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Looking for a minimalist toy list for your home?
Whether it’s a rainy day, a playdate inside the home, or quiet time during nap time, this list is sure to help you think more critically about your toys and see what is right for your home!
Have you been looking for a simple list of toys that are essential for children?
There is a lot of marketing out there that can make us feel like we need to have a bunch of toys in order to be “good parents.” Or that if our children don’t have enough toys, they won’t be able to develop correctly.
While there are toys that are recommended by professionals, I believe we don’t need to have our children swamped with toys. It has been talked about that when there isn’t a lot of clutter, children are able to focus more and be more creative. I don’t have an exact source of where this information is talked about on a professional level handy with me but chat with someone who specializes in it and I’m sure they’ll know!
When looking to simplify our home (we downsized significantly a few years ago) I was looking around everywhere it seemed to try to find a SIMPLE, minimalist list of toys that children can play with inside the home.
Then I really dived deep into the Minimal Mom from YouTube and her recommendations! Have you heard of Minimal Mom from YouTube?
Her videos inspired me!
Like truly. Life-changing! I tell as many of my friends about her as possible. When I first found out about her I saw her kitchen decluttering video or her meal planning on. I can’t remember which one! The concepts were so new to me! And she presented the information so well and in such an honoring, respectful way. It was so fun learning from her that I was immediately sold by the fact that she only have three pots in her kitchen that she used. She called that in her video that we might not be actually using as many pots as we think we do when we cook. I had to find out! I bought the pot she recommended and boom! Now we literally only have 3 pots. Thank you, Minimal Mom!! We also have been able to keep a super clean house since going through almost every video she posted.
When I watched a few of her videos, I realized that she hadn’t linked to what toys she has liked/hasn’t liked. I decided to take the plunge to put together a list while waiting for hopefully some links from her! I will keep you posted. For now, here is a list of essential toys I have found.
Here it goes!
This post is all about minimalist toy list!
The Basic Toys (3-8 Years Old)
First things first, Minimal Mom says that the first step that helps her is to “pick out a couple of categories of toys that we know our kids play with.“ HERE is the video where Minimal Mom talks about the first step to decluttering toys.
1. Pick out a couple of categories:
Boy Toys:
- Legos (1 bin per boy)
- Blocks (1 bin per boy)
- Cars/Trucks/Tractors (1 bin for both boys)
Girl Toys:
- Play Food & Utinsels
- Dolls/Polly Pockets & Furniture that go with it (No dollhouse)
- Baby Dolls & Accessories
Other Ideas:
- Small Toys
- Play Money
- Trains
- Stuffed Animals
- Miniature Animal Figurines
- Little People/Action Figurines
Similar Toys To Minimal Mom:
-
Legos:
- Duplo Lego Trains (23 Pieces, Cheapest Choice, Amazon’s Choice, and Lego Duplo Best Seller). ($16.00-$20.00).
- Duplo Lego Trains (23 Pieces, Regular Bright Classic Colors, Amazon’s Choice). ($38.00)
- Duplo Lego Dump Truck (20 Pieces, Cheapest Choice, Amazon’s Choice). ($16.00-$20.00).
- Duplo Lego Classic Set (80 Pieces, Cheapest Choice, Amazon’s Choice, and Lego Duplo Best Seller). ($16.00-$20.00). HERE is a Duplo Lego Classic Set with a box for travel. (65 Pieces, Amazon’s Choice). ($24.00).
- Duplo Lego Trains (23 Pieces, Cheapest Choice, Amazon’s Choice, and Lego Duplo Best Seller). ($16.00-$20.00).
-
Blocks:
- Wood Blocks (Open-ended link to all of the wooden blocks on Amazon).
- Brain Blox (similar to Kapla blocks). All ages love playing with them! You can build boats, bridges, tracks, trees, etc. with these. They are sustainable. (200 Pieces, 5 stars, 208 reviews). ($60.00).
- KEVA Structures. (200 Pieces, 5 stars, 706 reviews). ($55.00).
- 3 Bees & Me. (cheap blocks like Kapla – some pieces may not be the same size). (100 Pieces). ($22.00).
-
Cars/Trucks/Tractors:
- Matchbox Cars. High-quality cars that won’t fall apart as easily. (20 Pieces, 5 stars, 2,300+ reviews). ($20.00).
- Assorted Cars. (20 Pieces, 4.5 stars, 5,300+ reviews). ($15.00).
- Construction Cars. (6 Cars, 4.5 stars, 2,300+ reviews). ($38.70).
- Yeonha Cars. It says these are non-toxic and use environmental material. (12 Cars, 4.5 stars, 13,200+ reviews). ($10.47).
- Coogam Cars. (4 Cars, 5 stars, 5,300+ reviews). ($22.00).
- John Deere Dump Truck and Tractor. (2 Cars, 5 stars, 20,900+ reviews). ($13.00).
- Green Toys Tractor, Orange. (1 Car, 5 stars, 3,200+ reviews). ($11.00-$20.00).
-
Play Food & Utinsels
- Play Food. (Healthy Play Food, Farmer’s Market Sort by Color. 30 Pieces, 5 Star, 11,702 Reviews.). ($30.00).
- Play Utinsels. (Open-ended link to all of the play food on Amazon).
-
Dolls/Polly Pockets
- Polly Pocket Dolls (Open-ended link to all of the Polly Pocket Dolls on Amazon).
- The Polly Pockets shown in the picture below are HERE.
- Polly Pocket Dolls (Open-ended link to all of the Polly Pocket Dolls on Amazon).
-
Baby Dolls & Accessories
- The New York Baby Doll Collection. Classic Baby Doll. (4.5 stars, 11,000+ reviews). ($13.00).
- The New York Baby Doll Accessories. (Open-ended link).
- Gloveleya Dolls. Huge Variety of Dolls. (Open-ended link).
- Gloveleya Dolls Accessories. (Open-ended link).
- Manhattan Baby Dolls. Soft, Washable Baby Doll. (5 stars, 7,200+ reviews). ($35.00).
- Manhattan Baby Dolls. (More options). (Open-ended link).
- Manhattan Baby Doll Accessories. (Open-ended link).
Quiet Time Boxes:
So Minimal Mom may not have talked about quiet time boxes in her videos, but I know this has been a lifesaver! Those days when it’s cold outside, rainy, or I just want to get something done and am sick of the kids watching the tv? Quiet time boxes!
Here’s why I think you will love them too!
They are simple! There’s also a great post that Home & Kind did about the boredom time boxes she put together: Linked HERE. It’s an easy way to change up! Choose a box for each day of the week to create some variety and that surprise element.
HERE is a link to the boxes pictured above from Amazon.
2. Choose a few items to put in rotating boxes:
Basic Self-Independent Play:
- Puzzles
- Marbles
- Magnets
- Play Money
- Foldable Race Track
- Blocks, Legos, Cars, Play food, Dolls, Animals, Figurines… (All of the above basic toys)
Books:
- Maze Books
- Coloring Books
- Activity or Learning Books
- Basic Reading Books
- Journals
Could Potentially Create A Mess:
- Bean Box
- Playdough
- Kinesthetic Sand
- Water Beads
- Paint (Rock Painting, Canvas, etc.)
Creative:
- Markers, Crayons, Colored Pencils, Pencils, Pens, Special Markers
- Popsicle Sticks
- Colored Paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- Stickers
- Tape
- Beads
- String
- Other Craft Supplies
Service:
- Write a Letter to Friends or Family
- Clean Up
Playdate Toys
Another question I have always had: What type of toys will kids like to play with when they are at our home? I have found that when children come over to play, sometimes it is so clean, or there is such “little to do” that they get bored easily. I’m still working on this. But for the time being, here is a short list of what has worked for us.
3. Keep in mind, that you may need enough items for others.
-
Card Games
-
Outside Playdates
-
All of the Above Items
Hope you found this minimalist toy list helpful!
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This post was updated on: April 12, 2023