KIds Clutter

swizzlebabe

My kids seem to have so much stuff, I`m running out of places to put it and they don`t play with most of it anyway. Might be because they can`t find it!!

Must admit I did used to spoil them, but now make sure they only get a little from us, most of it comes from other people.

I have tried selling stuff on ebay before, but did not seem to get much for the stuff, I did put pics on.

Should I save stuff for the younger 1 or just bin stuff when the older has grown out of it?

Help it`s getting me down.

Pooky

Do a boot fair or a yard sale - make sure everything you're wanting to sell is actually in good nick tho or no-one will want it.

If you don't have the time for that then why not phone your local church or youth club and ask if they are having a jumble sale.....they're always greatful.

In my own experience, I take a black sack a month to their rooms and fill it with all the tatt that accumulates, anything worth selling on that they don't play with goes in a box in the loft and gets sold at the next bootfair etc.

Have you tried the policy of "one new thing in, one old thing out"? My family used to buy loads of bits and bobs for them and I had to ask them to stop because we were inundated with silly things that looked good in the packet but were never looked at again. Have a word with people -tell them that if they feel the need to buy your kids something then could they get "......" My mother comes armed with pads of paper and packs of pens from the pound shop now instead of £2.25 a time magazines with naff plastic toys on the front.

Just have a good sort through and get clearing!!

Lillibet_2

Not based on experience so don't know how pratical this is but my thoguhts :

Anything they have grown out of but enjoyed playing with in the past & is still in good nick : Box up & store for the next one, assuming this is likely?
Anything past reasonable re-use : chuck.
Anything not really played with & in good condition : sell at car boot/donate to local hospital/charity
Look into toy boxes or similar for their rooms & introduce a "5 toys out at one time" rule to try & keep the clutter at least hidden away & in control most of teh time & so they learn to tidy away after themselves. If they don't follow this rule gradually reomve the excess toys. Once the toy boxes are full let the kids decide which ones they want to get rid of in favour of keeping new ones.
Oh, and for goodness sake keep a few speical ones tucked away for sentimental reasons, they will love you to bits for doing this in years to come!

Becles

If they don't sell on ebay, what about the free ads in the local paper. You could do a box/bag of toys suitable for "boy aged 3-5" etc.

If they still don't sell, donate them to local toddler groups, mother & baby, childminder, or send them to a charity shop. It would be a shame to bin them if they are still in playable condition.

I'm starting mine on boxes! I've bought some storage boxes and am sorting things out into a car box, farm box, construction box etc. They are allowed one box or a board game out at a time and they have to put it away before the next one comes out.

They get tat from relatives too, but it disappears when they are school and it's usually not missed........

My other half is busy boarding out the loft and has put a proper loft ladder with a handrail and will put better lighting up there. Once it's done all the big things like the train set and scalextrix can go up there and I won't get fed up with falling over them. Might be something to consider depending on your house.

carpool72

You could maybe also sell things via your local NCT Nearly New sale. My little un's 2 this year & we're going to start getting her to choose a couple of toys to donate to 'poor boys & girls' in the hope of clearing some clutter before birthdays & christmas - & teaching the value of giving as well as receiving...

sce37

If you don't want to do a boot fair - I remember once a mum had a coffee morning and advertised it at the local school and playgroup. Found this to be very successful.

VixxAnn

The storage boxes are a good idea, we do this - one box for each type of toy eg. cars, knex, lego, farm etc. They are easy to tidy away after each play as they can just chuck it all in the big box plus it teaches them to be organised (may take a few months!)

We regularly go through rooms with a black bin bag too - otherwise you just collect too much C**P like McDonalds toys and plastic tat.

Regards the unwanted pressies from others - When grandma buys them things I have started saying to her that she should keep it at her house for when they go there, anything we get here I collect up and take back to hers in a bag - she doesn't seem to buy so much anymore!!

Sarahsaver

When my daughter was a baby/toddler I had 2 storage boxes, and i divided the toys between them. I had one box out of the way and I swopped them over every couple of months. For quite a while she felt like she kept on getting new toys:)
Now I have 3 kids its more difficult, but they are supposed to keep their own things in their own bedroom. If toys are in the hallway or the kitchen, they move towards the bin...
I have regular tidy-ups when i give them a box or a bag (boxes are safer for little ones - no risk of suffocating...) to fill either for charity or ebay selling. If they fill it they earn a small amount of money, or else if they want to watch a video or dvd they have to tidy the front room first.
I did have things in categories in the heady days when i had just two kids, one box of cars, one of animals etc.. but this fell by the wayside, educationally it is a good idea to keep things in categories, and I would also say that less is more.

jellyhead

like vixanne i've also come to the conclusion that the tat grandma buys should stay at grandmas house lol! grandad has put a stop to her buying them any more lol! it's nice that she wants to treat her grandchildren but they really have far too much stuff and i don't think it's good for them. spud would be perfectly happy with a few things at xmas, he doesn't need sackfuls. he likes having his things organised - bookshelves with separate areas for fiction, non fiction and magazines. magazine holders to separate colouring books, educational activity books, dot to dot, etc. and a cardboard chest of drawers to separate pencils, pens, felt tips, crayons etc. toyboxes on the shelves of his bookcases etc. - his birthday is halfway through the year so luckily we have a school fayre desperate for his toys just a few weeks before he is getting a ton more for his birthday or xmas.

last weekend i got one of those hanging net things for his random tat, it was £3 in 'instore' and is just a mesh thing that hangs from a hook on the ceiling (we've got it hanging from the top of his bunk) with holes for stuffing things into. it's great for the random stuff that always seems to lie around without a place to go.