No Toys???

[hunterjumper999]

what if you got some of the better conditioned but not played with toys together and donated them to a local shelter for women and kids- you could even bring your kids to bring the toys. they would get to see kids and families that are experiencing hardship and see their toys go to kids that NEED them, not just feel like you gave their toys to kids who already had things.

OR


buy some storage containers. Put toys in them and tape them up. put a date label on them and open the "toy time capsule" in 3 6 or 9 months.


Personally, I'm not letting toys IN once my ( future) kids are over 3 ! I'll buy a couple every few months and clear the old out prior! Years of nannying has taught me this!

 

[debilorrah]

Sarah, I used to send my son away to grandma for a weekend and clean out all the CRAP that had accumlated. He never EVER noticed. Just do it.

 

[justbugged]

Quote:
I am in the same spot, but with 5 Yorkies. Every time I turn around there are more toys laying around the rooms. I have to pick up toys before the lawn is mow. I swear the Yorkies are worse than my kids ever were. I can start picking up the toys, and by the time I get about half I realize that they are already redecorating the room. I still don't understand why the sofa needs so many toys. I can't even blame any one else for buying the toys either. I have bought all the toys that they have. I just want them to play quietly while I hang out here on BYC. of course when three or four of the dogs all get to playing tug a war all at once, it makes all the toys worth it.

 

[Mattemma]

I unloaded a lot of the kids toys.Some stuff I sold on craigs,but after so many no-shows I donated a lot to.....cat shelter garage sale,women/children shelter,and local resale shops. It IS hard to give away stuff when you know what the general value is,but goodness it felt soooo good to come home to an empty room. I had one room in the house filled with *stuff* and emptied it 2 TIMES. The kids don't even notice the stuff that is gone.

If there are things you know you must save(lego and dinos for my ds and kitties for dd) then get some tote boxes to store them. For the gifts you need to explain away-don't.Just get rid of them. If you feel you must say something then offer it back to MIL.I always let my mom know when I was getting rid of toys,and asked if she wanted to give the stuff to anyone she knew.Perfect chance to regift a lot of stuff.Kids outgrown things and need to move on.I have been telling dh that for years in regards to the swing set and *little* bikes.Parents(and grandparents) need to let go,and sometimes realize you won't get $50 for a toy you spend $50 on.Shoot sometimes you get nothing at all.Sometimes I get cheapr or free stuff,so I let my stuff go at times too.

Now I am super selective about the toys I buy/let the kids have. I love getting educational(but fun) stuff,but you say the E word around my kids and they scatter like bugs! It took time but my mom is more selctive too.Sure she might still buy some useless stuff that never gets used,but she does it out of love so I just let it go....then gift it away a year or 2 later.

I had my kids help sort through stuff before(cloths,toys),and it is much better when I do it alone. Just gotta be careful not to toss that favorite shirt with holes,or that special toy missing an arm lol! I think once I read to pack up the to go stuff and hold it for a month or 2.If no one asks for any of the missing items then it should be safe to go.

 

[annie3001]

hello.
i usually do a "toy" cleaning but i do it with my kids. i explain to them that we are going to donate the toys to some kids less fortuante than us.
it usually works. i let them put the toys in the bin.
we used to have a playroom (it was a large old fashinoned kitchen pantry) that we turned into the kids "playroom" .
but the toys always seemed to make their way around the house.
i ended up moving all the toys to the kids bedrooms, and took back my part of the kitchen.

as always,
good luck, do what works for you and your famiy.

 

[Ewe Mama2]

I so know where you are coming from! We have 5 young children and a large extended family. Our children are the youngest grandchildren, so all the family try to out-do one another. Three of the children have birthdays in the month before Christmas. I have gone hoarse begging the relatives to buy savings bonds or gift cards for the stores we buy our homeschool supplies from, but it all falls on deaf ears. In 2008, the children received over 150 new presents by the time Christmas ended. It was absolutely sickening. I was able to store many of them away in the garage and donate them to Toys for Tots last years. We let each of them pick two toys to keep (but that was still 10 more toys in addition to what they already had). Last Christmas, we sent out a letter asking for donations to be made in each child's name to our favorite charity. We explained that we could not afford to buy a new house to store all of the toys in, so the toy-giving needed to be eliminated. Books, gift cards, and charity donations were their only options. Our kids have always been very simple in their desires and never asked for the expensive toys the relatives gave, nor did they ever show much interest in playing with them.

 

[SarahFair]

This is going to suck to say (because its going to make me sound like I hate my MIL)
I dont want to get rid of the toys my parents bought them.

Well firstly because my mom died almost 2 years ago and that is all they will ever have from her and secondly because they dont really ever get to see my dad.
My dad bought my son one of those big transformers for like $45. It took 3 adults 2 hours to get it halfway together. It really is a neat toy but way too advance for my son. Every now and again my dad will ask... 'Yall get that transformer together?' I dont want to tell him 'We threw that thing out'.
I hate hate hate lieing to my dad. Its like I get sick to my stomach. I guess I can put that one on a high shelf.


The reason I dont mind throwing stuff out from my MIL is she gets them something new EVERY WEEKEND, almost. She also buys them just stuff and tells me 'put it away, dont let them play with it' UGHH!
Then shell ask months later when she comes out to the house, where is it? Then it will follow with a 'TISK UGH SARAH!' Grrrrrr

I havent bought my kids toys in probly a year or more yet they keep just showing up!!

 

[Crabella]

Before tossing or giving away those expensive toys, ask the giver (if you can remember who gave what) if they would like to keep it at their house. You might be surprised.

 

[chicken_china_mom]

My kids are older now (going to be 11 and 12 between the end of this month and the end of next month), but there are still so many toys. I tried to get rid of toys when they were home, but it was next to impossible, so I started doing it when they weren't home. If I hadn't seen them playing with something in a long time, out it went. They have their favorites, and their favorites stay, but eventually everything else will go. I clean out clothing twice a year too, in the spring and again in the fall. You have another option if you don't want to just give away the expensive toys. Have you considered selling things on E-Bay? It's an option. You could make back some money and put it into a college fund for the kids. That way the toys benefit the kids, even after they're gone. It's a thought. I plan to try that with some clothing and toys this year.

 

[muddyhorse]

Baby Jesus only got three things for Christmas.
Kaylee gets to ask for 3 things we do our best to get them

Grandparents give her art supplies
We do an ornament exchange brings back memories when you get them out and when they get their own tree they can pass on the memories.