Put all my dcs toys in black bags & put in the loft!

[Msdunny]

I just had enough of the mess. Toys were everywhere including ds and torn books all over the floor. Does not help i have been stuck at home with car being off the road so i let them play upstairs.
Usually they will reluctantly tidy up after they have been playing but its been a constant battle. ds1 is 7 almost 8 and ds2 is 5 almost 6. (their b-days are coming up next month.)
I have left books out but even the dvd player & all dvds, ds1 beloved moshi cards have been packed away until they start earning everything back. I want to see that they will follow through with simple instructions i.e. put books away, put clothes in wash basket etc etc.....am i being too harsh? I just need them to respect there things more.
Now that i have cleared the room i am not sure it was a good idea!
I have tried reward charts and earning pocket money each wk for keeping there room tidy and looking after their toys but none of it seems to work....sigh
suggestions would be most welcome

I am doing this. I'm going to divide the toys into three lots. 2/3 are going in the loft and I shall swap a third every three months. I gave a tiny house and am pig sick of the plastic shite everywhere.

Sounds good to me! I have a much younger brother, and at his primary school, for a period of eight weeks (I believe) all toys were removed. This had been planned and well talked through with all children and happened in general agreement with everybody. The idea was for the kids to use their imagination and creative nature. The result was amazing, they found themselves all sorts of stuff to play with especially outside. My little brother went hoarse for a while because he was using his voice so much more due to the kind of games they came up with! So, apart from them learning to appreciate their things more, I think it will also really benefit their creativity and resourcefullness!

I think it's a great idea, I got a storage unit thing from ikea and tidied everything into the cupboard under the stairs. Now they can actually find what they want instead of emptying everything all over the floor and it's much better. (Also chucking quite a lot of things out all the time which they rarely seem to notice so obviously have waaaaay too much stuff in the first place...)

We've actually got a no-presents rule at birthdays and Christmas to try and keep the toy levels down. They need far less than we think!

OP I don't think you are being harsh but would it be possible to leave a couple of small toys out for each of them to play with. But the same rule as the books go. They put the toys away when they've finished with them. Octavia no presents at birthdays and Christmas is far to harsh. I agree that children don't need a lot but not getting anything is very miserable and they should have a treat on those days.

Thank you for replies. So far they don't even seem very concerned that there are no DVDs/tv to watch or have they asked for any toys! I am [shocked] mumeee they do have a couple of toys and seem quite content with just that and drawing for now. I am glad I did that. It's so nice walking into the room and not seeing an explosion of toys. I think I will pull a few more favourites out and go with that for now.
It just goes to show they don't really need many toys (including Xbox/ds)
As for not buying at Xmas and b-days, well that's usually the only time you get to spoil them with gifts. I'd feel sad them waking up and not having anything to open. I never buy anything like that any other time.

Will see if this continues