De-cluttering help please. Need to sort through all of DDs toys and chuck some out yet I am a big hoarder

[chloejessmeg]

Hello, I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to stuff that is fine to use. But we have too many toys. It is really hard to work out what to get rid of, because I am a childminder and never know what children I will have next and what they will be into! How the hell do I decide? My Mum does car boots so that is the easiest way for me to offload them all - I just give them to her to sell!

I have just got a few new canvas storage box things that I have just put all of DDs new (xmas and birthday) toys in and they look sooo much better.

I have already sorted through her bath toys and chucked any that were old - they were all second hand and she got plenty for Christmas.

I have loads of stuff to sort through, both hers and childminding stuff. DD is 12 months old, and I would just get rid of anything "too young" but I am pregnant and have baby number 2 due in april! So can't just get rid of all the baby stuff!

I want to keep anything that is good for various age groups - duplo and stuff like that. Want to get rid of anything slightly damaged, stained etc.

I know though, I am going to end up spending hours on it, and still having far too much! I am very good at thinking "oh but this will be good for..." etc.

Any tips?

Big, cheap, stackable storage boxes with lids.

Place age appropriate toys into each box.

Stack all the boxes in the loft/shed/garage/corner of one room.

Label the outside of each clearly - Toys Under 1, Toys 1 to 4, Toys 4+

Stained, broken, missing bits, plastic tat from lunch boxes etc - bin.

Any really good pieces, for example, those made of wood, keep out. Artfully 'scatter' around floor when new, potential mindee parents show up for a visit.

Trouble is, the big plastic storage boxes are not that cheap! I have looked at them loads of times and think they are very overpriced. And Ofsted require that the children can access them themselves safely etc etc.

have you somewhere you can STORE toys that arent being used, so once you have culled the clutter you can have some out, and some away and you can rotate them?

We have 3 of these that we wanted to keep toys in. They are all full, as well as other boxes (mostly no lids). But also, we have so much stuff that is too big and bulky to go in somewhere like this, which means they are always in the way!

Get rid of everything plastic, noisy and limited in terms of play value. Keep toys that encourage imaginative, constructive or manipulative play, especially those which have a wide range of uses.

My top toys to keep would be bricks, duplo, shape sorter, dolls, dressing up clothes, jigsaws, vehicles and figures/dolls' house type toys, art materials.

Thank you Teeny. Can;t throw out all the plastic stuff as DD got a lot of it for xmas, but will def do that with the old stuff.

I need to take Photos of all the ones we are going to keep to put on the outside of the boxes to keep Ofsted happy!