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Original poster

Chucking the kid's toys away

31 replies

MrsSnape · 29/03/2008 17:08

I'm the the midst of sorting out the kids bedrooms. I did DS1s over the past couple of days and he got rid of so much stuff I honestly can't see how it can get messy again...

DS2 is a real problem, he has so much stuff...4 huge toy boxes full of stuff he NEVER plays with and won't part with and there is still more stuff that won't fit in the toy boxes.

They're both at their dads this weekend so should I just get rid of everything he doesn't bother with since he probably won't notice anyway or is that cruel?

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theITgirl · 29/03/2008 17:11

Can you put them in the attic, then throw them away in a couple of months when he hasn't noticed

bonkerz · 29/03/2008 17:12

i do my DCs boxes every month and get rid of stuff that s broken, parts missing or stuff thats is in the bottom of box and has not been touched! It is ruthless BUT if oyur DCs are anything like mine it will be replaced soon enough with more tat!
If oyu cant bear to throw away how about sorting a cupbowrd and putting stuff in there for a few weeks then when not missed chuck out!

WanderingTrolley · 29/03/2008 17:12

You need to steal away the toys one by one.

Maybe lose one a week. If a toybox starts looking empty, just rearrange the stuff inside awkwardly to make it look fuller.

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fryalot · 29/03/2008 17:13

my friend put in a box all the toys that her children either didn['t play with, or had broken.

The next time they refused to tidy their bedrooms, she said that if they hadn't done it in half an hour, she was setting fire to all their toys.

One big bonfire later....

(their bedrooms were spotless for some considerable time after that)

EllieG · 29/03/2008 17:13

That's what I do - box stuff up, if she notices, tell her it's all boxed up safe. Generally she doesn't notice, and I get rid of in a few months when still not played with. If she doesn't ask for it in that time to play with I figure can't be that special.

moondog · 29/03/2008 17:14

Don't throw though.
Pass it on to someone else.

BigBadMouse · 29/03/2008 17:25

I think you have to do it for your own sanity. I think it would be unfair on your DS1 if DS2 didn't get the same treatment.

I have just done the same as EllieG - DDs (4 and 2 at end of April) have so much stuff which they just empty from the toy boxes then leave on the floor - they never seem to play with any of it apart from a few precious toys. I told them if they didn't clear it away I would get rid, two days of warnings later it all went up in the loft. That was 2 months ago - nothing has been missed (which genuinely suprised me) so in a few months time if it is still not missed it will go to a charity shop which we never visit (or it will all be back!).

I wouldn't just chuck it all straight away though. My mother did that to me when I was a kid. She just bagged up a load of stuff and gave it to the kids across the road. Some of it was my favourite stuff but she had no idea. I was gutted to see the kids across the road playing with it all for years to come and even more gutted when, a few years later, I saw two of the items on the antiques roadshow valued at over £500 each

moondog · 29/03/2008 17:26

My kids have hardly any toys because I know how little most toys are palyed with (verified by years working as a SALT).
I have a box full of unopened Christmasd presents that nonone noticed.

BigBadMouse · 29/03/2008 17:26

btw - things have been a lot calmer all round here since the declutter.

moondog · 29/03/2008 17:31

Yes,that is common too.
We all have too much choice and it is not a liberating thing.

Califrau · 29/03/2008 17:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LaComtesse · 29/03/2008 17:44

I used to keep a "sin bin" of toys that bugged me which eventually went to a charity shop. I do find it hard though - I kept promising myself a purge of the Polly Pocket toys last year and never got around to it.

Pannacotta · 29/03/2008 17:45

Agree with sorting it out, also agree pass it on to a good cause, charity, GP surgery, local, Surestart, playgroup etc. Please dont just bin it, and also offer your DSs the chance to sort out and keep their favourite things.
The other option is to rotate things, box away a load, put it away for a month or two then rotate it with what is out now. This works well in our house when I get round to it.
I tend to buy books rather than toys as they tend to give more hours of pleasure IME.

Othersideofthechannel · 29/03/2008 18:35

Moondog, that's interesting.
How old are you children and how do they occupy themselves? Here the DCs play alot with their toys (train set, cars, Lego, soft toys and dolls)as well as just keeping themselves busy with arts and crafts or ordinary household objects like clothes pegs.
Do you count puzzles and children's games like dominoes, memory games as toys or not?

moondog · 29/03/2008 19:48

Other, they like books and painting and colouring. Dd very keen on dolls and tea parties. Ds likes cars and trains. They mess around a lot with balls in the garden and like dvds and computer games (carefully vetted)

Othersideofthechannel · 29/03/2008 20:02

Thanks. You see I think my chilren play with their toys alot but sound like they occupy themselves in the same way as yours. It's just that I would classify balls, dolls, tea sets and cars as toys.
So what sort of toys go unused then?

moondog · 29/03/2008 20:07

Well I would too!

I am not into electronic things or themded things or stuff that has a lot of small and very complicated parts. From a developmental viewpoint,the best toys are the ones that exercise your child's imagination to the max. (ie wooden boxes,simple teasets and cars and so on)

Othersideofthechannel · 29/03/2008 20:15

Yes, we haven't really got anything very advanced yet. I have recently weeded out a few baby toys and too-simple puzzles but they play with all the rest of the things regularly. DS is 5 and can do 50+ piece puzzles, but still enjoys doing his 4 and 8 piece digger and dumper puzzles and then 'driving' them all over the floor.

pointydog · 29/03/2008 20:15

I tell dd2 she has to get rid of some of it and we work out some sort of target to clear out.

The way I see it, is that those toys belong to the the child (at least, that's how it feels to the child) so it wouldn't be fair for me to get rid of them.

I am sounding rather boho woolly this evening, aren't I

PeggySioux · 29/03/2008 20:19

You could adapt an idea my friend used on her husband - she took all of his clothes and let him have back the items he could name.

moondog · 29/03/2008 20:21

lol at clothes

Yes other,my ds loves doing exactly the smae!

Othersideofthechannel · 29/03/2008 20:21

I agree with that Pointydog, from school age. For toddlers I think it is fair enough to not ask their opinion but to hide things away for a couple of weeks and see if they are 'out of sight, out of mind' before finding a new home.

pointydog · 29/03/2008 20:24

yes, I'm thinking school age

Othersideofthechannel · 29/03/2008 20:25

Mrs Snape, you don't say how old your DS2 is but is there any chance you can put stuff in a box in the garage to see if he notices?

Original poster
MrsSnape · 29/03/2008 23:27

He is 7 but I haven nowhere to store anything. I can't get in the loft and the cupboard under the stairs is bursting already

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