To feel that we are at "peak toy".

[specialmagiclady]

Boys are 7 and 9. We are drowning, just drowning in toys.

I have been pretty good in that I have boxed up and lofted: duplo, certain special baby toys and wooden train and got rid of a lot of the larger "preschool" toys like play kitchen, pots and pans, playdoh stuff etc.

They still occasionally do dressing up (but I have my eye on that next and I have got rid of the too-small costumes) and like to have Cuddly Olympics with their millions of cuddly toys. They are totally in the prime of love with Lego of which we have millions.

Things I would happily let go: Tracey island, millenium falcon, toy cars, toy animals and dinosaurs, playmobil, anything plastic over about the size of the playmobil helicopter.

They are adamant that they play with them ALL. They don't, but they notice if I sneak it out to the charity shop.

Is it because they are still little enough to want to play with some of the younger stuff, but old enough to play board games etc that we just have so much? Is it going to get better? Will they suddenly say "actually I think we're a bit old for this, mum"? Or am I going to have to be The Bitch (again)?

Either I invest massively in new storage (££££ nobody puts expedit on freecycle) or I chuck chuck chuck....WWYD? WIBU to just get rid of a load of stuff?

[Thumbwitch]

Both my parents suffered from losing their toys when they were young. My mum's mum, for reasons we don't know, decided that she was too old for toys at 7 and got rid of them all bar 3 teddies, which my Mum clung onto - it affected her very badly, she still had those teddies in her room as an adult.

My Dad had all his comics (which probably would have been worth a small fortune to a collector) thrown out, but not his lead soldiers - Dad's a bookworm though, and a collector type, so really felt the loss of his comics.

So both my parents were happy to let us keep all our toys. And I in turn am happy to let my boys have all their toys, especially as DS1 has an elephantine memory for toys and remembers things for years afterwards (he's only 6!) if they got lost or broken. I don't have any toy-loss-trauma of my own, but my parents' stories were painful enough that I don't want to inflict that on my boys if I don't need to (and I don't).

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

We didn't have fewer toys than my DSs do.

We had train set, piles and piles of Lego, I had a Cindy house and loads of stuff to go with it. Farm, castle, hundreds of books, puzzles, board games, toy swords, huge rocking horse. I remember my brothers having things like Transformers which were enormous and took up loads of space, and I had Sylvanian families and dolls with all their clothes/furniture and god knows what else.

[NearTheWindymill]

Um in this house "Father Christmas doesn't come to children who have too many toys and who aren't prepared to pass on the toys they don't play with any more to other children" .

[Bramshott]

It's a really tough one. My DDs are 11 and 7 and we are AWASH with stuff. DD1 insists that yes she does still play with the Duplo (and to be fair, they do when they are both playing together). I rant about the tide of stuff often, but rarely actually follow through on threats to make a drastic cull - because they really do love and play with most of their toys, particularly their mountain of soft toys. We definitely need better storage though - the soft toys are exploding out of the large plastic storage boxes in each of their rooms - sigh.

[Kaekae]

I got massive amounts at Christmas BUT the difference is I also stupidly buy my children things throughout the year which my parents never did. Christmas and birthday and that was it. I will go food shopping and suddenly I come home with a new dressing up costume for DD or yet another book or another piece of lego. I don't really remember toys in supermarkets as a child. I sometimes walk in to their bedrooms and it fills me with dread. I have bought storage tubs but as soon as they want to look for something, they empty the contents onto the floor and their rooms become unrecognisable!

[RedSoloCup]

I'm mean. I bin / sell and if they ask for it say it's in the loft and I'm not getting it right now.... They soon find something else to play with :)

[sillylily]

I use a three step approach: 1) invite child to offer which toys she would be willing to donate or sell (usually fruitless!) 2) do an intermittent, undercover sweep for little plastic tat from crackers and party bags, just dispose of it and deny all knowledge 3) once-loved toys which seem to be too babyish and out of favour get a new home in a bin bag in the garage for a couple of months while I see if they are missed (if so, they miraculously reappear) and I wrestle with my guilt, then they go to the charity shop.
I'd love to accommodate all toys until they are willingly relinquished but space is limited and DH is a hoarder too. Good luck everyone!

[5feralloinfruits]

Could you put half away in a big box in the garage for 6 months then swap them over?That's what i do,i have 5 and we have so much stuff and tidying it all away at the end of the day was just getting silly,so i put half of it away and now there is less mess all over the place and they seem to play with the ones that are out a lot more because they are not as distracted.

[silverten]

I remember loads of stress when my mum tried to make me get rid of stuff. It was daft really because I had a massive bedroom and all my toys fitted in there. I was pretty good at putting stuff away as well.

She tried giving stuff away without telling me- I found it at the toy fair and bought it back. Not impressed at that one- it basically told me that my parents didn't consider that the toys were 'mine'.

I do however wish I'd developed ways of allowing myself to get rid of things- I still find it difficult and am working continuously on it. I don't want the DCs to struggle like I do.

Reading this thread I have come up with a plan for Peak Toy (DD is only four and DS a baby).

Heirloom toys carefully boxed in the loft once outgrown. Only the absolute best get kept.

Specific space designated for toy storage (we have large family room downstairs and I feel it's only fair the kids get to keep some of their stuff in it). Once space is full: no more toys. The same in their bedrooms.

Whilst the kids are too young to decide- stealth removal without discussion- into the loft for a while, if not missed then get rid.

When they are older- get them involved in this decision- what goes up to storage, whether anything comes down again, whether it goes completely. Will have to limit the storage in the loft as well otherwise this won't work!

If it is to go, they get to keep the proceeds if sold, as long as they put some effort into selling. Could be cleaning, bagging, collecting the bits up, listing on eBay, whatever. I'll help.

DCs will have to manage their space: if they want something else, they will have to find space for it first... In the run up to Christmas etc. we can do a planned loft clearance to make space if necessary, and another one shortly afterwards.

[HolidayCriminal]

DSs 6 & nearly 10 have been up to their elbows in Duplo recently.
Playdoh good until 11yo+ ime.

I cull stuff, but sometimes I get DC asking for it 12-18 months later. Argh.

[RandomPants]

Have you seen Toy Story 3? ;)

[silverten]

It's basically about managing your space, isn't it?

I mean, the space has to be a)limited and b)live, or you just end up with lofts and cupboards full of things you haven't touched in ages. Then you forget what's there. Then you have the situation where either you know you've got that Thing, but can't use it because you don't know where it is, or you've forgotten you ever had it and either replace it, or don't miss it.

Whichever it is, storage without regular review is not the answer...

[merrymouse]

Agree with others, if you have a loft or dry shed, box up toys and review them in 6 months time.

If your children have cousins/younger friends you can always do a staged withdrawal i.e. passing them on, but still keeping them slightly accessible.

I think there is a happy medium between keeping everything or chucking everything - you can keep a few toys for posterity/your grandchildren without going to either extreme.

[dilys4trevor]

Thumbwitch, that makes me feel so sad! I get a lot of pressure from my husband on throwing out of toys (two boys, 5 and 3, and a girl on the way) but they seem to know each and every one intimately and every so often they play with a random one. Part of me thinks, what if someone decided to throw out some of my stuff? On the other hand, we are drowning.

I also struggle with throwing out artwork, of which there is suddenly loads. I feel awful when they have put effort in but we can't keep every single picture and craft effort.

[Thumbwitch]

OH yes, dilys!
Artwork/craft is a nightmare too. DH threw out some the other day and I was cross, but the pics had been in the outdoor bin a day by then so stank. It was DS1's hand and footprints, so I would have really liked to have kept that too but DH has no sentiment over these things. :(

I was very firm about a "platypus" made of a cereal box with plastic boxes for appendages. It was falling to bits, it didn't even look like a platypus unless you were very drunk and it was far too big. I told DS1 it had to go into the recycling and he was so sad - kept on about it for weeks. And I can just guarantee that if anything about platypuses crops up, he'll mention it again and how sad he was - it didn't even look like one!!

I ended up buying DS1 a box file to keep his pictures in, and he now has management of it. So when it gets full, he can work out what to keep and what not to.

[ThatBloodyWoman]

Love 'peak toy '

[HercShipwright]

My youngest is 10 and we are still AWASH with toys. :( She still regularly plays with the playmobil (and has been asking for MORE!).

Mind you. I know a 46 year old woman who would want a Millennium Falcon (and who HAS a Deep Space 9, beautifully suspended from the ceiling. The kids think it's theirs. It isn't.). I want a Death Star too, and I promise you, it's only a matter of time (typed while studiously ignoring the workstation positively creaking under the weight of 11 doctors, loads of companions and monsters, and several dapol doctors monsters and dales, And a teeny weeny Dapol Delgado Master who sits on the edge of the desk right by my keyboard. Obviously I don't talk to him during the day. Obviously. (He says 'hi' by the way. He also wants me to tell you all that he is the master and you will obey him )).

[drspouse]

My nieces are 10 and 7 and they have a play kitchen at my mum's which I was asking about. They won't be visiting her again till the summer by which time the older one will be nearly 11 and they still were very indignant that they wanted it and my DS (2) can't have it.

I am actually a little miffed about this though I am aware IABVU in this - but he'll get a lot more out of it than they will. Never mind, I'll just get a local collection alert set up on ebay.

[yourlittlesecret]

It does get better.
I remember the first Christmas when they had outgrown plastic tat. I had to warn them that the presents would be much smaller and there would be fewer of them.
Mine are teenagers now and I have some things that I haven't parted with for various reasons.
The castle and playmen (knights, soldiers whatever)
Basic lego
The wooden train track (I forget what they call it)
These are played with once or twice a year when small children visit and otherwise live in the loft.

Oh and the teddies. I couldn't bear to part with all of them especially big bear and little bunny

[cal633]

Hi, I am taking my two (aged 13 and 15) to work in a children's project in Brazil for 10 days over Easter - we have been asked to take any unwanted children's toys, craft stuff, paper, crayons etc. If anyone wants to donate I can collect in the west London area, many thanks!

[ILoveDolly]

I recently put all the really baby toys in a bag. 8 year old looks in and says 'hey I play with these'????

[BeCool]

it's all very well getting rib of stuff but what we need to remember is BEWARE THE INCOMING!

Less can really be more.

[Nonnynonny]

Get rid of as much as you can now. I kept most of my children's toys- they are now 30 and 33 and guess what most of the stuff is still in the loft. They haven't got room for it!!

[Dancergirl]

Part of me thinks, what if someone decided to throw out some of my stuff?

Exactly. As adults we have possessions that we may not use or look at that often but still mean a lot.

I think it's mean to chuck out dc's toys and things. If you want a show home don't have kids!

[drspouse]

cal633 do check how much it's going to cost you to take things out there. Brazil is a country with a huge income differential (sure you know this) and most things you can get here, are available there, often much cheaper, so it may not be worth while taking things (especially paper, crayons - they will NOT be hard to get in Brazil, it's like saying that you can't get that kind of thing in a European country to be honest, paper is pretty heavy too!)