Any kind of clutter can get out of hand quickly. Now, this post is not going to tell you to de-clutter. I find that pointless and costly. On the other hand, frugal home toy clutter is a real thing. Too much is an issue also, frugal homes do not hoard, but use what they have.
I have never been one for decluttering. Especially kids’ toys. They will eventually come around to want those toys again. Furthermore, if there is one or more child those toys can be repurposed. My frugal home toy solution is to buy second hand, shop for toys’ at garage sales, and hold onto the toys’ currently in the toy closet…..just rotate them!
Places to Buy Toys
Facebook garage sales are a great place to buy toys. All year long people are posting all kinds of toys. The prices are great and with a little soap and water they can be repurposed.
Second hand shops or consignment shops are good for birthdays’ or Christmas. The toys are used gently and the condition is good. One time I purchased several Melissa and Doug puzzles for cheap at a consignment shop.
Finally, enough patience will pay off with a great find because, the best place is to shop is at garage sales. Most people want to declutter, which is why they have a garage sale. As a frugal home mom my philosophy is one’s persons’ clutter is someone else’s savings!
Toy Clutter Solutions
Make an inventory list. Room by room write down each toy and how many of a certain toy. List everything. Big toys, and small toys. Kitchen sets to hot wheel cars. Do not leave anything out.
Set up a toy rotation system. First, set a tote number. Five totes to hold toys. One goes out, four stays in. In one month, rotate that toy tote. Setting a rotation is a frugal home dream come true.
Every three months rotate the toys. Your kids’ will be so happy because I believe those toys have been forgotten about since they were not on shelves. Keep the rotation going throughout the year.
Additionally, favorite toys that get accidentally broken are glued several times before they go in the trash. As a frugal home family our goal is to teach our kids’ to first take care of what they have, and second, use it as long as possible.
Alternatively, we do not buy more and more toys’. At Christmas and birthdays’ books, activities, stuffed animals or clothes take the place of toys. If we see a need to buy toys one year due to wear and tear, then we buy more. The idea is to keep a balance with limits on toys. When the playroom shelves are full, then we do not buy anymore. Furthermore, it teaches contentment in what we have, which is a great character trait to hold.
Frugal Home Toy Repurposing
Toys can be used for many activities in homeschool studies. They can be used in art, creativity, slime projects and more. For the most part, we use older less loved toys to use in our science experiments.
No toy goes unused or unplayed. If it looks like a toy is set aside due to lack of interest, find a game to bring it back to life. Bring the fun back and set up a play scene from a favorite movie or tv show.
Getting creative with older toys’ gives them a longer life span. So, at Christmas time, or birthdays’ we do buy some toys. Not as much as we used too, because they do cost a lot. Selling them is not an option anymore because as soon as I sold a toy, they would ask for it again.
Our family has decided that the best way to keep toy clutter down is to maintain and use what we have. Maybe instead of selling toys try to look at them as a creative outlet and work to prolong the life of a toy.
For more posts on frugal home life, frugal homeschool, and suburban homesteading sign up for my email list!
Leave a Reply