Advice on De-cluttering Toys

Hi, one more donation thought--if you live in or near Cambridge, we have a place called the Children's Clothing Exchange. It offers gently used clothing, toys, and equipment to families on a barter system. Great organization. Families can take up to ten clothing items per visit (depending on whether they have credit from items donated) and kids can pick out however many toys they'd like from the toy room. http://www.solutionsatwork.org/Services/ChildrensClothing...

Find a Freecycle group in your area (go to Freecycle.com) - it is always easier to get rid of stuff knowing someone else will use it. The website should tell you all you need to know - it is a way to recycle your stuff, finding people in your area that would like it.

i have that same problem and heres what i do. go over the toys that are just no good to your kids or anyone else and get rid of them. then ask your oldest which toys he wants to keep and tell him the others will go to kids who dont have as much as he does. get clear plastic containers that are big enough for toys and sort them. cars with car toys etc. and label them. then ask your older child that if he plays w/a toy to put it away when playtime is over(make it fun). as for your one yr. olds toys do the same thing. some people get their kids too many toys and half fo them arent even played w/. hope this helps you. rosie

Similar to another responder, we found that if we put all toys in marked bins (blocks, barbies, cats & dogs, horses) and they each get to chose what they want to play with, then they actually do. When we left everything out they would get visually bored with them, but choosing a bin that has been in a closet for a while makes the toys seem like new. Once they are older you can try my technique for getting rid of stuff: I tell the kids that they can have the money from the consignment sale for new things (they are now into Nintendo games - they take up a lot less space than big plastic vanities and kitches!). The other thing we use is those 3M sticky removable hooks along a wall strung with ribbons to hang doll and dress up clothes from. Finally those 3M hook with a net/old receiving blanket with loops sewn on located in a corner of their bedroom is great for stacking stuffed animals. Telling family members that you are trying to keep things simply might also help: one single uncle started buying us blow-up toys and those pop-up tents that go back into a tiny circle bag instead of the big stuff he usually brought over for Christmas.

Our dump (Littleton) has a swap shop where you can deposit old toys. We have gotten a lot of toys from the swap shop and intend to bring them right back when our kids are done with them! Your town might have something similar. Of course, if you don't use a dump or if yours doesn't have a swap shop, then this wouldn't be an option, but a lot of people who use our dump don't seem to know about the swap shop, so I thought I'd mention it.

We live in a 2 bedroom apartment with three kids -- so i know how tight it is!! What we have done is gotten those clear containers (like you said that you have) and boxed all the toys and put them in the closet. The kids get to choose 2 toys and all their parts to play with -- and that's it. When they want another toy they need to decide which toy to put away and then they get another toy out. This has cut down on the clutter a whole lot! The kids also like it because then they get a "new" toy whenever something comes out of the closet.

for the toys that you want to get rid of... how about a consignment shop? Either that or freecycle --- or craigslist. That way the toys will go to a person that will really use them rather than ending up in the trash.

OUr living room is set up so that the couch is not up against the wall but away from it by about 2-3 feet. the space behind the couch is our toy clutter zone and after things are put away in open wicker baskets it looks almost like adults live there! Hope this helps, Nat

You can give any unwanted items on www.freecycle.org

A great place to re-home items is www.freecycle.org especially if you don't want to do a tag sale (or have leftovers). Many towns have a shed at the transfer station where people can leave items that are still useable.

You can list unwanted items on freecycle.org the salvation army near me always has toys at it so check w/ them, a children's hospital, a consignment shop, craigslist if you want to sell them. As far as stuffed animals go I would toss them I never get used stuffed animals no matter how clean they are it grosses me out. But any puzzles, games, plastic toys that aren't being used I would post on a website. We just unloaded a ton of used items on freecycle.org our list was gone in two days.

The toy clutter is terrible isn't it? We have started to get rid of some for our 5 yr old daughter. We have had luck selling some at the Children's Orchards they typically take clean toys. For stuffed animals I found a great place online that is a donation center for them. If you type into google or yahoo donating stuffed animals you will find a bunch of places that take them fro hospitals, fire departments etc. Good luck!

Hi K.,

Try Once Again Kids, located in Northboro. We are a new children's resale boutique complete with a children's playroom so adults can shop more easily while the kids are occupied. In addition to selling your gently used items to us, we'll send you some great coupons to Noodle Noggin' 'N Bean (www.noodlenogginnbean.com)and Once Again Kids. Email me at ____@____.com with any questions.
Thanks, L.

It sounds like you've gotten a lot of help with where to get rid of toys, so I'll give you my opinion on organizing toys. We have two separate things we use to organize our toys.

One, in the bedrooms, the kids each have a 3-drawer bin in their closet (they were on sale for $13 at Walmart, but I think they are normally only $15) - here's the link: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1101...

We use those for the toys they keep in their room, so for example, my son has his geotrax pieces in one drawer, train track in another, cars in a bin on top, and puzzles in the last drawer.

Then, in our playroom, we bought a book shelf (again from Walmart). http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1101... Then we took some fabric covered bins and organized toys in there. They keep the playroom looking a little more modern and very tidy.

Hope that helps.

I am surprised to hear the donation center won't take toys and stuffed animals. Our local food bank consignment place takes them, as does Family Outfitters. Check around, many do. Regarding the clutter, we are in the same boat. Other than the containers, I just don't know how to control it either!