Do We Really Need You, Toys?

 The good ole toy purge, I try to go through the kids toys and get rid of as much as I can at least twice a year. Usually once before the holidays and late spring/early summer sometime. Does anyone actually have a hard time with this? Or is it just me? 

I have an incredibly hard time getting rid of stuff as of late. The stuff my daughter is outgrowing my son wants to play with and the stuff my son is outgrowing my daughter wants to play with. Who knew baby toys could be so interesting to an (almost) 5yo? Sure as shit wasn't me. I typically just go through and rid the toy bin of anything broken or missing pieces, like any puzzle we've ever had. I try to keep consistent to the rule to get rid of as much as were taking in. My daughter is really good about it once I explain to her that we are going to donate her toys to a child that doesn't have as many toys. 

I am definitely not a hoarder or anything, but I get attached to some of the stuff,  and always find myself questioning every scenario. "We might have babies over for a playdate, they'll need something to play with." "What if I open a day home, I'll need a bigger variety of things to keep all the kids occupied." I recently donated a bunch of toys to my own classroom, which I felt no stress at all because my room needed it more.

I have the best outcome when one of the kids dumps a bunch of toys out all over the place, and drags the pieces everywhere. Guess what happens when I sweep them up? You guessed it, that shit is gone. I usually tell my daughter she has until I'm done sweeping the piles to grab anything she wants to save. Works like a charm. It has happened on 2 occasions that I have actually bagged toys and tossed them in the dumpster because she was acting like an entitled shit. Those are the most satisfying to get toys gone. One time when my daughter was a baby I was so annoyed with the musical toys. We had a few that didn't have an on/off switch and as soon as she went to bed that night I had so much joy throwing those things away. Sure I felt bad when she was looking for them the next day, but kids have short attention spans for a reason, right?

Something that doesn't help at all, (not complaining at all, just stating) we live in the same town as my kid's grandparents (on both sides) and they get toys all the time from them, as well as lots from other family members that visit throughout the year. We are always so grateful, the kids are always so excited. The special gifts make it so much harder to throw it away. "Oh we can't donate those dolls, they were a gift from grandma" I feel like I've said variations of that sentence A LOT. I am going to commit, and whoever reads this has to keep me accountable. I will share my purge on my story or something. Tonight, or at least by the end of the week, I am going to fill one small garage bag with toys to toss out. My goal this go around will be to get the broken toys out of the way, and perhaps some baby toys that we don't need.

Take this as your sign whether you have kids or not to purge your own toy box, junk drawer, closet, storage room, coat closet, shed. Whatever needs decluttering in your life, get it gone. If you find an old top that you haven't worn in years, I'll save you the trouble, its out of style and you won't wear it, get rid of it, Susan. Keep putting the same miscellaneous puzzle pieces away and not going to find the rest, just toss those babies in the trash.