For the moment, I’m working on uncluttering my home office because the example I’m setting is pretty bad If I get that figured out for myself, I’ll be in a better position to help the kids.

The toys DO go back religiously after each play session. Sometimes he’s robotic about it – like when his grandma comes to pick him up, he scurries around to put the toys away without any encouragement from me. And sometimes he takes his time on purpose, waiting to see if I’ll put the toys away instead. That’s when a Time Out occurs, after which he finishes putting away the toys.

However, an important principle: don’t start getting draconian without warning. (And making empty threats on a regular basis is not “warning”.) One day we came home & Mom had dumped everything into a playpen. Wouldn’t give it back for a week, even library books that came due. Rankled for years.

However, I also lived far away from relatives and they had to pay shipping on any presents they got for me, so I didn’t have the sheer number of toys that my nieces and nephews get every year. I used to find it frustrating that no matter how I constructed my Christmas wish list (short, long, cheap, expensive), I almost never got anything that was actually on it. Now I’m thinking it may be worse for kids to always get what they want. :/ I’m suspecting that I’ll soon run into these overabundance problems once we have our own kids, due to caring and giving grandparents on the hubby’s side, so the other tips are great.

Anyway, Our children are still very small (preschool) and we keep their toys in clear plastic bins that are on shelves, under the sofa, just stacked, and under/in the massive train table that doubles as our coffee table. They have lots of books on shelves and art supplies too.

NOTE:For little kids who are still at the board book stage, it’s better to have the books in a box or something where they are standing up with the covers facing out. This way the child can see what he/she wants and can also put it away themselves. It’s very hard to shelve books the library way before school age; and if they can’t read yet to read the spine, they’re going to pull them all out/off the shelf to find the one they want anyway.

We keep most of the toys because we are still having children. I do sort them by age just like clothes to be handed down, and put the boxes that are not currently needed in an out of the way closet.

I agree with so many PP about the glut of toys. I keep the happy meal types for when I need to pull something out of “my magic bag” i.e. Dr’s visit, long car trip, etc. Otherwise, a lot of those are really just fresh trash. Let the kids use them for tub toys if they are noisy and annoying toys, hahahah. Works! If it doesn’t self-destruct in the water, just wait and let it get funky (all tub toys do, they need a dilute bleach bath every so often) and pitch it (“Sorry hun, it’s just too yukky now”).
I love having in laws/parents who agree with these comments too!! My parents give experiences (family memberships to Aquarium, gymnastic lessons, etc.) and books; and my European in laws usually send great quality shoes that are very attractive and last. Sometimes clothes too.
Luckily our extended family is too poor to exchange gifts with all the cousins. I send them cash on their birthdays when i can. If our children get cash, i put it into an account for “rainy days” or something special they want that I won’t or can’t buy.
HTH someone! Great discussion.

We recently got 2 large wing back chairs from a relative. They have a lot of space underneath. When the opportunity arose, I snagged 2 computer boxes from work (double thick cardboard) and cut them down to fit under these chairs – with the front being a bit taller to make handle & easier to grab. Since the boxes are under the chair skirts you can’t see them but they can hold a lot. Our plans are to relocate two of the bulkier toy categories to these “drawers”. My son is 9 however, his play school barn and castle are still the most popular when his friends (7-12 yrs) come over.

No alias,
I so love that tooth fairy idea. I’m using that next time.

I get tired of relatives who shower us in gifts every holiday but we don’t see or hear from them for the rest of the year. We get so buried & my son gets so overwhelmed by it all. One good gift that is deeply appreciated goes much farther then a pile or random things & the guilt that comes with tossing the random things(guilt because it’s from someone we care about & they spent their money on it). If they want to spend money why not get one good toy & a savings bond?

I think Goodwill’s everywhere no longer take toys due to the lead thing. The local thrift stores here still do – like there’s one for the local Cancer society here that has a great toy section & I’ve heard the VFW one still takes toys too. There’s always Craigslist if the toy is in good shape or if it’s a unique one that someone might be seeking. I’ve also seen people offer to barter for a box/bag of mixed toys. You could always offer it on the free section of Craigs list if you just want it gone for that matter.

I do know that my dad once gave away some stuffed toy animals because I “had too many and didn’t play with them anyway,” and one of the ones he gave away was a gift from my sister who was out of the country (and had been for over a year) and I noticed within a day or two that it was missing and I was angry about it for weeks – I was ten or eleven at the time.