[cupofjojo]

We are getting ready for a garage sale and I'm trying to figure out what toys of my DS that I should get rid of. I know he has more than enough but he plays with so many different things its been a challenge.<br><br>
I also host a play group every month or so and I like to have things on hand for children of all ages. What do others think about this? I also have a kitchen set & doll house for when little girls are over, DS doesn't show any interest in them unless the girls are over to play.<br><br><br>
My DS is 3 1/2 and if it helps in suggestions we're hoping to homeschool.<br><br>
I know I want to weed out a lot of his battery operated toys, if that's the only way they will function.<br><br>
Any suggestions would help. I've only cleared out toys one other time, on his first birthday.<br><br>
Thanks!

 

[1growingsprout]

im sure you will get lots of suggestions<br><br>
1.first i would take anything that is BROKEN or missing pieces and get rid of that<br>
2.next i would go through the stuffed animals... anything that is dirty, soiled, not liked etc, get rid of<br>
3. anything your son doesnt like.... if you dont plan on having anymore kids then there is no need for the dollhouse/kitchen... the playgroup kids will find something else to play with<br>
4. anything that is duplicates...<br>
5. any dvd/vhs you no longer want/need<br>
6. anything that is a 'baby' toy<br>
7. those annoying battery toys

 

[kerc]

on keeping toys around -- you don't need many toys for a playdate. like 1 or 2 safe things to play with. babies can play with measuring cups or whatever. and when there are other kids around they don't really need much.<br><br>
i tend to go through and stuff things into boxes -- anything that hasn't been played with in some time. or anything we find overly annoyed -- battery operated or not.

 

[mbhf]

here's what i did.<br><br>
i got rid of all of the stuff i was holding onto for sentimental reasons first. everyone we know has given our kids some sort of stuffed animal (or 10) over the years. my kids never play with them. ever. but i couldn't stant to get rid of them because my mom or whoever bought them.<br><br>
anything broken obviously went.<br><br>
then i moved onto plastic toys. unless it was something one of the kids really liked, i gave it away. i don't like the way they look, they break easily, and i don't want my baby chewing on them.<br><br>
books. if i hate reading a book (you know you have books that you hide just so you don't have to read them. don't you? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> ) i got rid of it. if it had something i didn't agree with in it (bottles, etc) i got rid of it.<br><br>
no holding onto stuff because i think one day i might have a kid that likes it.<br><br>
that cut down drastically on the amount of toys we had. my kids are happy with the situation, and they don't miss anything. i've asked the family to not give toys anymore, and for the most part they listen. if someone does give them a new toy, we keep it for a while, and if it falls into one of the above categories, we give it away.