What's Your Toy Count? Getting Rid Of Clutter

If you've got stressed out kids, consider taking a look at your toy count. Some homes are so cluttered, it feels like there's been a kid coup d'etat. Bin after bin of toys line rooms as parents run out for, well, more cute bins.

Toddler-to-pre-school years are especially toy-dangerous. Space is usurped by sit-and-spins, Little Tykes scooter cars, and a train table that reduces your family-room square footage by 10 percent. Then there are the homes sporting chaotically comical toy rooms requiring daily reorganization only an obsessive-compulsive parent could bear.

Knowing your home's toy count is a bit like losing weight. You have to access the situation before you can figure out where you're heading. Then you can start exercising your declutter muscles by opening a trash bag. This is one strategy suggested by author, counselor and family therapist, Kim John Payne, in his new book Simplicity Parenting, co-written with Lisa M. Ross. Simplifying your child's environment is one rescue tool for overscheduled, overwhelmed kids.

In the book, Payne and Ross teach the average Americans how to deepen their family harmony with less. Cutting toys means less distraction for a child.Children can then focus on a few, key toys that inspire deeper, less superficial play. Hip, hip hooray for the Legos comeback. Lego research reveals kids will typically spend 15 minutes or less on any toy they get.

The book goes far beyond toys. Besides simplifying your child's environment, the authors suggest three other levels of simplification -- rhythm and schedules -- to foster more secure, relaxed kids and calmer parents. Common sense tips to return to simpler living make perfect sense. Oh, and count that bin of Legos as just one toy.