Have you had any success in this area? Because in my nine years of being a mom, I definitely have not! Well, technically, I did get my oldest daughter to agree to sell some of her stuff at our yard sale earlier this summer. By stuff I mean several plastic rings she had saved off of cupcakes from school birthday parties and a couple of half used pencils. Other than this recent “success”, I don’t think I have ever got one of my kids to (knowingly or willingly) let go of an old toy. I am convinced that all little kids are hoarders – and I am holding my breath, waiting to see if they will outgrow this condition. The cupcake rings did give me a small glimmer of hope.
Over the years I have developed a method for getting rid of old toys. This method was birthed out of desperation – because you just can’t keep every single toy that comes in the door (no matter what your kids tell you)! I have lovingly nicknamed this method “The Closet Method”.
In order for The Closet Method to work, you may have to enlist some help from your TV – because you have to make sure your kids don’t see you gathering up their old toys. If they do see you, any old, neglected toys will immediately become their new favorite toy, and you will be forced to wait another six months to a year before you can try again.
So, any old toys that my kids have outgrown or I have not seen them play with in the past six months to a year I gather up (in secret!) and put them in a box …with a lid …at the top of my closet. Then comes the hardest part. Waiting. I wait for three to six months. I am often tempted to send the toys to Goodwill immediately (I hate to take up good closet space!), but the time in the closet is important! This gives a good “safety buffer” to see if my kids ask for any of the toys that I am pretty sure they are no longer using. Most of the time, the toys that make it into the closet box are never asked about again, and they find their way happily to another family, or the garbage. BUT, a couple of times, one of my kids did ask where a toy was – and when I was sure they weren’t looking I went and retrieved the “missing” toy.
A couple of things I have learned over the years:
- Never get rid of a whole group of toys at once – this will be noticed – and a complete meltdown may occur!
- If you do give a toy away and then one of the kids ask about it – just be honest! Once or twice this did happen, and I just said: “We didn’t really play with that Happy Meal toy from 3 years ago anymore, so I gave it away, so another family could enjoy it!”
I’m trying to work on being more selective about what toys/things (i.e. rocks, parking lot “treasures”, etc.) we bring into the house because I now realize that if it comes in it may never leave! But, because I am not completely heartless and I realize that you can’t just stop buying your kids toys, I am desperately looking for suggestions on how to get rid of some of the old ones. Please! Help!
Have you had any success with getting your kids to knowingly or willingly part with toys?
Proud of you, Emily. This is a great idea!
Thank you!