snickerplum Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I'm going through our storage rooms. I've had a pretty easy time getting rid of clothes, which typically in have a hard time letting go of, especially baby clothes. I'm having a hard time with toys. I know - broken, missing parts, no longer used = goodbye. But even after that they still have a lot. Too many IMO. How do you decide how much to keep? I feel like if I get rid of too much they'll be deprived, which I know in my head isn't true. Because these toys from the storage room are what they have in addition to what is in their rooms. I removed some a few months back because they were having a hard time keeping their rooms clean. #1 loves American Girl dolls and has her dolls and their stuff in her room. Like beds and stuff, so it takes a bit of floor space, but isn't a big deal. #2 loves her doll house things and stuffed animals, plus some AG dolls. #3 has a doll sized horse,plus coloring things and dress up clothes. #4 has Legos, magnatiles and a few random things. So they have plenty to spark imagination and keep busy. How do I know how much to keep. We could rotate, but they wouldn't want to trade away what they have in their rooms now. As a side note, 2 of them have the beginnings of hoarding tendencies. So I want to show them how nice and free it feels to not have too much to take care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 If they regularly play with, care for, and enjoy the toys, I wouldn't get rid of them only for the sake of feeling "free" with fewer possessions- they may not interpret it that way and may become even MORE possessive of their things for fear that they will be gotten rid of, too. If messes are a big concern maybe rethink storage. Larger open bins like dish pans on shelves or open bins on cube shelves might work better-easy to see what's inside and easy to toss things in. Also, clear hanging shoe pockets are wondrous for storage of almost anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I find that removing things to a place where no one sees them for awhile, then getting rid of them if no one asks about them after 6months helps. But I've also had breakdowns from kiddos about this too. Key is getting rid of every last piece of every single toy that might possibly stir a memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 I'm going through our storage rooms. I've had a pretty easy time getting rid of clothes, which typically in have a hard time letting go of, especially baby clothes. I'm having a hard time with toys. I know - broken, missing parts, no longer used = goodbye. But even after that they still have a lot. Too many IMO. How do you decide how much to keep? I feel like if I get rid of too much they'll be deprived, which I know in my head isn't true. Because these toys from the storage room are what they have in addition to what is in their rooms. I removed some a few months back because they were having a hard time keeping their rooms clean. #1 loves American Girl dolls and has her dolls and their stuff in her room. Like beds and stuff, so it takes a bit of floor space, but isn't a big deal. #2 loves her doll house things and stuffed animals, plus some AG dolls. #3 has a doll sized horse,plus coloring things and dress up clothes. #4 has Legos, magnatiles and a few random things. So they have plenty to spark imagination and keep busy. How do I know how much to keep. We could rotate, but they wouldn't want to trade away what they have in their rooms now. As a side note, 2 of them have the beginnings of hoarding tendencies. So I want to show them how nice and free it feels to not have too much to take care of. None of them sound like they have stuff to an excess. I would not make them rid of anything unless they just have junky odds and ends in places. But what you listed is not excessive at all. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickerplum Posted October 10, 2016 Author Share Posted October 10, 2016 None of them sound like they have stuff to an excess. I would not make them rid of anything unless they just have junky odds and ends in places. But what you listed is not excessive at all.They each have at least 1 large storage tote full of toys/animals in addition to what I listed. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 I'm getting ready to declutter again today. I always just walk into the bedroom and tell the kids "Put whatever you don't want anymore in a pile." And they're really good about that! (Well, mine are) Mine actually want more open space in their rooms, so they are comfortable with donating what they're not using anymore. We do this a couple of times a year, so I guess mine are used to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 If it's in storage and they haven't asked about it bless someone else. Donate without a second thought. If it's something your not sure about keep it another 6 months and then decide. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 I'm going through our storage rooms. I've had a pretty easy time getting rid of clothes, which typically in have a hard time letting go of, especially baby clothes. I'm having a hard time with toys. I know - broken, missing parts, no longer used = goodbye. But even after that they still have a lot. Too many IMO. How do you decide how much to keep? I feel like if I get rid of too much they'll be deprived, which I know in my head isn't true. Because these toys from the storage room are what they have in addition to what is in their rooms. I removed some a few months back because they were having a hard time keeping their rooms clean. #1 loves American Girl dolls and has her dolls and their stuff in her room. Like beds and stuff, so it takes a bit of floor space, but isn't a big deal. #2 loves her doll house things and stuffed animals, plus some AG dolls. #3 has a doll sized horse,plus coloring things and dress up clothes. #4 has Legos, magnatiles and a few random things. So they have plenty to spark imagination and keep busy. How do I know how much to keep. We could rotate, but they wouldn't want to trade away what they have in their rooms now. As a side note, 2 of them have the beginnings of hoarding tendencies. So I want to show them how nice and free it feels to not have too much to take care of. The amount of stuff you listed above isn't a big deal IMO... So the question becomes, if that is it, then what is the "clutter?" Is it just this? Or is there more? I have been pretty extreme in my minimilization in the past and I think I'm at a happy place now (at least it feels happy to me most of the time) and the quest isn't, "How much can I get rid of?" but, "Can I reasonably take care of this without a huge amount of unnecessary stress?" Things should be here to serve us or give us pleasure. Sometimes we keep things *solely* to have things. The first is lovely, the second is dreadful, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 They each have at least 1 large storage tote full of toys/animals in addition to what I listed. :-) If they rarely get into it and wouldn't really miss it much after it disappears, I'd tackle it head on and just donate it all and be done. You named the things they love and play with so this is excess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickerplum Posted October 10, 2016 Author Share Posted October 10, 2016 (edited) It's partly excess, partly toys they like but weren't able to maintain their rooms. Some of the clutter is a storage problem. We're coming up with some solutions to that, hopefully soon. [emoji4] my husband is thinking one big toy box for each so they can pick up and dump things in. I like things to organized and separated (legos in their bin on a shelf, crayons and coloring books on a shelf). I do like how toy boxes hide it all though. [emoji6] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited October 10, 2016 by snickerplum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 (edited) After toys had been passed down through all the children, if they were still intact, I put them in storage for the grandchildren. Legos and nerf are still in use (youngest is 12). I have 5 children, so in theory I should have many grandchildren. I remember being soooo bored when I would visit my own grandparents and I didn't want my own house to be like that. I also didn't want to have to go out and re-buy expensive toys. When they were little I tried to only buy sturdy toys that would last, and threw away broken/incomplete things all the time. They also all had stuffed animals that lived on their beds. I do remember at one point instituting a rule that one stuffy in meant 1-2 out ;) And we always had a purge in October/November. Sometimes I also passed still being used toys that were almost, but not quite outgrown, on to friends and cousins that were younger than mine. What I ended up keeping & storing for the grand kids that have started arriving :) 1. Duplos + Playmobil 1.2.3 train tracks (stored together) 2. a box of wooden puzzles 3. older kid Playmobil 4. dress-up clothes 5. a trunk of American Girl stuff 6. Madeleine (barbie type dolls) bin 7. large erector set 8. toddler friendly "marble" run 9. real marble run 10. Lauri pegs & puzzles, plus lacing activities 11. a large bucket of matchbox cars Edited October 10, 2016 by Upward Journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 We use cubbies to control toys. If it is a large toy, (like Imaginext buildings) it goes on a shelf. It helps to see the clutter as not-clutter and determine what amount of toys is needed. We recently had to cut down the number of legos we have - it was too much and becoming overwhelming after being given some by well-meaning older children. I took them all out, we sorted through to find the most used pieces and rotated those back in. I kept a selection in my room for a month or so to see if anything else would be needed/wanted and then took them to the thrift store. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 They each have at least 1 large storage tote full of toys/animals in addition to what I listed. :-) Than that is where I'd purge, honestly. As for the other stuff, maybe go by space? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanalouwho Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 I'm doing this now. The playroom is out of control. I put everything that has a place where it belongs. Now we're going through everything else together. If it's something they want to keep, they have to make room for it by getting rid of something else. Sent from my HTCD200LVW using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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