5LittleMonkeys Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Everyone is outside in the snow...baby is sleeping...I'm going into dd7's room to clean it out. I don't think she will be happy when I'm done but I can't stand it anymore. Even when the room is clean it looks awful. There is just too much stuff! She keeps everything. Shiny gum wrappers (they are pretty), bits of string and yarn (she might need them for something), little buttons (you never know when you might need a button),every coloring page she has ever colored (they are all special), broken crayons (can't throw them away because she feels sorry for them), pencils that are too short to sharpen anymore (because they are cute)...ugh...it drives me batty because I am a minimalist at heart. Tell me I'm not a bad mamma for getting rid of her jun...I mean treasures. I'm going to give her a box to keep the most important things but I just can't have them scattered on every single surface of her room. I don't even want to mention what is under the bed.:eek: I'll just say this...toys that come with itty, bitty pieces should be pulled off the market and burned! Here I go...keep me in your thoughts...:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I know how you feel about all of those "itty bitty" pieces. In our case, it is my son's room! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I cleaned my dd's room out once and it devastated her. So this past time(Nov.) we sat down together and she willingly handed over things I didn't know she didn't like anymore! She did hold on to weird pieces of papers/strings but we were able to rid of a lot of toys she said she has 'outgrown'. :-) I think making her part of the solution helped her attitude. I have done it the trash bag way, but this time around together was way nicer :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Sounds like ds7. I have been warning him that I am going to do the same thing if he doesn't get it under control himself. He is on a countdown, and has til the 15th. After that, I'm going in with a scorched earth sort of attitude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I have a collector too... I find things can disappear if they are gotten rid of slowly, not all at once. No one notices. I also take things that have no possible redeeming value (that I am fairly sure they won't be interested in or remember in a day or two), keep it somewhere else, and dispose of it after a week if no one remembers it. I don't think there's anything wrong with some collected items. They do need to be corralled. Maybe the crayon bits could be melted into new crayons. Buttons used up or put in a nice tin for admiring. Shiny gum wrappers and other neat paper bits kept in a shoe box. Make her use up her stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorMama Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Everyone is outside in the snow...baby is sleeping...I'm going into dd7's room to clean it out. I don't think she will be happy when I'm done but I can't stand it anymore. Even when the room is clean it looks awful. There is just too much stuff! She keeps everything. Shiny gum wrappers (they are pretty), bits of string and yarn (she might need them for something), little buttons (you never know when you might need a button),every coloring page she has ever colored (they are all special), broken crayons (can't throw them away because she feels sorry for them), pencils that are too short to sharpen anymore (because they are cute)...ugh...it drives me batty because I am a minimalist at heart. Tell me I'm not a bad mamma for getting rid of her jun...I mean treasures. I'm going to give her a box to keep the most important things but I just can't have them scattered on every single surface of her room. I don't even want to mention what is under the bed.:eek: I'll just say this...toys that come with itty, bitty pieces should be pulled off the market and burned! Here I go...keep me in your thoughts...:tongue_smilie: My collector (6yo) who wants to keep everything doesn't even notice when I get rid of things (but I don't let it get to the 'I can't stand it' point because then it's more obvious when stuff disappears in a BIG chunk). I'm a minimalist at heart too, and I feel your pain. This kid...well, she takes after dh, who also drives me batty with his collections. ;) I would try categorizing what she tends to hang onto and giving her an organizational system for it (this basket is for buttons, this bin is for pieces of whatever type toy that has little pieces, etc), and telling her she can only keep what fits in those containers. So if she wants to 'add' something to her collection but the container is full, she has to get rid of something to do so. I would also have a rule that if things aren't in their designated homes they're clearly not important to her and will go in the trash. I'm all for letting my kid keep stuff that's important to her, if it really is, but not at the expense of my sanity. But maybe I'm a mean mom. :tongue_smilie: My husband looked at me like I was crazy the other day because when this same kid 'couldn't find' the pants she wanted to wear due to the enormous mess she'd made of her drawers, I made her take everything out, refold it and put it back in nicely. I told her if she'd have to do it again if she made that sort of mess...and the drawers have been nice and tidy since. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I've been tempted but I just won't do it. It takes much longer but I go through stuff with my DDs by my side to help make decisions. Yes, they keep very odd bits and pieces but have also surprised me by being willing to get rid of boxes and boxes of stuff at a go. What I've discovered over time is that the item they cling tightly to this year is easily let go in another year or two. Why cause unhappiness tossing it today when it will be painless later? Good luck! Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Let us know if you make it back out alive.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 No, you're not a bad Mom, LOL! It sounds like you have a true hoarder on your hands.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parias1126 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 She sounds just like my DD. Mine has to keep everything and everything is her "special thing". Ugh! :confused: Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 I'm out!!!! Wow, her room looks so much nicer now. I gave her one drawer with those little drawer organizers for all her buttons, string, shiny paper...all the things she could possibly use for decorating cards or crafts. The crayon bits went bye-bye (we have literally hundreds of perfectly good crayons). I put the pencils in the trash too. I went through the coloring pages and kept out 5 of the nicest ones and taped them to the back of her door. The rest I put into a box along with misc. other papers and cards and notes. Her special notes and cards are on her bulletin board. I ended up throwing a lot away though; I actually used a tall white kitchen trash bag and filled it completely plus another one half way. She had some broken toys, and some toys that were just not worth keeping (like the baby doll her little sister drew all over with a sharpie). I sorted out all the sets of toys and put all the itty bitty pieces with the sets they belonged with. We ended up with a Barbie box, a Loving Family dollhouse box, a Groovy Girl box, a My Little Pony box, a stuffed animal box and an old diaper bag of baby doll stuff. Everything fit under her bed or in her closet. The floor is clean and I even put down a fluffy faux fur rug for her. When she came in she was sooo excited about how clean her room was. She went on and on about how now she could actually play in there. She asked what I threw away and I told her. She was okay with all of it except the baby doll. She said she just couldn't throw her away because it wasn't the baby's fault that she got drawn on. So, we dressed the baby and put her with the others in the diaper bag.:tongue_smilie: I was surprised that she actually said to go ahead and throw away all of the coloring pages and other papers that I had put in a box. I asked her if they weren't special and she said that they really weren't but she was to lazy to gather them all up and throw them away.:glare: So, now we will see how long it stays clean. It's difficult for her because her father is a collector of things too and my dad was the type that never threw anything away in case he might need it one day...really dad, we are going to need 3 old used toilets? Thanks for thinking of me while I was in battle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorMama Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I'm out!!!! Wow, her room looks so much nicer now. I gave her one drawer with those little drawer organizers for all her buttons, string, shiny paper...all the things she could possibly use for decorating cards or crafts. The crayon bits went bye-bye (we have literally hundreds of perfectly good crayons). I put the pencils in the trash too. I went through the coloring pages and kept out 5 of the nicest ones and taped them to the back of her door. The rest I put into a box along with misc. other papers and cards and notes. Her special notes and cards are on her bulletin board. I ended up throwing a lot away though; I actually used a tall white kitchen trash bag and filled it completely plus another one half way. She had some broken toys, and some toys that were just not worth keeping (like the baby doll her little sister drew all over with a sharpie). I sorted out all the sets of toys and put all the itty bitty pieces with the sets they belonged with. We ended up with a Barbie box, a Loving Family dollhouse box, a Groovy Girl box, a My Little Pony box, a stuffed animal box and an old diaper bag of baby doll stuff. Everything fit under her bed or in her closet. The floor is clean and I even put down a fluffy faux fur rug for her. When she came in she was sooo excited about how clean her room was. She went on and on about how now she could actually play in there. She asked what I threw away and I told her. She was okay with all of it except the baby doll. She said she just couldn't throw her away because it wasn't the baby's fault that she got drawn on. So, we dressed the baby and put her with the others in the diaper bag.:tongue_smilie: I was surprised that she actually said to go ahead and throw away all of the coloring pages and other papers that I had put in a box. I asked her if they weren't special and she said that they really weren't but she was to lazy to gather them all up and throw them away.:glare: So, now we will see how long it stays clean. It's difficult for her because her father is a collector of things too and my dad was the type that never threw anything away in case he might need it one day...really dad, we are going to need 3 old used toilets? Thanks for thinking of me while I was in battle! :party: Woohoo, sounds like it went great! Good luck with the upkeep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 :party: Woohoo, sounds like it went great! Good luck with the upkeep! I do a weekly sweep for the trash/treasure. Pipe cleaner statues are low on my list of keepers. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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