I have an 8 year old daughter, and 6, 4 and 1.5 year old sons, and another daughter who is still being snuggled all day. We homeschool and I am a write-from-home mom. I have enough toys to populate the planet. We have recently gone through and donated more than 3/4 of said items in hopes to tone down the madness. The process wasn’t easy, but I came up with a great method. I laid out several toys at a time and allowed each child to pick three that stayed; the rest were gone. It was interesting to watch their thought process. They would discuss with one another about what items would be played with in what ways. They would beg to keep other pieces, and I won’t lie, I caved on a few – but only if they presented a strong argument. In the end, everyone was happy. I’m going to share with you what we kept, as they are the items that have been loved and played with by all of my children, at every age so far. (I try to shop “Green Toys,” but I’m not perfect – and I have a lot of kids. Plastic is inevitable.)

Wooden Play Kitchen: This thing has been moved to 4 houses and has been loved on daily. It is high quality and sturdy enough to climb on (yep, ask me how I know.) It is used as a kitchen, a store, and anything else they can imagine.

Wood and Felt Play Food: My son attends speech therapy twice a week and uses play food to work on sounds. Now we do it at home! But for so many other reasons, we keep the play kitchen well stocked. We have recycled plastic place settings, wooden sushi, birthday cake, cupcakes, cookies, pizza, fruit, vegetables, ice cream, entrée options, etc. Everything can be cleaned easily and isn’t just used by throwing it on a plate. My kids get to cut, choose toppings, even scoop the ice cream.

Tea Set and Tea: My daughter loves tea parties, the fancier the better. We enjoy one several times a week. We have little wooden tea bags that she uses and then real cookies (of course).

Shopping Cart: We have two. They are used for shopping, races, baby doll carriers, rocket ships… I mean, you name it.

Swinging Chair: This is a wonderful item. It is used to swing and relax, but also doubles as an act in my children’s circus performances. They climb it like a gym class rope, and perform aerobatics from it.

Instruments: A small wooden piano, guitar, drum, harmonicas, etc. These aren’t over-used in our home, but I do love to have them accessible.

Wooden Building Blocks: Just a must in every home. The options are pretty limitless out there. We have a few sets, but have weeded through them over the years. I love the blocks with different shapes so castles, walls, and towers can be built. Ours also have little painted buildings on a few pieces, which sets the foundation to be used for creative play.

Wood Train Set: We have had this set for 3 years and it sat in a plastic tub unused. I have almost donated it several times, but for some reason I just couldn’t. Then baby #3 turned 18 months old. BAM – that thing is played with daily now.

Wood road for small cars: The set matches the train and can connect to make a large city area where both cars and trains can travel.

Pop-up Play house and rocket ship: They have poles you slide through, so they don’t really “pop” up, but the kids help me build them. I love these because they fold up into a small bag and can be put away. How many play houses can do that? LOVE IT.

Magna Tiles: We have built a little assortment of pieces. My kids create trains, balls, castles, mazes, and walls with these. They have to work hard and think smart to keep their creations from caving in.

Trucks/Planes that can be Built and Taken Apart: I do wish that I could purchase replacement pieces, as a few screws have been lost over time. Even with that in mind, I highly recommend these toys. My kids will use the tools to take them apart and use team work to build them again – over and over and over.

Remote Control Cars: Each kid needs one. It’s just a right of passage.

LeapPads: Great for road trips and quiet time at home. We homeschool, so every so often I just need a break. The little one will nap, and I will pull LeapPads out for the older ones. I do love that the games we have purchased are all educational.

Baby Dolls, Sling, Bed, High Chair, Stroller: My daughter is doll obsessed. (so are my sons, and they will become amazing dads one day!) We did sort through and donate a bunch, but there are still several dolls around this house. American Girl Bitty Baby is the favorite. All of the kids have doll carriers to wear their babies around. My daughter now makes her own doll slings from scarves.

7’ basement trampoline: It snows, a lot here. And I like to run on the treadmill. Everyone wins with a trampoline in the basement.

Doctor Kit: Kids love to play doctor. (Well, my kids love to play chiropractor – but the doctor kit tools work fine.)