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How many toys do we need?

post #1 of 13
1/10/10 at 11:54am
Thread Starter 
Seriously, we just moved, and I left most of the toys in boxes. I have available for my kids:

Me
Arts & crafts stuff
My Little Pony ponies
Barbies
Blocks
Thomas train stuff
Stuffed animals
Card games

The Thomas stuff isn't being used (sorry, it's been spoken for, if we decide to get rid of it ). Neither are the stuffed animals (and I think they may be breeding). But I get really sentimental about many stuffed animals even if my girls aren't...

And none of my girls ( 8, 6, 2.5) have asked for anything. Should I just donate the rest of the stuff???

Is anyone toy-free or "low-toy" and what is in your toy box??

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post #2 of 13
1/10/10 at 12:38pm
There are several threads similar to this -- low toy, how many toys to have, getting rid of toys, etc.

You have several options. One is to leave the toys in boxes for a certain amount of time (say, 3 months) and if your kids don't ask for any of them then donate or sell those toys. Another option is to start a toy rotation. Keep out what you have now but rotate every month with the toys that you have in boxes. A third option is to get rid of all of the undesirable toys (noisy, plastic, or whatever annoys you) and keep the "better" toys.

We have a toy problem at our house. I have several siblings who "gift" us their outgrown toys, plus grandparents who are way too generous in giving toys. All of that means lots of toys around our house. I boxed up lots of the toys and put them in the attic and so far, the kids haven't noticed. I'll probably sell those in another month.
post #3 of 13
1/10/10 at 2:45pm
Yeah, I was going to say that since you just moved I would not totally get rid of everything yet, and I also agree with rotating and getting rid of the junk toys now while they are not missing them

But, I would pack up the stuff that is available that they are not interested in.
The stuffed animals sound more of your issue, so maybe take a photo of your girls with them and let them go or at least put them away for awhile and see how you feel in a month or two. Give the trains away now since you have someone who wants them.

I read somewhere about letting things go while they are still useful to others, like instead of hanging onto a couch we don't need, storing it and then having to throw it out years later because it was outdated or worse ruined and of no use to anyone. Same with clothes, same with toys, books or anything.

Since you do have a young daughter, I'd hang onto some classic wonderful toys for her, but otherwise pass things on to make room for new interests.

Good luck!

PS I love how you put "Me" first on your list~
you have that so right!!
post #4 of 13
1/10/10 at 9:25pm
Dd (age 5) has all art supplies, pretend kitchen things and stuffed toys. That's all. Every now and then she'll be gifted something plastic or just a real "toy" and she'll play with it for a while and then I regift it. Ds is 11. He has all books and art supplies and a bunch of mini-skateboards. That's all he plays with and all he needs.
post #5 of 13
3/27/10 at 8:03pm
We also have a toy problem at our home. I am so tired of all the toys. I just want to have a few good quality things for my kids. Granted, the baby still needs some of his musical toys because he loves them, but the rest of the stuff, I just want it out!!! I have been giving things away for more than a month now and I still have so much left. I have boxed up some and put it in the garage and the other stuff is probably going to either go upstairs to their rooms or out to the garage too.
post #6 of 13
3/28/10 at 2:10am
I have 3 small bucket type baskets one for musical toys, and one for each girl. They have a "treasure" chest thats filled with dress up clothes and a stocked art closet. They each have two dolls and we have 2 cradles and a baby high chair along with items for their kitchen.

I tend to go through toys when the seasons change and re-evaluate what they're playing with and what's been sitting around. I don't rotate toys like others do, because I don't like hanging on to the clutter and I find that my girls don't notice when things find new homes. (But, I'm also not opposed to new things finding their way in either, it just means something else has to go out!)
post #7 of 13
3/28/10 at 1:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunshineafterrain View Post
Yeah, I was going to say that since you just moved I would not totally get rid of everything yet, and I also agree with rotating and getting rid of the junk toys now while they are not missing them
post #8 of 13
3/28/10 at 1:55pm
I wish we could get rid of toys!! DS has tons and tons of things when I get rid of stuff, he always remembers the items down the road. He even asks me if I sold something in the yard sale when he can't find what he's looking for. UGH!
post #9 of 13
3/29/10 at 5:30am
I like to have a few things stored away that the children haven't seen for a while. It's nice to have something "new" to pull out on a rainy day or when someone is ill or something.
post #10 of 13
3/30/10 at 3:41pm
We had a family meeting and I explained that Mommy spends so much time picking up and sorting toys, if they got rid of some of the toys they would have more time with ME.

My girls (7, 5 & 2) seemed to understand this (the older ones, the 2 year old doesn't talk) and they picked ten toys to keep. This is what they wanted:

1. Stuffed Animals
2. Barbies
3. Plastic Animals
4. Wooden blocks (for building houses for the animals)
5. Legos
6. Lincoln Logs
7. Wooden Food
8. Chess and Checkers
9. Doll house with family that goes in it
10. Coloring Books

I made them keep our Little People set and some baby doll stuff for my toddler because she likes those things.
post #11 of 13
3/30/10 at 4:05pm
Our girls have
1. Barbies (don't lecture me!)
2. legos
3. Fisher Price Little People (several large and small sets)
4. blocks
5. enough books to start a bookstore
6. baby dolls and accessories

My 6.5 yo also has a Leapster 2 that she plays with nearly everyday.

We are in the process of getting ready to move so I'm cleaning out everything that's broken, missing pieces, or just doesn't get played with. They will also be getting their play kitchen out of storage once we are moved (bigger house!!!) and I plan to knit/crochet/sew play food and kitchen accessories.
post #12 of 13
3/30/10 at 10:36pm
We "put stuff in a box" pretty regularly. If I notice a whole drawer full of toys isn't getting any play, I pull them out and see if dd wants to put them away for a while. It's worked, and she's learned about keeping clutter down. She does, however, enjoy pulling the box out of storage from time to time and strews things about, but then can say a final goodbye to many of them. I like that she's taking a role in choosing what to have around her. (I was cold-busted removing things that I thought should go long ago and got my learnin')
post #13 of 13
3/31/10 at 12:05am
We're low-toy.
My son who is 3 has one shelf of books, a small box of wooden blocks, a small box of cars, a kitchen playset, art supplies, a toolbench, a guitar, and one small canvas box of other toys. We try to avoid getting new toys and if he gets gifts we take some things out of the other toy box

My daughter is 5 months and has one small canvas container of toys.

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