Too many toys

[bananasandtoasties]

I have 3 children aged 2,4 and 6 and we have too many toys. They’ve accumulated due to very generous friends and family and because I’ve not got rid of anything because there’s always been a younger child to pass things on to. I’m also very sentimental - lots of things have been made for the children with love by grandparents/my husband.

How do I sort them into more manageable levels? Please give me your best tips for being ruthless.

Following as I'm currently drowning in toys!

I've attempted a clear out many times over the years but the pile doesn't get any smaller as things as constantly added.

Not to mention the mountains of tiny little crappy toys that come in party bags, magazines and happy meals.

I think I have about 30 toys / pencils / pieces of paper staring right at me in my living room when all the toy boxes have been moved in to the kids room!!!

At a time when the kids are out/asleep, take half the toys and put them away out of sight. If they ask for anything specific, hand it back. If they don't, don't. Use that time to cull anything outgrown, broken or not played with, and put a limited number of sentimental or handmade items to one side as keepsakes. Repeat monthly.

Sort them into types of toys.
As you do this, remove any that ate broken.

Then tackle each type in turn. Start with outgrown stuff.

Any outgrown heirloom type toys, pack away in a labelled box.
Anything in decent condition put in a donate pile.
Anything broken, missing bits etc...bin.

Then with each type... look for duplicates, broken, missing bits etc. Then anything they don't like.

Then consider your space... if you have space for 20 toy cars for example, chose the best 20.

Try to stop toys coming into the house in the first place. Ask people to limit how much they buy for your children. You could ask for them to gift an annual pass of some kind? Go through toys and get rid of any that are unused or broken.

I've started asking for clothes over toys. Luckily DD is in to dress up so she sees it as a 'present'

Pay attention over the course of a week as to which toys your children actually play with for any extended period of time. Get “rid” of anything else. Box it up and get it hidden in a garage or loft. Anything they ask for over the course of a month, bring back. After that get rid of the lot.

It’s surprising how few toys are actually too many. If kids have too many toys they don’t play properly with them. My 3 year old doesn’t have many toys and plays best with open-ended toys: magnet tiles, mixed Lego (not sets with instructions), matchbox cars, peg people, and kinetic sand are the most played with.

Be really picky about what you keep for heirloom toys. Soft toys just aren’t the same after they've been kept in a loft for 20 years! Plastic stuff ages. Classic stuff like wooden toys or a special doll. Think about what you’d really like to keep for grandchildren to see.

I also do what a pp said about boxing stuff up when your kids aren’t around - otherwise they suddenly get very sentimental and attached to everything in the give away! There’s only been once I’ve given something away that DS remembered months later.

Also a good tip for anything - kids toys, artwork, clothes etc - take a photo of it instead of keeping it. Then you still have a memory/reminder, but it’s not taking up space and someone else can enjoy it.

I'm quite ruthless when it comes to toy sorting. We get given alot from family (and family friends) then birthday and Christmas on top it would be insane if I kept everything out all the time. Once a year I do a massive toy clear out when they are not around (usually when they go to my parents for a week for childcare help)

I first start with looking at space. What space do I have realistically? Is the storage fit for use or do I need to think about changing up what I have
I then split the space between the children (for me it is 2 DC) so half each at the moment (although DS 7 is probably getting smaller things now than DD3).
We use Ikea Kallax with the cubes so its really easy to divide.

I filter out anything broken and it gets thrown away. We only fix really sentimental things. I also don't replace unless its a beloved toy and they still want a new one weeks later.

Then sort into which child or age maybe in your case.
Then toy category e.g all cars together, all dolls together, all lego together.

Then I check:
What duplicates there are?
What similar there are?

Is anything not age appropriate?

Then I go by interests:
What does DD play with the most or DS play with the most?
What do they both play with?
What is sentimental?

Sometimes I put stuff in the loft I'm not sure about in case DC want it again. Or if I think they are going through a phase e.g. thunderbirds for DS - He loved them 2 years ago and we sourced a Tracy island off marketplace. He hasnt played with it for a while BUT I know he will come back around to it. It is also really hard to find for a reasonable amount of money so I've put it in the loft for next year. Same with Paw Patrol. That just came back out the loft for my youngest.

I either sell or charity shop stuff we don't want to keep. I try to minimise the amount we just throw away.

It's carnage in my house toy sorting weeks but it works. And the kids can then see and play with things they actually forgot they had sometimes.