How to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free When You Have a Toddler

When I found out I was pregnant in April 2022, I had some ideas for how early parenthood would go. I knew that our lives were going to change drastically, and I knew that the house wasn’t always going to be museum-level clean as it had been up to that point. Intuitively, I also knew that parenthood would come with some surprises that my pre-motherhood self could not imagine – whether good or bad.

I don’t want to scare anyone who might be thinking of becoming a parent so I will start by saying that parenthood is almost entirely wonderful. Magical, even. My beautiful and genius toddler makes my heart sing every single day. However, something I was not prepared for was the sheer amount of clutter that would make its way into our home upon the arrival of our child.

The first culprits were all the new parenting gadgets that we bought or were given – things like her baby swing, the playpen, her highchair, storage bins (so many bins!), her activity jumper, etc. Bebe had a few toys to begin with, but there are only so many toys a newborn/small infant can play with.

Later, as Bebe got bigger and more advanced, the toys started piling up. Like, an insane number of toys. Incidentally, Bebe’s birthday is close to Christmas, so by the time we got through her first birthday and Christmas 2023, the hoard of new toys was nearly spilling out of our house. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a blessing to have so much family and friends who love her enough to shower her with gifts. But really, the problem has gotten out of hand, and it’s been an ongoing saga to keep our home uncluttered. And realistically, our home will probably not be clutter-free again until she is grown up (which I certainly do not want to rush).

But in the meantime, we have taken the following measures to clear up extra space in our home:

1.      We have parted ways with some of our furniture. To clear up our living room, we got rid of the coffee table (both for safety and decluttering purposes) and one of our end tables that we were seldom using. This extra space made way for the huge playpen we now have in there, which holds Bebe’s living room toys. Yes, she has both living room toys and bedroom toys.

2.      We have converted Bebe’s highchair into a booster seat. We just removed the top part of her highchair and attached it to one of our dining room seats to form a booster seat of sorts and got rid of the legs of the highchair. Before, our extra dining room chair was just sitting there in our dining room, unused. Now we have that extra space back.

3.      Every so often, we make some tough decisions about Bebe’s toys. This one is so hard for both of us since we have some sentimental attachment to a lot of her toys. We are never getting rid of her first round of stuffies, for example. We also need to be mindful about which toys she currently loves the most, so that we don’t get rid of those. But there have been times when a relatively new toy (sometimes still packaged) has been given away or donated because we needed to get rid of stuff. We nearly always end up keeping too much, though.

• A subpoint I would like to make here is that I try to keep the more durable and “timeless” toys whenever possible. Cheapy plastic toys are typically the first to go unless Bebe really loves them and plays with them regularly. Likewise, whenever I buy her toys myself, I try to avoid the plastic ones, if possible. Not because it’s trendy to do so, or for environmental reasons – the plastic toys just don’t last very long, or they start to look beat up after a while.

• Also, if a toy breaks and can’t be repaired immediately, it’s out. We just toss it straightaway without question, unless we know that Bebe loves that particular toy. In that case, we would be willing to go through a bit of effort to get it fixed. But if she doesn’t even seem to notice, then that toy is gone.

4.      We go through Bebe’s clothes somewhat regularly. Every few months, we will go through her closet and toss anything too small, and anything that she is probably going to outgrow soon. I also consider the seasons, too. If she has some jackets/sweaters that fit her now, they almost definitely won’t fit by the time the cold weather comes. We’re in the middle of a Florida summer right now, so she will not be using them anytime soon.

5.      We keep toys at our caregivers’ homes. My sister and mom both watch Bebe on a weekly basis, so it’s helpful for them to have baby stuff at their house. We never have to bring toys because they’re both fully stocked at all times. This is also a great way of getting rid of a toy you might not like having in your home – such as a ball pit…

6.      We pretty much limit toy-buying to birthdays, Christmas, and other special occasions, with few exceptions. Recently, we realized that our girl loves Elsa from Frozen, so we made an exception to this rule by buying her an Elsa doll. It was so worth it to see the look on her face when she got it!

7.      We stow away some toys for later use. If Bebe already has a ton of toys in her bedroom and living room, we will put away some of her newer, unopened toys for a later time. That way, if she’s having a bad day for example, we can “gift” her with a new toy.

8.      We use lots and lots of storage bins for organization. We’ve got bins in Bebe’s closet, in her dresser drawers, and we also use an extra plastic set of drawers for her socks and extra blankets, etc. Keeping everything tidy and organized is so important, not only to keep a (relatively) clutter-free home but also to keep you motivated to keep everything in order.

9.      We have started teaching Bebe how to clean up after herself. She is only 20 months old, so we don’t expect much but she understands when we tell her to put away her blocks, put her cup in the sink, etc. I don’t think it is ever too early to teach a child basic tidying skills (within reason, of course).

XOXO, Alexis.