To just throw out most of the toys and start over?

[Malteasercheesecake]

I know this is my own fault but we are in a toy nightmare. Countless jigsaws with missing pieces, toys that have several different pieces (eg toy car transporter with several different cars but all of them all over the place and don’t know how to find them amongst the several thousand other toy cars.)

Obviously some toys will survive the cull but is it really awful just to throw most of them away and start over?

OP I feel your pain in that our 3yo DS has very similar toys and it drives me mad (no pun intended) how many blood vehicles we have in this house. I would set some time aside to sort it all out, get rid of anything you no longer want or need (to charity or sell on FB) and then create yourself a system moving forward so it doesn’t get in this state again. We now have one toy storage box for all vehicles which I will weed out every now and again. One for train tracks. Jigsaws are all in clear zip lock bags so take up less space and only one is ever allowed out at a time. One box solely for baby toys. One for musical toys etc. It’s made it a lot easier to stay on top of though I still get overwhelmed.

Oh and another tip. I have a basket in the side that I put any odd toy bits in when I come across them, or bits that are in the wrong room. Then once a week go through the basket and put all the odd bits back where they’re supposed to go. Think I read that tip on MN!

DS used to make up races with motor vehicles, one or two cars would not have been sufficient. Spent hours playing with cars over many years. He is now studying motor sport at university 😀

I wouldn't just chuck them all, but get a friend over one evening (and some wine/takeaway) and sort into piles:

Keep
Incomplete bits
Donate
Chuck

Then go through the incomplete bits at the end when they're all together and see if you have a set- if not then chuck!

It is work but I found it so worthwhile, got rid of loads, kept some precious ones and was more mindful going forward. Have loads of cheap IKEA storage for toys and craft stuff now.

Aw I love that, so sweet!

DH would love to study that

@Malteasercheesecake DH is very jealous of DS!

Surely the people (presuming not all you!) who buy this stuff should feel bad about adding more to landfill (eventually!) and consider that before buying stuff that might not be wanted or needed? Not all dumped at the door of the recipient who then has to deal with it being in their house where they might not have space? Why shouldn’t the gift giver not have to think twice about whether or not it’s the correct thing to do 🙄
you are not being unreasonable, you get to enough is enough

Every 3 months or so, I do a toy cull. If it's missing a bit, if it's broken, if it's not been played with since the last cull I either bin or donate to someone else.

I keep toys in categorised boxes (helps when they learn to tidy as well as they know where it goes and stops them emptying multiple toys out looking for a particular one) and I don't keep things for the sake of keeping them. Half what you have and you'd still probably find you have loads as I do.

For example we have a box with different stacking, puzzle, motor skills toys and a box with just books.

I know the advice is toy rotation, but I don't have space to store spare toys to do it.

The key thing - do it when the kids can't see!

However you deal with the current situation, you need to consider how to stop it happening again once you have sorted it out.

I would suggest that any toys of the type that have "lots of bits and every bit is important", typically jigsaws, board games, packs of cards, etc. should be kept in the living room and never in a child's bedroom. They should only be played with under close supervision and packed away carefully after every use so that bits never get lost.

In the bedroom go all the toys that are not made up of bits, or where having all the bits is not important. A garage with cars can go in the bedroom, as the cars can be passed on separately as toys in their own right. A doll and dolls clothes, train tracks with trains, small-world house and figures, crayons and paper, Lego or other building toys, zoo or farm animals, books, all sorts of other toys can go in the bedroom and it doesn't matter about keeping track of every piece. These can then go to charity when no longer needed, as long as they are not broken or dirty, as each item is a toy in its own right, or 'enough pieces in a plastic bag' is fine even if some have gone.

It is the parents' (plural, including DH) job to sort and keep on top of toys, just as you sort their clothes. You have to train them to take care of toys just as you train them to put laundry in the basket.

OP I don't think it will be as hard as you think and it doesn't matter which cards go with which toys. You should have an idea of which gosh your child plays with. If they're old enough then involve them?

I don't mean this to sound as bad as it may sound but looks like you don't take care of your toys and that's why you're in this position. Do you think better storage could help? I absolutely agree with having less do that it is less chaotic. Our house isn't organised down to a T but I'd be able to pull everything out and know what goes where.

Just do a bit at a time - one toy box at a time if necessary. Have a box for things to keep, a box of things to get rid of and box for incomplete items do you can sort though those later.

You seem to have decided you can't do this though.

Little random plastic bits/ broken toys/ incomplete puzzles can go in the bin. Other things you should probably try and give away to be played with again. Fb marketplace is worth a try.

Google images is your friend here. It can be quite quick to match things up once you know what you're looking for. Once you've got it all sorted, you could try keeping sets together - I am a bit OCD about this & I keep all toy sets in Tupperware boxes so I know what bits go with what sets. If you start out like that & return all sets to their boxes at bed time it does save time overall as you don't end up looking for bits.

@ChocolateTVandbaby it is true. It’s because we have two big chests where they go and everything just gets flung in so it is hidden rather than properly put away, especially because any tidying I do get to do is a frantic sort of race against the clock.

@LargerThanAHobbit the only toys in his bedroom are a couple of teddies and so on, I don’t really know why you think otherwise?

Realistically I do know the sheer number and I will try to sort but it will be a struggle. I’d have to choose a day DS is in nursery to have a sort and then I just make headway on something and the baby starts fussing.

Is there space to put toys in his room?

He doesn’t really play in his room (he is only just three) and I don’t really want bedtime battles!

Honestly it is so satisfying to get all the bits and pieces together again. It will be a few days we'll spent.

Pop pictures on s free site and day mix of random toys, collector to take all. Someone with a need with have them and sort.

I bet - the problem is I don’t have a few days!

I go back to work at the very end of June and I could do it when on holiday then in a few weeks. But I really don’t think I’d have a chance before then.

Charity shops don't want incomplete jigsaws and toys with half the pieces missing!

Honestly @Malteasercheesecake youve been given a real hard time here by some very over invested posters, who clearly don’t have young children anymore and have either forgotten what it’s like or it was a different time.

my living room (the only area we have) is way way worse than yours, I have a 3 and a 1 yo. I need to do something too. They can’t play upstairs because of baby gates etc, she wouldn’t want to be locked upstairs alone. The mess and stress cause me anxiety and makes me hate my home.

interestingly I recently started a thread on similar and people just told me to chuck everything out!!

Thanks @Give0fecks . I am looking into toy storage but a lot of them are quite expensive!

Op go through one box at a time. 30mins or so once kids are down, you and DP together.

Sort it into categories, farm toys, cars & trucks, toy food stuff, duplo.

Jigsaws build with your 3yo if there are parts missing put it to the side, any extra bits, put them to the side.
Then do the next jigsaw check the bits you have put aside to see if you can complete them.
Once you have gone through the jigsaws bin any that aren't complete.

You need different storage, massive boxes just encourage everything to get chucked in.
Anything that comes in a decent plastic box, like those ones with the clicking handles on the lids keep and repurpose.

We use these boxes (link below) and coloured drawstring cotton bags, we've also had either side of the chimney breast in the dining room converted so it's bookshelves at the the top and big cupboards with shelves underneath that the toy boxes go in.

So wooden tea set in a bag, garage stuff in another, wooden tool set in a bag in all role play/small world type stuff in the same one box but with individual sets bagged. All wooden train track, stations, bridges etc in a box, trains in a drawstring bag in the same box. All Duplo in one box, all vehicles in one box. Puzzles in their boxes in a drawer for puzzles. Plastic lidded box for all art and craft stuff. Dressing up stuff in a small toy box/trunk. Big bookcase in his room for all books and a shelf for colouring/activity books. Two big shelves at the end of his bed for activities and games, kept in boxes.
(DS has a mid sleeper with storage underneath which is helpful)
We were really firm on the no loads of plastic tat that gets lost and broken, he has stickle bricks, magformers etc all in individual bags/boxes. You have to be really on top of it. Have a system where certain bag colours are for certain things and your DC tidy up with you every day before bed and they get a few toys out to play with eg the big box of brio/train set (with it's own bag of trains) get the bag of schleich type animals to go with it but if he then wants to do puzzles some of the other stuff goes away first.

Mangata Foldable Storage Box, Thickened Fabric Storage Basket with Handles for Shelves Toy (L, Grey Stripe) https://amzn.eu/d/8VpgLVq

https://www.thecleverbaggers.co.uk/bags/drawstring-bags

I’m in the same position as you - yes I could donate Mr potato head with half the accessories missing but then I’ll find them when I’m looking for something else !!
i even tried paying a teenage relative a few quid to sort through some of the boxes for me but I ended up still having to do most of it myself
im tempted to scoop as much as possible into a huge box and put it all on Freecycle and say whoever wants to go through all of this and make it useful is welcome to it