Declutter with a Minimalistic Bookshelf
One of the themes behind my year is less is more.
With birthdays, holidays, and ‘just because’ toys piling up, I decided to take this approach to our play space.
Before this declutter stage, we had multiple toy baskets throughout the house (bed room, living room, our master bedroom, and the kitchen) filled with toys that barely got used.
Our girls had their favorites but always played with the toys easily within reach and that they could see on the shelves versus inside of a toy box.
I went to work sorting through the toys.
First, I stored all of the ones that they’ve outgrown in bins in the basement.
Then, I paired her selection down to a minimal set that fits on her bookshelf.
If you’re looking for a shelf, Ikea also has a great bookshelf. Turn it on the side and it’s the perfect height for a toddler.
We’ve also added this infant shelf for easy reach. My husband smirked at the height of it at first, but it’s amazing how inviting it is for the littles.
Our preference now is towards toys of a wooden or natural material based on learnings from reading You Are Your Child’s First Teacher, but we have a stash of other toys I can bring out at any time like new on a rainy day.
Activity Trays
I saw this genius idea to encourage play on Pinterest from other Montessori-style mom bloggers. The idea is to ‘disassemble’ the activity or toy and place it on ready to play trays.
This idea really spoke to me as a way to inspire action with Coralie because sometimes her puzzles will just sit unused on her table.
You can find cute trays at HomeGoods or a thrift store. I got this set with a few different sized trays here.
It’s amazing how fast Coralie goes for the activity or puzzle now when she sees her new tray set up.
Balance Beam
When Coralie was younger, we went to a “MyGym” for playtimes. She totally LOVED it! One of few sad things about moving to our new homestead was saying goodbye to the instructors at MyGym. It was a place of fun and new experiences for Coralie, and a great way for momma to help her use up some of that toddler energy!
I’ve tried a few classes locally but felt they were each missing something for both Coralie and I. But climbing and crawling is still a favorite activity of hers. It didn’t take long for her to discover that the beam under our dining room table was pretty comparable to walking on the Balance Beam at the gym.
Once she got a little too tall to walk under the table, Coralie didn’t want to give up, so she migrated to our reclaimed beam coffee table. This was way too high for my comfort level – especially with the fireplace stone nearby.
After a little research, I ended up with this 6-foot balance beam for her bedroom, but this beam was a close second choice.
One thing I didn’t think of at first was something to hold the beam in place, so I got a set of grips like this to place under the legs of the beam. It keeps it in place now without making the beam wobbly.
