Minimalist

  • Motherhood

    Minimal Toys & Toy Rotation

    Something we’ve really been working on since toys became a major feature in our world is reducing how many toys there are in our world. Sounds counterproductive I know but stay with me.

    Throughout 2020 we spent a lot of time reorganising, decluttering, and minimalising the things we own and we have been so successful with that, and toys have been one of those things. We have been creating a calm and soothing play environment using minimal toys and using toy rotation to keep play fresh, engaging, and interactive.

    Why minimal toys?

    Did you know fewer toys creates a better depth of play? Literally having less choice and only have a small number of toys enables children to use their imaginations more, become more creative in their play and it can even be attributed to deeper cognitive development too (“The influence of the number of toys on the environment on toddlers’ play” published in the journal of Infant Behaviour and Development). The higher the number of toys, the more mess that creates around them can stifle their play and their imaginations. I have seen it myself before we opted to follow this route. With more toys my daughter would either play sporadically or just bypass it entirely at times. As soon as we significantly reduced the number of toys around her she began to play more deeply and creatively. We rotate our toys monthly at the moment (more about toy rotation in a minute) and we notice an incredible difference between the beginning of our rotation cycle (when everything is fresh and new) and at the end (when things are starting to get a little boring).

    So, does it work?

    Aside from the science to back it up we have really noticed a difference in the way our daughter plays, creates, imagines, and interacts with her toys since making the change. Less definitely is more and is a great motivator for her to be more creative with her own toys too. When toys are messy and overbearing creativity is stifled and play is much more limited.

    Toy Rotation

    I know what you’re thinking “But we already own too much” but let me share this with you – it doesn’t all need to be out and available at the same time. We’ve already accumulated a lot of things through preloved toys being handed down and gifts, and I also understand the feeling that you want all of it to be used. So what if I told you this: it’s more likely that all your toys will be used far more intently and more often if you offered them in smaller batches. What we have seen is when all the toys are available things don’t always get played with in any depth. When offered with a smaller batch of toys then they seem to be played with and used at a much deeper level.

    We separate our toys into 3 rotations; 1 in use and 2 stored, and we rotate monthly to keep the toys fresh. We still keep some key pieces available throughout, such as her kitchen, but at the end of the rotation we swap everything round. She is always delighted with her toys and it’s always so fun to see her rediscover them, as if they are brand new, after a short time away.

    I plan to jump into how I organise her toys and what our minimal toys and rotations look like, so stay tuned here and over on my Instagram page.

  • Simple Living

    5 top tips for de-cluttering your home {+ free checklist}

    A post about the best ways to start decluttering + grab your own free printable declutter checklist.

    Spring cleaning has hit me a little earlier this year and as soon as Christmas and New Year were out of the way I went into full blown de-clutter mode, but thanks to a lot of life stuff happening too I am still in the midst of it all, so this post is going to serve to help you guys get your spring cleaning/de-cluttering going while I also get myself in gear for finishing off here too.

    Start the declutter in the smallest room first

    That’s right, start small. It might be so tempting to go straight into the biggest area/mess/place that needs decluttering the most but I promise there is a method to this suggested madness, so hear me out.

    When we get in a certain frame of mine we want to achieve it all immediately but so often fall at the first (or second) hurdle because we lose focus and/or motivation. This is usually because the task at hand came seem daunting when it is so big or includes lots of rooms. If you start small you will start racking up those wins a lot quicker and you will find that this fills you with motivation and spurs you on to keep going. I started with the downstairs hallway area and having this to greet me when I walked through the door or came down the stairs filled me with so much motivation to keep going with the rest of the house. Sometimes, when clearing and organising you may very well come across a prest problem that you feel needs addressing, at this stage you might find the best course of action is to hire a professional, such as PA pest control, to come and sort the problem for you.

    Be ruthless

    This might go without saying but in a de-clutter you need to be ruthless. No, I’m not suggesting you throw away everything that is important to you but you need to ask yourself how much value it holds in your life. There will be many things that you just can’t part with and that’s ok too. If it’s things that hold a lot of sentimental value to you but they aren’t necessarily part of your every day life in your home then maybe storing them away is a good idea. 

    If you’re holding onto things because you “might use it one day” set it aside and at the end of de-cluttering that room re-evaluate how much you really want to keep it. If you’re anything like me once you start getting a little irritated with a room you’ll very quickly be able to be ruthless.

    After this process what you should be left with is either things you need on a daily basis or things that are priceless to you that you will want to store away safely.

    Three piles

    Separate your things in each room as you sort them and place them into 3 piles; Keep, Donate, Throw away. There is so much milage still left in so many of our things and more than ever people are buying second hand, reusing, recycling, up cycling and trying to reduce waste in order to help the planet. Unless something is really broken and unsalvageable (and let’s be honest, most of our stuff isn’t) then think about either donating it or selling it on. The decluttering process can be a little bit of a money maker too and if you are looking to get rid of some items think about listing them on sites such as eBay or Facebook Marketplace. You can also donate your things to charity shops, food banks and women’s refuges too. Look in your local area and see what services are available. 

    At the end of your declutter in each room look at what you have in your keep pile again and see if you see anything that in reflection you might be able to get rid of, you might be surprised at yourself and be able to reduce this pile down even further.

    Also, with your throw away pile do your best to evaluate the materials you are throwing away. Could they be recycled maybe? Don’t send things to landfill if they don’t need to go there.

    Organise & Re-evaluate (and declutter again if necessary)

    As you’re putting the room back together after decluttering you might find one more opportunity to remove even more items from your home. What you should currently be left with is everything you put in your ‘keep’ pile, but as you clear everything away you might find you are still left with some items that have no home. This is a great time to evaluate those items and see if you do still really need them.

    De-clutter first, then clean

    De-cluttering can be a bit of a dusty process and can also temporarily end up with more mess than you started with. I find the best thing to do is de-clutter first and clean last, this helps me with the entire de-cluttering process because I feel less inclined to keep everything that is currently getting on my nerves. When you are done de-cluttering you can re-arrange what you have, get your room back to how you want it and then give it a deep clean. Once these things are finished you will really feel as though you have completed that room.

    Free Checklist to help you declutter & deep clean your home

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    Decluttering is a work in progress in our home, especially with a baby who comes with so much stuff that I am sure keeps multiplying. Using these tips I find that I can continually keep on top of the things inside our home. Decluttering is a work in progress and you might even find that setting aside time every quarter helps you keep on top of thing, it can be amazing how quickly we start to accumulate things in our homes. My advice is do one big declutter and revisit each room/space periodically to see if there is anything else you can get rid of. Happy Decluttering!