How to Declutter Toys (and What to Keep)
To declutter toys, gather them all in one place, throw out anything broken, and sort the rest into Yes, No and Maybe. Keep only what fits your storage, put a small selection out, and box the rest for rotation. Get the outgoing toys out of the house within a week.
This guide is for parents staring at an overflowing playroom and wondering where to even begin. It’s part of our practical guide to minimalism with kids. Before we moved out of our house, putting away mountains of toys was a nightly job. Fewer toys ended that.
Before you start: set up 5 boxes
Grab five boxes, laundry baskets or bags and label them:
- Keep: goes back on the shelf.
- Rotate: kept, but stored out of sight for now.
- Maybe: your child isn’t sure, or it might suit a sibling.
- Donate / sell / pass on: good condition, leaving the house.
- Trash / recycle: broken, missing pieces, or worn out.
Block out 1–2 hours for a playroom, or 30 minutes per category if you’re doing it in stages. Have a bag of zip-top bags or small containers ready for sets with pieces.
Watch our video: How to Purge With Kids.
How to declutter toys, step by step
- Gather one category at a time. All the cars. All the stuffed animals. All the art supplies. Seeing 40 toy cars in one pile makes decisions easier than finding them one at a time.
- Toss the obvious stuff first. Broken toys, puzzles missing pieces, dried-out markers, fast-food toys, dead-battery gadgets you’ll never fix. This alone often clears a big chunk.
- Pull duplicates. Keep the best one or two of anything you have several of.
- Sort the rest with Yes, No, Maybe. Ask: Does this get played with? Does it add value? Would someone else enjoy it more?
- Match what’s left to your storage. Decide how many bins or shelf spaces toys get. If it doesn’t fit, something else goes.
- Put out a small selection. For young kids, 6–10 toys on a low shelf. Everything else in Keep goes to Rotate. Our toy rotation guide shows you how to set it up.
- Get the outgoing boxes in the car the same day. Put the drop-off on your calendar.
Decluttering toys: what to keep
Keep toys that:
- Get played with often, or in long stretches. Watch for a week before you declutter if you’re not sure.
- Can be used lots of ways. Blocks, building sets, balls, dolls and figures, play kitchens, art supplies and dress-up usually beat toys that do one thing.
- Grow with your child. Things that work for a 3-year-old and still get used at 7.
- Are genuinely loved. One or two comfort toys stay, no questions asked.
- Fit the space. A toy only stays if it has a home.
Toys that usually go:
- Broken, incomplete, or outgrown.
- Loud, battery-driven toys that get pressed twice and ignored.
- Party favors, prizes and freebies.
- “Someday” toys your child has never been interested in.
- Duplicates.
- Toys kept only because they were a gift or cost a lot. Guilt isn’t a reason to keep something.
Should you declutter toys with or without your kids?
Both work. It depends on age and temperament.
Without kids (babies, toddlers, and first big purges): Do the first pass alone. Remove the broken, the duplicates and anything they’ve outgrown. Most young children won’t miss items they haven’t seen in weeks. Put anything you’re unsure about in a Maybe box in the garage for a month. If nobody asks, it can go.
With kids (from about age 4–5): Kids who help decide are less upset, and they learn a skill they’ll keep. Try this:
- Keep it short: 20–30 minutes.
- Do the obvious trash yourself beforehand.
- Give a container limit: “All the stuffed animals that fit in this basket can stay.”
- Offer a choice rather than a yes/no: “Which three cars are your favorites?”
- Let them help deliver the donations.
Our family uses Yes, No, Maybe with everyone, from the youngest up. When one of our little ones was two, he helped by carrying things to the bin and putting the toys we kept back in their bin. When he got bored of that, he wanted to do what “the big people” were doing, so he sorted too. One of our older kids wrote about it in How to Declutter with Kids: The Yes, No, Maybe Method.
Scripts that help:
- “This toy has had a lot of fun with you. Want to choose a kid who gets to play with it next?”
- “We’re keeping all your favorites. We’re just making room so you can find them.”
- “Not sure? Put it in the Maybe box. We’ll check on it next month.”
How to declutter toddler toys
Toddlers need fewer toys than you’d think. A small 2018 University of Toledo study found toddlers played longer and in more creative ways when they had 4 toys to choose from instead of 16. (More on that study in our toy rotation guide.)
For toddlers:
- Declutter while they nap. They’ll notice missing toys much less than you expect.
- Keep 6–10 toys out, with a mix: something to build, something to push or ride, something to pretend with, a few books, and something musical.
- Remove toys with small parts from shared spaces. Children under 3 can choke on small parts, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Older siblings’ small-piece toys can live in a lidded bin up high.
- Swap toys weekly or every two weeks instead of buying new ones.
How to declutter toys before Christmas (and after)
Before Christmas or a birthday (2–4 weeks ahead):
- Do a quick sweep: broken, outgrown and ignored toys go.
- Let your kids pick a few toys to donate, so another family can enjoy them this season.
- Clear one bin’s worth of space for incoming gifts.
- Send relatives a short wish list with specific ideas, including things that don’t take up space. Our list of clutter-free gifts for kids can help.
After Christmas (the first week of January):
- Unpack gifts, recycle packaging, and put new toys out a few at a time. The rest go into the rotation box.
- Use one in, one out: each new toy takes the spot of an old one.
- Wait a few weeks, then check which new toys actually get played with.
Where to take toys when you declutter
| Toy condition | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Good condition, all pieces | Donation center, thrift store, a family you know, a school or church nursery (ask first) |
| Still valuable (big sets, ride-ons, brand-name items) | Local online marketplace or a kids’ consignment sale |
| Bikes, scooters, sports gear | Local charities and bike programs. When we moved out of our house, we donated our bikes to an organization that sends them overseas. |
| Missing pieces but usable | “Free” box on the curb or a local buy-nothing group, described honestly |
| Broken plastic toys | Trash, unless your area recycles that type of plastic |
| Electronic toys | Take batteries out and use your local e-waste or battery drop-off |
Before you pass on baby gear or toys, check for recalls. In the US, it’s illegal to sell recalled products, and the CPSC says that applies to yard sales too. In Canada, Health Canada says it’s your responsibility to make sure a used product is safe, even if you give it away. Search the CPSC recall list or Health Canada’s recalls database.
Printable toy declutter checklist
- ☐ Set up 5 boxes: Keep, Rotate, Maybe, Donate/Sell, Trash/Recycle
- ☐ Gather one category at a time
- ☐ Toss broken, incomplete and worn-out toys
- ☐ Pull duplicates (keep the best 1–2)
- ☐ Sort the rest: Yes, No, Maybe
- ☐ Decide how many bins toys get, and stick to it
- ☐ Put 6–10 toys out for each young child
- ☐ Box the rest for rotation, labeled
- ☐ Check recalls on anything you’re passing on
- ☐ Get donations out of the house within a week
- ☐ Put a date on the Maybe box (one month)
Common questions
There’s no official number. A practical target is 6–10 toys out at a time for toddlers and preschoolers, with more stored for rotation. For older kids, let the storage decide: whatever fits in their bins and shelf.
For babies and toddlers, clearing broken or unused toys yourself is normal. For older kids, it’s better to include them. Taking things without asking can make kids hold on tighter. If you do a solo pass, stick to broken items and use a Maybe box for anything they might miss.
Slow down. Let them keep it, or put it in the Maybe box. Pushing hard over one toy can set the whole process back. Focus on choices (“Which ones are your favorites?”) instead of losses.
Free printable
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