Should I keep these 'classic' toys?

[Punchy Kaby]

I have 2 DC, 4 yo DS and 14m DD. I declutter junky, broken, cheap toys all the time. But it's the 'classic' toys I have more trouble getting rid of. Should I ditch these:
#1: wooden alphabet blocks with letter/numbers/animals. DS was never much into them, so far DD likes to throw them around her room, as in take the whole tray and dump all at once, then spread.
#2: wooden bead rollercoaster, you know the one from IKEA:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80014041
#3:balls, we have a couple outside that we use all the time, and we have a few smaller, softer ones for indoor use. But, we have a 'roll ball' rule for inside (no throwing/kicking) Do I really need 8-9 balls inside? Sometimes during the winter we play bowling.
#4:sandbox. Ugh. Our awesome neighbors pitched in to give the kids a sandbox (plastic turtle with a cover). Except I accidentally forgot to cover it one day when I was chasing the toddler and it got soaked and has never dried out. Kids did play in in for the couple weeks that we had it before I flooded it. DD likes to dig/play in the dirt. I don't know what to do to fix the 'wetness' problem. And I know I am going to forget to put the cover on sometime, so it will happen again.
#5:duplos. DS is onto the regular sized legos and we have the medium sized ones, which DD can sometimes put together. Mostly she likes to dump the whole box out and spread them far and wide.

[ASusan]

Are you planning for another? If so, then keep the toys.

I wouldn't get rid of the first 2 quite yet. Maybe in a year or so.

Let the sandbox dry out by leaving the cover off for a day or 2 when no rain is predicted. Wet sand is easier to build with, anyway. I played in a sandbox until at least 12-13.

Balls I try to toss as they get flat or bits of foam become missing. I bring a ball or 2 when we take a trip, go to a party or picnic, and I don't mind if they get left behind. I have a basket in the playroom for balls.

Keep the duplos. DS didn't start building with them until he was 2.5 and an older cousin came to visit to "show" him how. Duplos fit with legos, if you think you're headed in that direction.

[Delicateflower]

A 14 month old is still too young or in the prime age for most of those. I would definitely keep them for her.

[Punchy Kaby]

We are not planning on having a ny more kids. My post about the legos isn't very clear, we have all three sizes and the biggest ones are almost never touched. DD can sometimes put the medium sized ones together.

I did leave the sandbox cover off for a few days and it remained slushy, not just wet. It is in the shade all day. I don't have a sunny spot in my yard to put it.

[liliaceae]

I would keep them all, especially the sand box. Just leave the cover off on sunny days.

[Tjej]

I'd keep all that too - your DD is only 14 months.

You could run a fan at the sandbox to dry it if just leaving the cover off doesn't do it. But I'd suppose you could only do that until it got to the damp stage, because once it was dry it would just blow the sand away...

Tjej

[clutterwarrior]

I would not throw any of these things out too hastily...as your DD is still very young. What I have found with my children is that they may not play with something for a while but then get renewed interest later...and another idea is to perhaps put the bead rollercoaster away for a while then take it out again in a few months time, just to spark interest all over again.

[LaughingHyena]

I'm not a fan of the huge duplo blocks, they take up so much space. Also my kids were able to put together the regular ones around the same time as the big ones so there was not advantage to us having both.

They both started being able to confidently put the duplo together between 18 month and 2 and still both play regularly with it at 3.5 and 6. We have quite a few people, animals and vehicles which has extended the play somewhat.

Alphabet blocks didn't get used much here, they do like the mini unit blocks which have more variety than the plain cubes. I only bothered keeping ours as they came with the wooden walker so I thought I may as well keep the set together.

Both kids liked the bead roller coaster on a little table when they were just learning to stand, after that it hasn't got much use. I've also seen loads of them used so I wouldn't bother keeping one.

I have a love/hate relationship with the sand. I hate it getting tracked into the house constantly. If it gets left covered in the sun for too long it starts to smell, if it gets uncovered in the rain it gets too wet to play in. However this kids love it and spend literally hours out there with it. We recently moved and haven't filled ours up again till a couple of weeks ago and it's amazing how much more the kids are out in the garden now they have their sand back.

The turtle has one of the best lids of the ones we looked at, which with the number of cats we have round here is a must.

[hibana]

If you can put the sand in another container temporarily, you can drill holes in the bottom of the sandbox and cover the inside with landscape paper. That way the water can drain out & the sand can breathe.

[daytripper75]

We had a bead rollercoaster that I let go of. It seems like every waiting room we encounter has one and it makes it more fun if they don't have one at home. Plus they take up a ton of room and are hard to store.

[surrogate]

the turtle only takes 2 bags of play sand, dump what is in it and buy more. It should cost about $6.

I would keep those other toys too...

[crunchy_mommy]

I agree with the others, I would keep those things, though maybe weed out the balls a bit and get rid of the largest size duplo set.

I don't really see an issue playing with wet sand but you could just refill it with dry sand. You could also consider moving the sandbox inside if you have a basement or playroom (this is what we're going to do come winter).

[Logan]

Im going to go against the grain and say that you should get rid of most of those. Anything which a) isnt played with, ever and b) is outgrown age-wise. You arent planning more kids, so if your two now dont like them then why keep them hanging around? The only one I would hang onto is the duplo, just in case your youngest likes it as that stuff is expensive to replace. And I would keep 2 balls of different sizes/types- for example a soccer ball and a softer smaller ball for littler children.