Would it be mean...in order to preserve my sanity...

[TooTicky]

...to get rid of bagfuls of toys that seem to crowd in on me from every direction? Okay, slight exaggeration, but they do seem to be everywhere.
I mean, if they really cared about them they would pick them up and put them away themselves, wouldn't they? It seems there is so much "stuff" to deal with all the time that we're not actually living fully. I'm so fed up with tidying, re-tidying, telling children to tidy, re-telling them....and still the house is a tip!

Bag it and hide it for six weeks - if they haven't missed it by then, get rid of it.

Hide it where? We're in a small 3-bed cottage, have 4 children, dp works from home with equipment, and we are currently storing some stuff for my grandmother. Good idea in theory though!

Have you got a garage? Or just get rid of it and take any consequences. I tend to just deny all knowledge of things ('No, DD, I haven't seen that bit of plastic tat we picked up in Macdonalds, have you tried looking in your bedroom?') but that may work better for the odd bit here and there, rather than a wholesale cull of all sorts of things. Good luck - hope you find a way to manage it.

I'm having a hige clearout. once we're back from holiday I'm selling loads on ebay. With 3 kids we are now just overun and can't move for toys. They can't find the ones they do want to play with.

Kids really have too much stuff these days. Perhaps I'll be doing them a favour by clearing out some, keeping the special things obviously, then they can appreciate what they've got a bit more, instead of just wading through it.
But what to do with ds1's cherished bits of old china that he's dug up from the garden? He's planning to open a museum when he's grown up...

Could you find a way of displaying them in the garden? Stick them onto something to make a mosaic? Oh dear - they do get attached to the strangest things. I love the idea of him opening a museum. How old is he?

Interesting idea. He's just 7.

\link{http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.plantris.com/images/gallery-store/mosaic/strawberry-pot.jpg&imgrefurl=www.plantris.com/gallery/mosaics/mosaics-strawberry.html&h=368&w=260&sz=34&tbnid=1KYyt7cHCoFYlM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=83&hl=en&start=7&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmosaic%2Bpot%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG\Here's one} that uses all sorts of bits, just to decorate it, not to make a picture.

I regularly chuck bagfuls of toys away - grandparents buy huge amounts of crap, um, gifts and it just gets too much!

DD gets into trouble as her bedroom is a mess - but the sheer volume of toys makes it such a daunting task for her.

That reminds me I'm having a clearout this weekend....

Sell it in ebay. You could give them the proceeds if you are feeling generous.

And then when you have generated some space, let me know - I'll send ds1 lots of old china dug up from our garden!! Not sure why I have been hoarding it.

you should tell HIM to sort them out - what he wants to give to the charity shop - what are rubbish and what is for keeping.

and explain to him why you have come to this decision.

But if you ask them, they just want to keep everything. Yes, especially that piece of broken something with the twiddly bit that was found in the street and that I said would never enter the house

I have cleared 5 black bin liners for charity shop/tip today and the playroon looks dreamy!

And the best bit is that ds and dsd are now ploaying really nicely in all the space with things that they have been ignoring because they were at the back of the pile.

I should have done it months ago!

And it only took about three hours including cleaning it really well, which considering that it really hasn't been touched in about a year wasn't bad I thought!

So in answer, no I don't think you're mean at all, in truth I think once they had stoppped moaning about what they wanted to keep they would thank you for it!

when i start falling over the toys, i make the kids do a "charity bag" each.

I don't thing that sneaking the toys out is fair

Just curious, neena28, how old are your children? I find that the older they are, the more they remember (albeit sometimes after not having seen something for months!), whereas little ones have delightfully short memories when it comes to toys. I suppose experiences make more of an impression than things

shiny people, I wouldn't take anything special - nothing I knew they were attached to. I honestly believe there are many things which don't really get played with and wouldn't be missed.

Step daughter is 11, son is 5.5 and daughter is 10 months.

It is ds that is most thrilled to be honest and he was the most whiney when he got home. We did have a chat about people without many toys and after that he was more positive about it.

We have kept the proper toys and got rid of the crap ie kept lego/ pretend kitchen and food and got rid of the bits of mutant turtle that he got for his birthday that don't go with anything. Much better as they have proper sets of things to play with rather than bitting and bobbing all the time. also most of the kept toys require a bit of imagination/thought which I think is good.

why not tell him that he needs to find 5/10/15 toys (start low!) to send to children whose parents can't buy them good things. Make sure that they are toys that he actually doesn't play with so would prob mean u have to have a small sort thru and he choose from ur pile.

Then u and he take the bag to charity shop or childrens home or whatever

One thing that bothers me about charity shops - and I do donate to/shop at them regularly, is that a lot of stuff just does end up being landfilled. I know they can get overwhelmed, but the sheer waste makes me uncomfortable.