We have WAY too many toys in our house. I am constantly flinging, purging, de-cluttering toys. And when I go to sleep, they multiply. With four kids who keep having birthdays and doting grandparents who can’t resist sales, the toys keep coming in.
We throw away broken ones, donate annoying noise-making ones, cheap-o kids meal type ones, and choking-hazard toys (except Legos which are kept out of reach).
What we do that works for us is . . .
we keep half of the toys and books put away in a storage bin. About every 4-6 weeks I pull them out and put the rest away. This keeps the toys new and exciting for the kids. With less toys available to make a mess, clean up isn’t so overwhelming for them. And when there are less toys to pick from, it’s actually easier to pick a toy to play with.
Which reminds me, a dear friend of mine built an adorable little play loft for her daughter for a birthday present one year – instead of giving more toys. She already has four older siblings who also have tons of toys and didn't need more. I love that idea! Any other ideas on non-toy presents?
20 comments:
Great idea...we are overflowing too..:))
I have thought of doing this, but whenever I mention it, my kids shriek and wail, like I have announced that we are giving one of them up for adoption! A sneak attack may be what I need.
(I can't believe you are first again!)
A great idea! (o:
We have too many toys and this is a cool idea. Rotating toys can maintain freshness with the kids too.
I still love giving my kids a great new story book. They always love them and they store much nicer too. :)
Great idea.
It's what I did too.
I did this one time because at one time we had very little room and our boys shared a bedroom
Love this idea--my 3 year old remembers every toy he has so I can't get away with donating them (my secret stash in the garage was discovered!) Rotating is a great alternative until he grows into a different category of toys and can let the preschool toys go!
We do the same thing. We have so many toys, its' crazy. And with all the recalls lately, it gives us a reason to buy any more! :)
That is such a great idea. I think I will try this because, Lord knows, we don't need to have ALL these toys out at once. :)
This is such a great idea. We do it in our house, too. A space saver and it adds some excitement, too. Thanks for the reminder!
All three of my kids share a room, so we've had to rotate toys, too. I also added a chain lock at the very top of the closet door so they can't drag more out. Works most of the time, until someone climbs up on something and unlocks the door to liberate all their poor toys.
I'm thinking of giving the kids canned peaches this Christmas. They like them and I have over 150 pints, so why not? What do you think about that?
We do something similar with Christmas gifts.
We let her keep out the toys she was most excited about and put the others in the closet. When we were potty training she could earned the other toys. She always had a new and exciting toy. She just got her last toy a couple of weeks ago.
Tricia
Great idea! I have also thought about doing a "toy exchange" but was afraid it would turn into a free for all with the kids! (You can't have THAT! That is MINE!*** No! It's MINE now!Your mom said! Shrieks! crying and...) Well it was a nice IDEA anyway!
So nice to know we aren't the only ones rotating toys!
Great idea! One of our 6 is about to be 5 and our whole family is making her a gift. We are making her a bean bag toss. Daddy will cut out the holes, I will paint it and the rest of the kids and I will make the bean bags ourselves. We are all looking forward to making it and watching her enjoy it.
rhen-
I love that bean bag toss gift idea! I may have to adopt it. Thanks!
We rotate toys also and keep the out of play toys locked in the toy closet. Each evening they clean up that day's worth of toys and pick out books for bedtimes. In the morning they pick out what toys they want to play with throughout the day. It works for us as well!
jenuinejen-
I really like that idea of locking up the rest of the toys. Thanks for sharing it!
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