Too Many Toys - Underwood,ND

OMG You're preaching to the choir here. We're in a similar situation except that we only have 1 18 month old! And we both swore we'd never do this. But lo and behold, he has WAY more toys than he will play with. I'm thinking I'll donate some to toys for tots or something. We've spent a fortune on toys, clothes and other "amenitites" that he really doesn't need. And with Christmas coming up, we REALLY need to do some cleaning out.

I'll be anxious to see how others respond.

Do I hear and AMEN! Recently, I tried getting a big rubbermaid bucket and I took all the toys out and put them in a spare room we don't use. The I have been taking about 3-4 out every few days to see what they really like. If the toy pretty much ends up shoved in a corner or under the coffee table, then I put in a box to go to goodwill or something. This is still kind of in progress...at first after about 3 days I totally switched out the remaining toys, but now if I remove an uplayed with toy I enter in another one. So far my give way box is about full. My daughter just turned 2 and for a while she was a dumper too. I think it's the sounds they're listening too.

We did try the shelves that have the buckets. Not such a positive thing. the kids tend to like to dump the all out. We thought it would be easy for them to pick up and fill them. And because the buckets remove, even worse.

I think the best thing that has worked for us...it takes a few moments extra sometimes, but it is immediate and gives them attention while getting the boring part of pick up done. Instead of calling them to dinner, we go get them, reminding them to put "specific toy" away. if Lillie brings a book to read then when she done and says she wants another, first it's go put this away. CAtching them as the get done seems to make more impression on them to pick up than an hour or 2 later.

A friend of mine did try a big basket for each kid that she dressed up. lined it with a fabric and hung a decorated name block one each one. She did say she had them all next to each other for a while, but now she has them in different locations. It's easier for the younger kids to remember i guess and the toys stay a little more separate.

I too suffer from the same problem. What I do is (before holidays / birthdays, etc.) pick out a certain amt. of toys (to be determined by you), that they don't play w/ anymore. And donate what you can to a local charity or you can throw them out.

Hope this helps.

I have three boys, a 4yr and twin 2yr. The youngest twin prefers to play with that ever the 4yr old has, and the older twin (middle child) prefers books and cars. And we had (and still have) too many toys. I like to impliment the one in one out policy. if a toy comes in, one goes out. (not the same day, but with in a few days.) keep an eye on what they havent been playing with and stash it until you can sell it at a yard sale or take it to goodwill. there are obviously some toys that will be great for your 2yr old in a few years that are not "interesting" to your 6 yr. so you can stash those in storage, but you need to pick which ones will be good for him over the next few years. and dont forget there are years of birthday's and christmas' and other toys to be had so you can go a little crazy when boxing up things. The thing you want to keep in mind is even if you decide not to get rid of any toys, you can take some and put them out and in a month or so switch them out so that there is still a "newness" factor. (oh yeah, i forgot we had this, i can't wait to play with it)

hope this helps with toy overload. (by the way, i play the pick up game many, MANY times a day, the best i can do is to get them to help me as often as possible. They all 3 have to clean thier toys before they go to bed, (i ususally help the younger ones, ad i'll assist my oldest, especially if i know his brothers did most of the mess, just to keep it fair) but i feel it is important to teach your kids to care for what have, be grateful for what they get, and to realize they can make another kid happy by giving them a toy that they dont play with anymore. (and yes, my oldest has given away his toys to another family that had less) start now, while they are still "train-able" lol

If you fear getting rid of the toys it will just get worse. I have 4 kids and I always felt that the younger one will enjoy it later. THEN I GOT REAL! They get toys for Birthdays, Christmas, and other special occasions, right? When you buy toys as gifts you buy at their age level, right? So there will be more to come! We had a 50 gallon tub and 4 of the big round tubs with the rope handles all full of toys. We now go through them 2 times a year and either donate them to a childrens shelter or put them on a rummage and the money goes into the kids' saving accounts. BUT.......the biggest piece of advice is to do it when the kids are not around if you want to get rid of anything.
Hope it helps!
M. S

I have a 21 mo old and a 3 year old and I phase the toys in and out like they do in school. I put everything in totes. Kitchen stuff...barbi...baby stuff...tools... label them on the outside and I let them pick out 3 totes and they can play with them for 2 weeks or so. Then they choose new ones it works really well

Right there with you! My husband comes from a big catholic family, so EVERY holiday all of the aunts come bringing more and more toys. I'm in the middle of packing up all of our belongings because we're moving this weekend...and I honestly can't believe how many toys we have!
Do you have any extra storage space? My sister's solution was to pack up all of the stuff that hadn't been played with for awhile, and then she puts it in the attic. Then, every few months she puts some more toys away and brings out some of the toys that we packed up. It ends up in a big rotation, its like all new toys for my nephew every few months.

What we do with my 5 y.o. son is however many new toys he gets he has to get rid of that many.We usually let him pick the ones to "give to kids who don''t have any" and encourage him to choose toys about the same size as the new toy or several small ones that amount to the big one.Sometimes he picks one that is special so I just pack those away in his baby box.