Kid's rooms - big help needed...

Amandaj32

I really need to do something about my 11yo son's room. He has got so much stuff it's hard to get anything sorted out. Unfortunately, I've held onto a lot of stuff for sentimental reasons. He also is very reluctant to part with ANYTHING!! Knowing where to start even would be something!!

I was just wondering how did other people deal with this? OH's sister is completely ruthless and throws out everything but that is just not in my nature. I remember being really upset when my Mum threw out/gave away treasured toys. (Doll's pram, dolls house, complete sets of books etc) The funny thing was she complained bitterly about my Granny doing the same!!

So - how much do you involve the kids? Do you throw out? Give away? Sell?

I'm looking forward to the replies!!

minimacka

When i decorated my ds (11) bedroom we decided that all the toys that he didnt play with would get put in the loft, now he just has a few stacker boxes under his bed with books, art stuff etc in, he hasnt bothered at all about the toys because he didnt really play with them anyway. The games that he had in his room we keep in a cupboard and occasionally he will get one out and we will play a game but usually he is on his games console or at his activities. Maybe you and your son could go through the toys and throw away broken ones, and have a to donate box and a to keep box and go through them and put them into the relevant boxes. Ive kept quite a lot of both my sons toys as they are really nice and they never ever damaged them things like playmobile, lego, wooden pirate ships, wooden castles complete with the figures, they are timeless and if im blessed with grandchildren will come in for them and if not then I can donate them at a very later stage. I have given some toys and games away to people at work who have small children, and I suppose im silly cos i could never take any money off them, Im just pleased that they get played with again.

Pooky

I'm ruthless I'm afraid, if it's broken - it gets chucked (obviously I recycle where I can) - I've kept a couple of cuddly toys that each DD loved when they were little but I don't keep anything else.

I ask them to tidy their rooms weekly but once every couple of months I go through the entire room and fill bin bags with some of the tatt they accumulate.

I've got them both big underbed storage boxes, one for cuddlies, one for craft/stationary items. Books get sorted every now and then and old ones get donated to school fairs or given away via freecycle. Boxed games are all kept together in one room and again sorted through now and then to see what they're still playing with and what needs to go.

I like to be able to clean and tidy a room with minimal effort so keeping it clear and clutter free is a must for me.

If there's anything really sentimental that you both want to keep then why not start a memory box - pick a few items and store them properly in the loft/basement.....you can add to it each year, even if it's in the form of a photo of the object with a few words on the back about why it was so special.

ascot64

I have 2 DS's that hoard so I know what you mean. What I do is have a good sort out putting stuff that I am not sure about into a black bin liner in the garage.

The intention is that if they miss something and ask for it I will give it back to them but it hasn't happened yet!

After a couple of months I go through the bags and give away, recycle or store for selling later.

OddjobKIA

ebay or car boot all that is not wanted and let HIM spend the money from it

281273

With my hoarding DS aged 12, we throw away broken items, sell the good things and charity shop or freecycle the items that are in between. He gets involved a little but i have the last say. With my DD's i just go thru there stuff every 2 months and freecycle or sell the items they have grown out off.

However i have just freecycled my little cooker from when i was a girl, My dad made it out of a wardrobe. And now im quite emotional about it going. How sad is that!!!!

joanie

What we do is twice a year (due now) we go through his room and find all the toys/games in good condition which we can give away because he has outgrown them.
Based on what they are we then either donate to charity - (we have a little chat about other families not as lucky as us) or if he is saving for something special we come up with a price (50p to £3) per item and I put them on the notice board at work (what he doesn't know is that I still give them to charity and I pay him the money ) - while we are doing this it is easy to talk him into throwing away the ones not fit for charity or sale.

another thing that works for us ....I always have a tall lidded laundry box in the spare room which is "lined" with a charity bag so we all tend to put things in it regularly as we try things on and they no longer fit or don't suit - then it's simply a case of dropping it off when full and getting a new bag to line it.

kellyw8800

I agree with Oddjobkia, why don't you all (you, maybe your partner, etc) makea big deal out of getting rid of things you don't all need/use. Get yourselves down the car boot. Let lil'un have his own table space and change pot and let him keep whats in it to buy some shiny new toys. Encourage him like 'oh with this much going to the carboot bet you can get that Ben10 toy'. You might even make a couple of pennies too and it'll be something to do on a sunday morning.

moneypooh

Same here :j

My DD (14) and DS (11) both sort out their rooms with each season. This started a few years back when I was checking clothes (ie summer stuff & winter).
Things are sorted into, recycle (charity) sell, keep or bin!
When we sell clothes, I get the money and other things they do.
They now sell games to get new ones. My son recently sold a GBA (+ stuff)for a PSP!
My daughter sells CDs/DVDs to get new ones.
Book sales always go for towards new books.

Both have 'memory' boxes in the loft and they keep what's special to them.
If they aren't sure about some things we put them in the loft and they agree that if they don't miss them then they can 'out the door'.

champys

Amandaj32 wrote: »

I was just wondering how did other people deal with this? OH's sister is completely ruthless and throws out everything but that is just not in my nature. I remember being really upset when my Mum threw out/gave away treasured toys. (Doll's pram, dolls house, complete sets of books etc) The funny thing was she complained bitterly about my Granny doing the same!!

Amandaj32 - just read this and wanted to tell you that I also remember being upset when my mother thinned out my toys and stuff when I was a child. She had 'decluttering' in the blood, and did this quite regularly. I also remember though, that any disappointment never lasted all that long, and although I did not want to admit it, I could see that I couldn't hang on to absolutely everything forever.

However: I am a grown-up now and my mother died last month. I must say, that she is more than forgiven for her de-cluttering habit!! Her flat was so tidy, all we did was clean the carpet to put it on the market and it was sold last week. When my MIL passed away 2 years ago, it took DH and his sister months and months to work through all the stuff to get her house presentable and on the market, and it is still not sold. Of course there is luck involved as well, but I can really see now how sensible my Mum was, even if I couldn't when I was little.

Admittedly not an argument you can use right now with your offspring, but maybe still food for thought......

Ch.

kj*daisy

I sell at NCT Nearly New sales twice a year - I'm not ruthless but it's amazing how much you can sell - and still have loads left!!
I gave some nice things to my nephew and have kept the wooden train set. I will keep some of DD's nice things (dolls house and dolls pram)
I tray and sell enough to make space for the new birthday and Xmas stuff. Good luck