I was recently sent an article by a friend, Toddler Gear: The Only 6 Items you Need. It was of course, all the very basic items; crib, car seat, stroller, sippy cups, potty, and crayons.
Of the 553 comments that followed the article, many were negative, claiming toddlers are all different and my toddler never needed a crib or a potty, or a highchair, etc… What some of the commenters seemingly failed to notice was that the article was listed under the concept of being financially fit and saving money. Basically, the article was encouraging you to really assess your needs. I thought it had a legit message, to not buy into the consumer hype that you need every trick n’ trinket for your little ones.
Besides the backlash in the comments, the article got me thinking, how much of what we have do we really need? And the less you have, the less you need to keep organized, right?
I am currently in the process of liquidating toddler items and so I have the advantage of hindsight. I can take a look at the items we have and see that I didn’t need all of the stuff I had for the girls. Some of the things I have did make my life a bit easier. For example, do we need bibs, no, but I definitely preferred throwing those in the wash and not worrying about stains rather than pre-treating every shirt.
I am so curious what would make it on your list of 6 items to keep our home and budget simplifed. It really comes down to personal preference.
Do children’s items clutter a home? They certainly can but if they are kept in check, make your life a little easier and you don’t go into debt buying them I can see a healthy 15-20+ item list. But it is definitely important to have a system to keep toys clutter under control.
So what might be clutter in one person’s home may seem indispensable in another’s. The true challenge is to be purposeful with all items you bring into your home whether toddler related or not. Does it serve a practical purpose? Does it make your life easier or even to make your mantel look pretty? Or was it just a really good sale?
If you determined to limiting the toy clutter in your home, here is an informative article from Unclutterer listing some interesting baby toy alternatives.
What would be on your list of must have items? Did you skip all those plastic toddler utensils?
baby items via
