work from home the last five months due to Covid and he spent about three weeks going through his Lego. Not much was purged though. Lol! I have kept some of my kids most favorite and played with toys.

[@MarySpringer14]

This was probably one of my favorites just because it is currently what I am going through with my kiddo! 🧸

[@beckyfogo5545]

Love decluttering and keeping things simple! 🤍🖤🍂🎃

[@alyssabright9736]

I absolutely love you getting rid of certain pieces of the set. My child has so many big pieces and never touches them, however he plays with the tiny parts so this has finally gave me peace to get rid of the big toy 😅

[@prokoppartyof4104]

Just decluttered my two year olds bedroom this weekend and she has been able to keep her room clean all on her own since then! Can’t wait for another pre-Christmas purge! We also donated two bags of stuffed animals🧸😅

[@stephanies094]

🎉 I have started this week actually with having my daughter (6yrs) slowly start purging toys. In the past I have always just taken out what she hasn’t played with. I think it’s time to have her start learning the process. Thank you for your videos. I am really enjoying this series

[@barbkelzenberg2394]

Fun book.......Rolling Harvey Down the Hill by Jack Prelutski. It is a series of poems about a group of little boys who get into mischief . I was a second grade classroom aide and when it was book time this was the one the kids wanted to hear. I suggest you read it first as it includes a smoking incident and a prank that is embarrassing. Good job on the toy decluttering.

[@NatalieBennett]

Oh thank you for the recommendation! I'll definitely look into it! Thanks for the heads up. Usually when we come across outdated concepts or questionable content we do our best to explain the better choice or alternative 😊

[@Somjabs]

I´m an aunt to 4 nephews and 2 nieces. I always ask their mother if there is something they mentioned, what they would want or need. If I have an idea for them I check with them, too to be sure, that they don´t have it already. I think that´s just makes so much more sense to me!

[@Somjabs]

@@beckykent435 that´s really good ideas. Maybe I do that sometimes in the future!

[@kacilindsay8880]

This was such a great video! I really like your idea of going through your kid's toys BEFORE the next holiday or birthday so that the new things they receive will have a home. I had already planned on going through my daughter's clothes this month and swapping seasons, but I think I'll go ahead and go through her toys too! That's awesome that you're getting your boys into LEGOS! My husband and I still play with ours even though we're in our 30's lol

[@christinakempersepulveda9834]

My oldest is 16 and my youngest is 9 now. I definitely agree that less is best. Clean out your kids toys for them. They do get used to Mom’s decisions. It also helps to tell them they’ve outgrow a toy, as a compliment because they’re growing up. Not collecting to many different toys is a good idea too. I love donating toys knowing another child will benefit. We’ve donated to churches, preschools and younger friends.

[@shannonoglesby564]

For myself I loved the red tent, a thousand splendid suns, and the handmaids tale. For my daughter we love god bless you and goodnight, cats cats, and brown bear. 📚

[@mirnamonroe6968]

I did the same thing with my kids toy! I only left what i know they really play with, i feel more organized and calm after that. Thanks for sharing 🧸

[@mckennaelston7024]

Love hearing your perspective on how you deal with toy gifts! Such a nice gentle approach that still lets people show their love to your children!! 🤍 thank you for sharing! I’m so motivated to declutter 🙌🏻

[@antriruiz]

🧸🎉can’t seem to stop decluttering toys!!!

[@minnesotamom2854]

So timely that I saw this video after my husband asking "can we please reduce the amount of toys in the living room?!!" The struggle is real for families everywhere! Thank you Natalie for having the best channel and practical advice!😊 Happy Birthday to your sons!🎉

[@ettiene750]

🧸 I need to go through our toys again and get rid of more. Super inspirational.

[@Lincoln.940]

This video has been soooo helpful I have really struggled in the past of what to get rid of and what to keep alongside what to buy for Xmas & birthdays. I have always felts more is better to give them choice but actually they don’t play with everything. I am now going to go and do the kids bedrooms & make a plan for Christmas with these tips in mind. Thank you 😘

[@Test11123]

🎉🎉🎉Love this series! It's harder to do now, but I try to gift my son with experiences instead of physical gifts for his birthday or Christmas time. Food is also a good one because it's disposable!

[@NatalieBennett]

Yes! It was on my video notes as a topic to bring up but during COVID times it's a little moot! It'll be in the sit down video I do later on, for sure!

[@Shepz963]

I don’t have kids, no plan to, totally watched this whole video and was invested in it 😁 some of my favorite 📚 growing up were the Little House series - I still read them!

[@Acehazen]

🧸🧸🧸I'm still learning how to approach toys. Were still learning what she will really use and what holds up!

[@ericahettwer1147]

For the rug, maybe use it as a decor piece for their room so it’s always available? I did that with my son and daughter and it got almost daily play. 😊

[@morganward1454]

I love decluttering toys a few times a year to make room for new and more interesting toys for my kids! 🧸🧸

[@rebekahkunz6329]

I just passed on my kids paw patrol toys to a nephew and it almost made me cry! Kids grow to fast! I have watched all of your declutter videos and have loved everyone single one!

[@lucy2steele]

I don't have children (personal choice) but I do have nieces and nephews!!! For them I tend to ask my brother or sister if they need anything/what they're into. Or if I'm at the store and see something on sale I have called and asked. It's been good and I love seeing or hearing about them playing with something I got them!! 🎊

[@newmoondarkmoon]

I thought that sheild would have been really cute to put up on the wall. I like the graphic on it. 🧡

[@TheBrosia07]

You changed the game for me when you were in your daughters room going through toys and talked about getting rid of pieces of a set if you aren’t using it. I found myself doing that because I felt like I had to keep a set whole till I was ready to get ride of a whole set. I just went through my things and let go of a bunch of things. Thanks for the advice!!! ❤️

[@NatalieBennett]

Wow! This comment made my whole day. I’m so glad you enjoyed the video and that it helped you!

[@SarahSmith-eh1iu]

🧸 I have recently moved into my first apartment and your messy to minimal series always inspires me to keep things limited when I want to start buying home decor/ seasonal accessories! Thank you for being so sweet

[@windyacresfarm1122]

🎉 I try to get only used toys. I encourage garage sale finds, thrift store finds or even FB marketplace finds. The reason I like this is not only is it cheaper but its giving a second life to toys. We do buy new if its things like Frozen II or something but other than that, I love to encourage family to thrift gifts

[@NatalieBennett]

We thrift many of our toys! During this COVID time I chose to make online purchases only because I'm not wanting to shop in person as much!

[@모방주부]

Hello, I am a housewife living in Korea who practices minimal life. I have no business arranging her toys because my child has grown up. Maybe this is a good condition to be minimal. You've spent a lot of time organizing children's things, but looking at the organized space will make you feel better for a long time. Thank you for uploading a good video. I'll come over again.

[@chillibird2511]

Wishing the boys a very happy Birthday - well done with the declutter. The new toys will bring so much joy and there's lots of space for them and I think that makes it easier for little happy ones to find.

[@kaitlynvanderhoff6265]

🎉📚 I'm no minimalist when it comes to books either! Fortunately, I read a lot of audiobooks which helps with bulk. For adults I love The Things They Carried and Beach Music. For kids, that is soooo hard. I love kids books and always pick up a few for my class when I'm at Value Village! But Frog and Toad are a classic I love.

[@caitlinthomas6951]

🐻 can't wait to watch this. I have been stuck in the kids toy area. Hubby and I purged quite a bit after last Christmas, but we need to peel back the next later and get rid of more.

[@clutterbugmama8093]

Great to involve the kids! Loving the series...each one gets better!🎉

[@mollyvandellen5961]

Thank you for the motivation! Bringing you with me has helped me so much!

[@BrightonDestiny]

🎉 happy birthday to the boys!🧸

[@mandyward5161]

🎉 just the motivation I needed today! We like to keep a majority of our toys in our garage, and we rotate our toys every few months. Time to rotate, and thanks to this video, declutter!

[@kaitlinbenz255]

Your boys look like full blown adults now I swear! Hope they had a happy birthday!

[@somanyplusme7437]

I ordered my kids Nibbles the book Monster and his books as a back to school gift and those are their favorites right now

[@cburkem12]

Favorite children’s book are the Llama llama books!!

[@pinadelmonico]

Ur boys are such handsome little boys & look just like their pretty mama!! Great vid as usual!! ❤️🙏🏻

[@NatalieBennett]

Oh you’re so sweet!

[@ordinarymomma4413]

You make the most wonderful content Natalie. I enjoy every video so much!

[@cindsang333]

All time fav book is A Thousand Splendid Suns ! And my fav all time kids book is Love you Forever ! Have a great week Nat 📚

[@sarahbeth3472]

Oof! This brings back memories! My grandparents loved buying toys for me and my sisters when we were little. They both grew up with very little money so when they were older and had a decent amount of money they wanted to spend it us (we were their only grandchildren). It was very sweet and we really appreciated all the toys. But oh man was it a MESS! My room looked like a tornado every single day. We had regular decluttering/donating days and it looked a lot like this video.

[@maggierobertson2962]

In terms of family gifts, art supplies. We always can use new crayons or paper. Plus they aren't expensive so I don't have to feel like we are taking advantage of our families generosity.

[@twinsandteenagersbell8946]

I love to read my twin girls the Serendipity books 📚!

[@bellegloss]

I needed this motivation to go through my boys toys and get rid of some before their birthday. 🧸 Also so glad they got to celebrate with friends and family this year. ❤️