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We’re moving house this week (!!) and have spent the past month paring down our belongings and clearing out all of the stuff we’ve accumulated over the past four years. It’s really kind of appalling how much stuff one family can collect into one house. And I thought we lived quite minimally. Ha!
Anyway, we’ve made several trips to the charity shop giving away lots of toys that don’t get used or haven’t stood the test of time. This exercise has made it even more clear to me that kids really don’t need loads and loads of toys to be happy — just the basics: legos, Schleich animals, and Kapla blocks for the boys, and dress-up clothes, dolls and a doll’s pram for the girls. Their favourite things!
I wanted to quickly mention how much the girls love their retro-style dolls pram from The Tipi. Not only is it beautiful to look at, but it’s really well made and sturdy in design — something we will certainly be taking with us to the new place and hopefully something we’ll keep forever for future grandchildren to use!
Alright – back to packing!
Courtney xx
Comments (25)
Hi Courtney,
Why do you divide toys in girls’ and boys toys? I assume you probably don’t forbid your girls to play with legos or your boys to dress up, but your view on what is ‘natural play’ for each gender probably gives a message to your kids, about what they’re ‘supposed’ to like or be. What are your views on role patterns and sex-neutral upbringing? Maybe one of you could write a post on that subject some time? I would be very interested!
Hi Eve,
Thanks for your comment!
I didn’t mean to imply that these toys are gender specific. (My boys loved playing with dolls prams too when they were little!). I only mentioned they toys because they are their current favourites. But of course my girls love playing with the Schleich animals and building blocks and legos too! Absolutely!
I think these are favourite toys of ALL of my children.
But nothing is off limits, and I really hope I’m not sending any sort of message to my kids about what they’re ‘supposed’ to like, etc.
Sorry if it came across this way. x
Thanks for your response! Happy to hear you are not raising them ‘seperately’, but the division is just accidentally this way right now. My interest in a post on this subject remains, since you have written very interesting and insightful pieces on different topics. Good luck with moving!
Thank you! xx
I couldn’t agree more about how much stuff children accumulate. I just had a big clearout (I do this every year when the kids aren’t around, otherwise it’s impossible) and you know what was the most telling thing ? The kids haven’t even noticed. No one has asked for any of the thrown out toys. A few dolls, lego and figures are all mine need.
It’s so true! My kids never notice either.
Or… they suddenly see the toys in a new light because there’s not such an overwhelming abundance around them. We went through our puzzles and games cupboard and cleared out loads of games. Then suddenly, when the kids open the cupboard, they feel more inspired to play with the games that ARE in there.
Simple really is the best. I hope we can continue to keep it this way. xx
Our family of five is soon to move into a city apartment. I’m finding it so hard to give toys away, but there are so many and they play with only a few. I know I’ll take them to the charity shop only to come home with more 🙂 good luck with your move x
Thank you! And best of luck with your move too. I find that when you pare down the toys, they actually play better with the toys they do have! Anyway, good luck! xx
Absolutely adorable old-fashioned pram! We have a sturdy wooden one , where our tiniest still can sit in it himself to be pushed around. So much fun! It’s been in use by my (much younger) siblings and have been around for over 20 years now. And still it’s as good as new.
You really don’t need that much of toys. Just the right ones. We also had to break down to the favourite pieces in our home when we moved overseas. Such an eye opener!
Best of luck with the packing, Courtney.
All will be fine.
Our girls build shelters with kapla for their sylvanian animals and there is always some adventure with both toys involved. I wish you and your family a peaceful house move.
I know exactly what you mean about the stuff we own. Almost two years ago we made a big move from East to West Coast and we departed with more than half of our belongings. I thought I was on the minimalist side too:) Last summer we moved again and got rid of more stuff and just this past weekend I filled up 2 trash bags just from my son’s room. And I sware I have been really careful what I bring in. Anyway best of luck with packing and settling into your new home.
P.S. I would love to see more posts on “boys”, it’s so hard to find cute clothes (besides Crewcuts, Zara, Nico Nico and Bobo Choses) and I would be interested to hear what the older kids like to read ( from all of you ladies:)) There is none existing (or I haven’t found them) blogs on kids 7+. Would be great to see what kids this age read in different parts of the world. Thanks.
Hi Eva,
Thanks for your comment and suggestion for posts.
On the topic of older kids and the books they read, I thought I would share a link to a post I wrote last year with some of Easton’s favourite books: https://babyccinokids.com/blog/2014/07/01/eastons-favourite-books-great-for-ages-6-to-12/
What I like most about this post is all the comments from the readers with suggestions for what their kids like. I ordered a lot of books from reader’s suggestions and they’ve all been great! xx
What a great idea to give the toys to a charity shop.
Did you have the kids with you while doing it, or did you do it “secretly”?
Best wishes for you & your family!
Lots of LOVE.
xxx
P.S.: I am SO curious about where you are moving and what your new home will look like! (I know it must be so annoying to hear all the time on IG 😉 ) SO, SO exciting!
Hi Vera,
Thanks for your sweet comment. And I’m sorry I haven’t really said where we are moving — there’s been a lot up in the air and we are considering some bigger changes. For now, we are moving to a rental nearby in London for the next few months. : )
And your question about the charity shops – I usually do it in front of the kids. In general, they are surprisingly okay with donating their old toys. Even sometimes new ones — this past Christmas they received way too many gifts from relatives and friends. Instead of keeping them all, we carried them down to the hospital together so that the children in the hospital would have new toys for Christmas. It was really pretty sweet to see how excited they were to give their toys away to children who needed them more than they do.
Now, that sounds very exciting. I am looking forward to your future updates and wishing you all the best – no matter where! 🙂
And I will give the charity-shop a try! xxx
Totally agree on toys! I’ve been itching to go through the boys’ toys actually… Love the prams – SO sweet. Good luck this week!!
That pram is amazing…drool
Ah ….how lovely that you gave brand new toys away to local hospital – thats really cool that your kids were ok with that …I would love to try it (although i’m not sure it how it would go down!!) – as so often especially at Christmas I see toys being given and know they won’t be used etc……Yep you are inspiring me to do a clear out – good luck packing … and yes i too love that pram
Heirloom toys are the best toys. Love this one! xx
Love the retro style pram! Our eldest daughter went through all her old toys and games before Christmas and determined which ones to donate. She helped carry the box in to our local Salvation Army and was beaming with pride. Such a great feeling! Good luck with the move today. Thinking of you all! xx
Hi – what age would you say outgrows this pram…as in too tall to play with it? I am thinking about this as a 2nd birthday present but being in the USA, it’s an investment (with shipping!)…so if she will be too big/tall for it by age 3 then we might go a different route. Thanks!
Hi Kelly,
It’s so difficult to say! I would think that the doll pram would still appeal to (and fit) a 3-year-old, but I guess it depends on the child. My Ivy (nearly 6) has been playing with it too, even though it’s too small for her and she has to reach down to push it. It hasn’t really stopped her from playing with it.
I would think that even after it’s no longer used for pushing around dolls, it still looks pretty and could serve as a baby’s bed or even just decoration.
I hope this helps! x
Our Mama took away all our toys to Toy Quarantine recently becuase she got tired of us leaving them strewn all over the floor even when she pleaded with us to help her tidy them up.. My sister and I were left with our lego and our books, our jigsaws, our lotties and a few board games. Our mama didn’t want to give us any of our stuff back, because we learned to play together and entertain each other more than we used to. Our Mama wants to get rid of all of our toys that are still in quarantine except our kitchen stuff and our tea party stuff. We think it is a terrible idea. PS. Our mama says she can’t wait to see photos of your new house if you share them.
Courtney, thank you for the link.
Hey Courtney,
I found this sweet post whilst on the hunt for the perfect pram for my little girl’s christmas gift. We have just moved from Australia to Hong Kong and had to go through a similar cull of all our things – how cathartic and refreshing it was! We have moved to a very small apartment with two children and have to carefully consider each and every toy that we bring into our home. I’d love a follow up post once you guys are settled, I’m sure it’s something already on your radar!
Good luck in Byron, it really is such a special place x