Simplifying the toy situation

DSC_0255

Princess Cinderella in her shoe box house, sitting on her duct tape couch. The serving fork? That's Prince Charming!



We have three sets of toys here:

1. Fisher Price Little People figurines and houses
2. Baby dolls and clothes (this includes their American Girl dolls as well)
3. Dress up clothes and shoes

With a few odds and ends here and there (such as two princess dolls, and maybe some puzzles...) that's pretty much it.

I have found that the less my girls have to play with, the more they play with what they do have. Such as boxes, duct and tape, and forks. :)

I have a few specifications for the toys I buy our girls as well. All flexible of course, but over all it would seem that the toys that adhere to these following points are the ones that stick around and get played with the most.

1. No batteries required.
2.No flashing lights, annoying songs, or repetitive sounds. (This rule founded by Daddy and strictly enforced by him as well. He doesn't like annoying sounds! Ha ha!)
3. No small pieces. (Huge piles of Polly Pocket shoes, dresses and accessories are sure to make me break out in hives.)


How do you handle toys in your home?



2 comments:

Sarah Joy said...

I took out their very favorite toys, and packed 3/4 of them in trash bags under their bed. I have no idea how we got so many, and I'll pull the trash bags out every few months and let them rescue something. I will probably throw the rest eventually. Someone gifted my children with package of pet shop little guys for each of my three girls. We also try to avoid the teeny tiny things, but I thought they were old enough to start being responsible with sets. They all go in the same little box, and so far, it's their favorite thing to play with. The little things are trying to stay in the box. More or less.
Then we have a boy, so that involves boy stuff. He's good at keeping his big legos in a bag, and he has a fleet of vehicles parked under the bed. That and Max Steel, who stays in the general toy box.
Elisabeth's Cinderella doll lost her skirt and I had to make her a new one. She also lost her updo, and her shoes. And for some reason her nose is blue.

Unknown said...

ummm not applicable any longer boo hoo!!
Has your mom ever told you about how we played with our Barbie's? We would use egg cartons for twin beds, encyclopdias for double beds, fold squares of toilet paper up to use put around our babie's nurseries as diapers, milk jug caps as plates, I could go on! We used big boxes with cut out windows as houses too. Hung material scraps on thread for curtains. Man, typing all these memories makes me want to sit down in the middle of the floor and start playing Barbie's!