Toys, toys, toys!

Toys, toys, toys! What to do with all those toys! I have to say, I'll be glad when my house is not over run with all these toys and games! It's not as bad as it used to be when my kids were little because their toys are getting fewer and fewer. Now it's more electronics and such but I still feel like I am over run all the time.

It doesn't help when grandparents and other adults are always bringing in more stuff to stuff in my house. Getting rid of things they don't play with or use is very difficult because the kids don't want to part with anything.

I use a technique I like to call 'out-of-sight, out-of-mind'. It works for adults too. I learned this when we moved, I didn't have time to unpack all the boxes right away so I just stored them in the guest bedroom. After about a month, I began to realize that there wasn't a thing in the boxes that I couldn't live without. My husband made me open the boxes anyway after I declared "they could all go straight to the goodwill!" I was right, after we opened them all up, most of the stuff went to the goodwill!

For the kids, I give them a plastic storage box. They put the stuff they don't play with but want to keep in the box. We put the box in the attic and next season, I take the box out and they usually put most of it into the donate pile! Once it's out-of-sight for a while, they lose interest in it. The 'I just can't give that away' stuff has been located, I store it in the attic so I can give it all to them when they move away! I'll need a much smaller house once I get rid of all that!

I go through the books and games with this technique as well. It keeps our home from bulging at the seams when we do this two times a year. It also gives us a good tax write-off and the kids know someone else is getting good use from things they aren't using anymore!