After 12 years, I've finally given up

[Susan in TN]

...on my belief that my kids will ever actually play with their toys. Train set, doll house, plastic animals, barbies, vehicles, blocks, marble run, stuffed animals, etc. I've organized them in to neat bins, and kept them in a cabinet and neatly on shelves. I've sorted through once or twice a year. I've rotated. I've purged. And still, their only activity with their toys involves emptying everything out and flinging things around the room.:glare:

 

So today I actually purged. A huge round bin and 4 big bags full. All of it is now in the garage except:

 

4 beanie baby dogs

4 dolls (one for each girl)

1 small ball

4 matchbox cars

1 riding horse

1 doll stroller

1 toddler push toy

1 small bin of Legos

 

I don't think they'll miss anything, do you?

[tricia]

That's been exactly my situation. I have 12 kids but I got rid of the toys years ago when I had only about 8 kids. I just kept a wicker basket of rattles for the babies. That's it. And they've never been missed.

[hsbaby]

I NEED to do this!!! Let me know if they notice:). I think my girls would handle it fine, but my ds is on his way to starring in an episode of "Hoarders".....no seriously:(

[lulubelle]

If I could just get grandparents to stop giving junk!

[WarriorMama]

Probably not. :tongue_smilie:

 

We have a bajillion toys, and my 2-year-old spent a whole day last week filling an empty egg carton with small potatoes, then taking them all back out. :confused:

[Susan in TN]

I realized later that I haven't gone through the kids' rooms. Ugh. Less there to deal with at least.

 

And as far as gifts go, well, maybe starting out from scratch will give us a head start. Toys in, toys out.

[fairfarmhand]

i am purposely ignoring this...lalalala I can't hear you....

 

my kid's rooms are such a total wreck that it disgusts me to even go in there. it is better for my kids if i don't, since I turn into a raving meanie when I do... ie..."How hard is it to put your trash in the trash can!!!!" This is one area that I STRUGGLE with.

 

And I dread Christmas and birthdays. We have one family member who is under the impression that 20 gifts from the dollar tree are better than one 20 dollar gift of better quality....

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

i am purposely ignoring this...lalalala I can't hear you....

 

my kid's rooms are such a total wreck that it disgusts me to even go in there. it is better for my kids if i don't, since I turn into a raving meanie when I do... ie..."How hard is it to put your trash in the trash can!!!!" This is one area that I STRUGGLE with.

 

And I dread Christmas and birthdays. We have one family member who is under the impression that 20 gifts from the dollar tree are better than one 20 dollar gift of better quality....

 

I so feel your pain! I periodically go in their room when they're watching a movie and just throw a giant bag of junk away. They rarely notice.

[LibraryLover]

My 11 yr old and my 5 yr old nephew have been playing with a wooden rainbow, two horses, and two fairies for over an hour. It doesn't take much.

[Nicoleab2]

I understand! I don't think they will miss it. My children never had many toys because they never really played with them.

 

They loved stuffed animals, which I never liked, but gave in because they actually played with them for hours. Together. Other than that, my son's favorite "toy" was any form of a stick and a ball or can to hit around like hockey. My dd had a doll, doll clothes and stroller and could play for hours. Dressing, undressing, washing the clothes in a little tub and hanging them on a drying rack. Oh, and they loved to dress up in character of a time period or movie they were in to and make "movies". They actually still like to dress up. lol

 

The rest of the time they wanted to do real stuff. Help in the yard, work on the car with daddy, dust, vacuum, wash windows. I started when they were really young to think it was fun and a game. hehehehe

[katemary63]

I've learned that it's okay for a kid to have a toy for only a very short time. You don't HAVE to keep everything until they grow out of it. When it's a new gift. They play with it for a while. When they loose interest. Toss it or give it away. I don't mind my DD getting toy gifts. I just don't feel obligated to keep it for very long.

 

My DD DOES play with some things. Her BFF and she will spread the Littlest Pet Shop collection all over the enitire room and act out stories for hours. She'll spend days building things with her K'nex. But I've had a box of legos in her room since the day she was born. She's never touched them. I should just give them away, but I wonder if my grand kids will....oh gosh!

[Hedgehog]

I don't think they'll miss anything, do you?

 

Nope!!

 

I recently had a huge clear-out of STUFF - not only toys, but we also sorted out the gazillion and one keepsakes that my DDs squirrel away in their room. My son, by contrast, is no hoarder. When I told him I was very likely going to be getting rid of some of his toys, he thought a moment and then said, "all I want to keep are my legos, my cars and my wooden train track. You can get rid of everything else." Bless him! I didn't quite, for DD2's sake, but I reckon we got rid of more than we kept.

 

Now it's my turn to do the same in DH's and my room... I'm actually looking forward to it! A clear house creates such peace in my head!

[Tammyla]

Less is more, and more is often a mess.

[Dawn in OH]

We have one family member who is under the impression that 20 gifts from the dollar tree are better than one 20 dollar gift of better quality....

 

 

Don't you hate that! We don't need 20 more little toys that break in a week. I would much rather get one nice toy that lasts for years.

[Outdoorsy Type]

We rented a house in Sunriver Oregon once, and there was a small plastic bucket with old McDonalds toys etc.

 

My 3 and 4yo had a ton of fun and talked about those toys for years.

 

Of course when they got home to their own huge pile of toys they had nothing to play with. :glare:

 

 

Less is more!

[Tidbits of Learning]

I dread Christmas for this very reason. It seems as if we get more junk every year. I doubt my children play with their toys at all. You have inspired me to purge all the junk! Off to the girl's room with trash bags!

[Susan in TN]

Lest you overestimate my internal strength, I'll confess that the only way I can even get myself to do this is to bag them up and store them in the garage. I'm not throwing them or getting rid of them (yet). I'm guessing that in a while, I'll be able to go through them with a less attached sentimental mindset.

 

Part of my struggle is that I have little ones who I *assume* will want to play with the toys as they get older. And some of them are really, really nice sets. Sigh. Maybe by Christmas, I'll feel more able to sort the really nice ones into sets to give away.

 

After going through bedrooms this morning, I've added to the "keep" list: ds toy pop gun, and his two swords and shields (which he actually plays with), 3 pieces of dress-up (skirt, long satin fabric, cowboy vest), the remote controlled car (which ds got for his birthday last week) and the large cardboard blocks.

 

I think there are some benefits to getting a bunch of dollar store toys once in a while - when they break in a week, I don't feel at all bad about throwing them. :tongue_smilie:

[fairfarmhand]

Don't you hate that! We don't need 20 more little toys that break in a week. I would much rather get one nice toy that lasts for years.

 

 

With my younger two kids, for Christmas they will usually get one or two well made beautiful toys (think wooden train set type things) that I hope to keep for grandkids. Along with some books and video type things. At least that is what they get at my house....

 

Have you ever just looked at the Christmas ads? They are just full of plastic

crappy toys!!!

[the4Rs]

Purge Purge Purge!!!!!!

 

I am in the process of doing this.

 

I just got rid of about 1/3 of their stuff.

 

I have a day care and I can't get rid of all of it but I have a list that's over two pages long of toys and baby stuff I'm getting rid of come January when I quit day care.

 

There is something cleansing about dumping junk. My kids love their toys but they just don't need SO much of it, know what I mean? They have great imaginations and can play for hours with their toys and they do like variety. I am just going to cut it way down for my own sanity.

[LittleIzumi]

:lol::lol::lol: Almost ALL my kids play with are imagination toys. Stuffed animals, dress up, pretend cooking, dolls. That's IT. None of the electronic toys, toy instruments, cars, puzzles, Mr. Potato Heads, playdough, even a mini-tramp with games, none of it gets touched more than once a month, really. Dd5 actually encourages me to purge and says we have too many toys :lol:. Heck, I have three bags in the storage shed of toys and don't even remember what they are, lol.

[Gooblink]

:lol::lol: That's wonderful! Oh, they'll probably miss it, give you the sad eyes and such, but...what liberation!

 

I remember when I was a kid we'd dump our toy boxes out in the middle of the floor, spread everything around the room, and pretend we were earth movers, bulldozing paths through the mess.

 

Now that you mention it, I think I remember coming home from school one day to an empty toy closet....hmmm. :)