To gather up all their toys that are left lying around and chuck in bin/give to charity?

[homicidalmummymademincepies]

I am so mad just now....
Dc(2 and 4) have emptied every single toy out, pulled out all the nappies, emptied the wipes and pulled out all their towels and dumped all on the floor(these are all kept in a changing unit).
I let them open a spotty dinosaur game(new from Christmas) and they've lost the dice and several pieces.
I am honestly at my wits end-the beds have been unmade several times and I am so fed up tidying up after them. I feel they are so ungrateful, have too many toys and don't care.
So I said I was going to pack up all the toys they lhad left lying around and dd said fine, ok and has let me!! Some things she only got at Christmas (like doll from her grandmother!)
please I need some help! Should I just get rid of half their stuff? I was losing it, shouting etc....
I know it's my own fault for buying them the stuff but why oh why does it wind me up so much? Please advise me to do? What do you do?

maybe pack up half of it and store it elsewhere for a while, and then after a couple of weeks or so swap it all over? Half the amount of toys on the go at one time, and whenever you do a swaparound, they get to play with loads of toys they've forgotten about.

Works with DS - he tends to play with them more, rather than just chucking them about the room.

I know the feeling though - our living room is like a playroom and I just feel like taking all the plastic to a charity shop!

Hang on - they are 2 and 4.

Get some cardboard boxes - cheap in Argos. Sort the toys and games into boxes and label. Put away out of reach. Get one box only down per day. Don't get another one until all put back in the first one. They can help you put things away in the boxes as part of the game.

They are FAR too young to have any kind of board game unsupervised.

They really are too young to play unsupervised - well maybe the 4 year old, but not together with a 2 year old.

It would be mean to give/chuck their toys away. If they were 7 or 8 fair enough.

Definitely keep their toys to a minimum. DD1 has piles of stuff and I know she has not even touched some of her Christmas stuff. When there's so much they don't care a bit if they break something because there's always something else, be it bought new or out of the cupboard. I've had a real cull of her things and asked relatives to keep things reasonable too.
TBH 2 and 4 sound a bit young to be sitting down with a board game that needs dice and pieces?

I mean, keep to a minimum the toys available, within eyesight. Either rotate as suggested above or give a load to charity. My DDs wouldn't care either way as long as there are still some toys out!

My 4 and 2 year old play unsupervised all the time and boy am I thankful for it. However, all of their toys are age relevant and luckily for me they play happily (mostly) when they are together; plus I don't mind a messy bedroom - We have a big tidy up on saturdays. 3littlefrogs suggestion is the best one.

I have no advice...I spring clean/tidy up just like KerryMumbles!

I have the same sort of problem but the main thing that bothers me is food.I have tried all kinds of locks, devices and punishments but still they help themselves to food as soon as my back is turned and within minitues the living room is totally wrecked. It drives me mad. The main culprit is the three year old but my 5 year will join in if she sees the chance and the one year old is normally close behind hoovering up crumbs.

Today I went to the toilet, was gone well under 5 minutes and when I came down there was butter all over the living room rug despite the fact I have the worlds most complex fridge lock. They are well behaved children in other ways but this they keep doing no matter what they are not hungry I feed them whenever they ask and yet still they do it.

Ok its not the same problem but i AM thinking of just throwing away the fridge and only buying food you can store in the cupboards.

eugh I just realised there is still some butter on the couch.