How much stuffed toys is too much?

[LoveOurBabies]

We had 12 plush toys, up until recently. My mama sent me a bag filled with old stuffies from my childhood and whilst most didn't illicit any warm response (except for two), my girls were all over them and have now 'adopted' some of them. Now we're up to 25 stuffies and I think it's way too much as we have a very small home, but don't know where to cut back. :(

How many do you have?

Do you find them valuable for play (more so than dolls)?

Do you have any from childhood that your children play with?

Would you keep 25 stuffed toys if they were 'liked' (they all seem to be played with equally)?

Thanks!

[ollyoxenfree]

I can't count the number of stuffed toys that DD (now 15, almost 16 y.o.) still has. Definitely more than 25!! We don't have a huge amount of space either, but they are all in her room. I figure she is entitled to keep what she wants in her own space and decorate how she wants, and if that means keeping her childhood stuffies, that's fine. She keeps a couple on her bed. She has a 3-tiered wire basket stand from IKEA that is full of them. 

Yes, they were valuable for play. I'm surprised that she can still find a use for them. She's a drama major at a performing arts high school, and she will use them as props in shows. She played with them all extensively when she was a younger. They also inspired her to make her own stuffed toys and she produced some wonderful, exotic creatures while developing her creativity and sewing skills. 

I have one stuffed toy from my childhood. I had another but it was destroyed by a puppy years ago. 

A few months ago, we donated a large carton of stuffies, getting rid of all that she could part with. We will be moving sometime in the next year (if we can ever find a house *sigh*) and I'm sure she will weed out more then.

So, yes I would (and do) keep 25 stuffed toys, but it's wise to keep an eye on the numbers and work on some control:  

- Going forward, instituting a "one in/one out" rule might help. If they want to get a new toy, they will have to donate an old toy to make room for it. If you don't want to keep 25, reach an agreement with them on a reasonable number and try to maintain it. 

-Agree on where the stuffed toys will be kept and where they can be played with. 

-Have a regular clean-up routine once or twice a day, so that the stuffed toys go back to where they live when the kids aren't playing with them

[LoveOurBabies]

Thanks so much for the perspective! :) It's wonderful that your daughter has gained so much from her stuffies - I hope my girls do too!

They've always had their own special stuffed toys (one that was bought especially for them from either mom or dad, ones that have particular stories) and my youngest absolutely adores dogs, so we have a few more than average in that category. The problem with the space is the girls share a room - and it's a very small room. There is no where else for the stuffies to go and their other toys are already pared down to the bare minimum so the one in one out rule won't work for this.

I think I may just have to find a hiding spot and rotate them. I am also in agreeance about not stripping children of anything they love for the sake of 'less'.. it defeats the purpose of simplifying (which is to have a happier, less stressful existence)... but the amount right now in such a small spot is driving me a little crazy.

[meetoo]

We have a small space and a ton of stuffed animals. I never counted them but i would think over 100 easily. My kids love them, named them, have story lines for each one.....I'm not allowed to part with them. They are pretty much all my oldest child plays with so we make the space. I do encourage them to only add the small beanie baby sized ones to their collections lol. If your kids aren't into them then I think it's fair to say pick x amount each and that's what we will keep. In my kids case I just don't feel right making them get rid of them. 

[green_momma2007]

My kids aren't into stuffed animals, so we only have 3. Since your girls love them you can keep more. Do they actually play with them? If they do, I would say to make them choose the 3 they love the most each, for a total of 6. If they don't actually play with them just have them pick their favorite and that's it.

[rnra]

I hate clutter.  5 stuffed toys each is my limit.  If another one comes in, one has to go out.

[zebra15]

I wouldn't keep 30 yr old stuffed animals from my mom's house.  But I would keep numerous stuffed animals that my kiddo liked (but not ones that were mine from decades ago).   If my mom sent something from *that* long ago I would have looked through the box first and made some executive decisions before even showing/offering the items to my kid.

So I see 2 issues here, the number of stuffed animals and the age/previous storage conditions of the items.  I don't have issue with the number of stuffed animals, I do have issue with the age/previous storage condition of the items. (again your mom might store things differently than mine however plush toys that are 'old' tend to get musty, dusty and ucky)

[Caneel]

My son adores, absolutely adores his stuffed animals and plays with them ALL THE TIME, they are a big part of his creative play.  So yes, I would keep 25 (or more) if they played with equally.

He has at least 50.  I store them in a large, pop-up hamper so the clutter isn't too annoying to me.  BTW - I never in a million years imagined I would allow all of these in the house. 

He has two from my childhood and they are very important to him (not me!) he constantly tells people how they "were my mom's but now they are mine."