Jennefer@SSA Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Okay, what would you consider twaddle? I am trying to rid our home of toys and could use a little help. I have 3 boys: 2, almost 4 and 7 and one on the way (not sure if it's boy or girl) if that helps with any advice you give. My kids have tooooo many toys - we have had generous grandparents and big birthday parties which have contributed to much of this! Just typing it out makes me realize just how out of control it has gotten. :tongue_smilie: I keep the majority of toys in the playroom closet. They are all labeled in individual buckets. Kids are only allowed out a few at a time and must clean up one thing before they are allowed to get another out. Or at least that's how it is supposed to work; sometimes it still gets out of hand! I want to keep all the building type toys. Every few days we switch out which building toys we bring downstairs and the boys have building time most days while we listen to classical music CD's. Thomas the Train will stay b/c those are heirloom toys I will save for my grandkids. Other than that, nothing is sacred (or at least that's what I keep telling myself - ;)) Thomas the train wooden train collection Geotrax collection Mr. Potato Head (3) Rescue Heroes Megablocks Duplo Blocks Wooden blocks Lincoln Logs Kid K'nex Matchbox cars galore along with accessories (Carwash, firestation, police station, airport...) Doctor kit Assorted instruments Puppets Dress up clothes galore Star Wars figures (both full size and the Galactic Heroes for little ones) Transformer toys (ds7 is obsessed with these right now) Little People (farm, pirate ship, Noah's Ark, playground, garage, Nativity) Playmobil - Roman Coliseum and Castle Magnetix Viewmaster (3 - one for each boy) tons of board games pretend food collection My First LeapPad and a Little Touch Leap Pad Battery operated cars (Matchbox type cars but bigger size that go on batteries) Large car collection (again like Matchbox cars but just bigger size - no batteries here) Airplane collection Zoo animal collection Dinosaur collection Bucket of assorted Disney figures Bucket of Toy Story Characters Baby Toys: Several sets of stacking blocks Snapbeads Tons of puzzles for 18 mo- 4yo Assorted stuffed animals assorted balls assorted random light up and flashy type toys (These are going for sure!) Pretend telephone collection (ds7 was fascinated with phones for the longest time so people would give us old and broken phones that he collected) If you made it to the end of this list, thanks for reading!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I saw someone say they kept 2 types of toys for each kid. I didn't go THAT drastic, but it did motivate me. First, I took a good hard look at what they REALLY played with and didn't play with. My kids rarely played with the Little People sets we had. And they took up a lot of room. So, I donated those to our church. Ditto the indestructible cardboard blocks. They are wonderful, but it doesn't make sense to keep something that MY kids don't play with and are hard to store. Next, I hit the character toys, the talking dolls, battery operated things. If I couldn't find a way to store something easily, I also ditched it. If there were pieces missing, parts broken, tears, rips, etc... it went. No waffling because the tear isn't THAT bad. If I really wanted to keep something, but the amount was out of control.....I found a storage container and limited the amount to that container. Extras had to be gotten rid of. I really just tried to keep toys that were open-ended and left room for imaginative use and that MY kids liked to play with. That list would look different from yours. To me, it seems like you have a LOT of vehicles and action figures (including the Disney and animal figures.) Are they easily stored? Can you restrict them to smaller containers? Do they really play with that many? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I'm not sure which ones are twaddle, but the ones listed below are the ones I would probably choose to keep: Thomas the train wooden train collection Wooden blocks Lincoln Logs Doctor kit Assorted instruments Puppets Dress up clothes galore tons of board games pretend food collection Large car collection (again like Matchbox cars but just bigger size - no batteries here) Airplane collection Zoo animal collection Dinosaur collection Baby Toys: Several sets of stacking blocks Tons of puzzles for 18 mo- 4yo Assorted stuffed animals assorted balls But honestly, I think any of the toys listed may be worth keeping, depending on how they are played with. If your kids play with them creatively, keep them! If they are just busywork or they are only interested in them because they are loud or shiny, get rid of them. Some of the toys listed, like the Mr. potato head, the snap beads, duplo blocks, etc. are great if your kids need the motor skill practice of using these. But once they've mastered those skills then they've served their main purpose, in my opinion. Have fun clearing some things out! I do this every few months with my girls. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 keep the trains if you like them, the blocks, the playmobil, a few of the board games (only the educational ones like monopoly or better), the playmobil (who can have enough of that?) and one small container of mixed hotwheels cars. keep a bin of baby toys including pretend phones. give away everything else. your kids will be interested in different toys as they grow up and you need the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted September 25, 2008 Author Share Posted September 25, 2008 This is going to be harder than I thought I am afraid! :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontier Mom Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I only kept the things they really played with regularly, not the things I wanted them to play with. I wanted them to play with wooden trains but they didn't for very long so I packed them away. What is funny is that my 10 & 12 year old had them out the other day after finding them in the storage and played about 3 hours with them. As little boys, they never played with them. If you have the room, pack up the things you like and put away for at least 6 months. These are the things they don't play with but you don't want to part with, especially with a new one on the way. Then, I would rotate the things they do play with on a monthly basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2legomaniacs Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 One on the way!!!! I missed the announcement somewhere? Oh congratulations dear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 KEEP: Thomas the train wooden train collection Mr. Potato Head (3) Megablocks Duplo Blocks Wooden blocks Lincoln Logs Kid K'nex Matchbox cars galore along with accessories (Carwash, firestation, police station, airport...) Dress up clothes galore Star Wars figures (both full size and the Galactic Heroes for little ones) Transformer toys (ds7 is obsessed with these right now) Little People (farm, pirate ship, Noah's Ark, playground, garage, Nativity) Playmobil - Roman Coliseum and Castle tons of board games Several sets of stacking blocks Tons of puzzles for 18 mo- 4yo assorted balls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I could send you a few more of each of these. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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