I have gotten so many great things from thrift stores for my kids--toys and puzzles in particular. I have been grabbing "great finds" as I see them, things like board games that my kids (4, 2, and newborn) aren't ready for and won't be for several years. Now I have several boxes of these in the basement and am sick of the clutter down there. I know that thinking "I might need it someday" is usually a dead giveaway to declutter something, but how could I get rid of these when I really might use them someday? I guess I know deep down I got carried away and I should let (almost all of) them go, it is just really, really hard when I picture them playing with these things later...
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Posted 1 year ago #
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A few ideas to help get you started:
Set yourself a space limit ahead of time (two boxes, for example). That helps you prioritize what you want to keep. I don't go shopping for board games much, but if you have an idea of the games you've seen often at garage sales and thrift stores (like Monopoly and the other classics), odds are there will be more out there when the kids are ready to play them. Get rid of any that are in poor condition or missing pieces.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Most of the stuff you find at thrift stores was mass produced and you will see the same item over and over again at yard sales and Goodwills nationwide. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen that book: "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and the "Chicken Soup" series. I have sometimes seen the very shirt I wore into the store hanging on the racks as well.
Just set the current lot free and be ready to look again in a few years.
Posted 1 year ago # -
KristinD, I'd suggest letting most of it go too. Your children might not be interested in those games when they're older. Mine are 8 and 10, and I'm trying to buy stuff based on their interests *now* not in the future. It is hard though :-)
Posted 1 year ago # -
I think very few toys are worth stockpiling - brand name legos, Lincoln logs (though you never see those for cheap), a few boardgames I myself love to play - there are some Ravensburger titles that are pretty expensive and worth having. The rest are either not that great, or they are great and you can always find them.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have this problem and I don't even have kids. The stuff I tend to stockpile is stuff that was mine when I was a kid. Surely my future children will want it, right? ;)
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have a pile of board games that I don't play because I don't have any friends, and my family doesn't want to play Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit.
But I figure Future Me may one day have friends, so I'm holding on to them.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Nithy, look for (or start) a board-game group in your area! New friends don't just come to your door, you have to go out and make some, and a common interest is a great "binder." Trent at Simple Dollar wrote about this recently, he's a board-game nut too.
Posted 1 year ago # -
If this stuff were easily replaceable I would have no problem letting go and starting over. The problem is that the majority of the games I have are the good ones--either Ravensburger, or other all-wood (expensive) games or complete vintage ones that really don't show up that often. So in most cases it would not be very likely to find them again, at least at thrift store prices. I don't even own things like Monopoly or Candyland because I know I could go out right now and acquire 7 copies in an hour :)
And even the puzzles are all the expensive ones--bought for a couple of dollars, but would be $16+ each to replace new. How many puzzles of each piece number do kids need? Or games? I guess it would depend some on the personality of the kids.
Posted 1 year ago # -
can you get rid of some other clutter so it doesn't seem so bad, is there something else you would be willing to let go in exchange for holding on to games for your kids?
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'd keep classic items that your kids will use in the next few years. For example, as someone else mentioned, Legos, Lincoln Logs, wood train set, etc.
As for board games: I'd keep classic games, like Candy Land, Heigh Ho Cherry Oh, and so forth. I would NOT hold onto any that are of "passing" interest -- anything related to a tv show or movie.
Puzzles -- I'd keep wood puzzles. I also have a couple of higher end floor puzzles stashed away. Oh heck.
I hold onto a few classic items that my son has outgrown -- Lincoln logs, blocks, train set, and wood puzzles. These will be around for my Grandkids if I have any. (To clarify, I have oodles of space to store these items. I have a large unfinished basement so they aren't in my way.)
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'd probably keep it because it's astonishing how quickly time flies when you have kids. Today, my 16-year-old and I are still friends, but it was nothing like 5 years ago when his best birthday was the day we spent together from dawn to dusk. By the time he was 13, the last thing he wanted was to spend a day with me. So they'll be using them before you know it. When you have kids, it's a constant in/out process to stay uncluttered. But, of course, if it's causing you distress, get rid of it.
Posted 1 year ago # -
"I might need it someday"....it is a smart idea to plan ahead but remember your kids may or may not want to play with any of the games,toys or puzzles when they get older. I know...I've been there. Because you perceive that the stuff is irreplaceable and expensive, it makes it harder to let go. Remember, you found the stuff at thrift stores to begin with so I bet that you could find similar items in the future if needed or wanted. If you are sick of the clutter like you said in your first post, I would suggest that you pare down a bit and perhaps save a box for each child or maybe have one box designated for games, one for toys and one for puzzles. Best of luck to you!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Even the Ravensburger games and wood puzzles are mass-produced and replaceable, though you're right it's not as easy as the plastic ones from target. Do you have a friend whose kids *are* the age for those games who you could lend them to until you're ready?
Though, the other thing is that you might want to just wait a year or two and decide about them when your kids are actually playing with them and you know what they do and don't like.
Now that my son is in school (he's 5) we have time for about 2 activities a day, usually one outdoor and one indoor. I just decluttered a ton of puzzles and we're working on the games - at this point he seems to need maybe 2 puzzles, because we don't have those long empty days to fill. Usually on holidays we go do something out of the house, and when he's sick he just wants to lay in my lap and watch TV, so we literally never have long blocks of time to fill and we don't need all those "play by yourself for half an hour" kind of toys (though his dad did spend about 2 hours last night drawing by himself with the new Ed Emberly book we just got.)
Posted 1 year ago # -
If you have space for these toys I don't think you should get rid of them yet. We had two families - two older brothers and two younger sisters born 15 yrs apart. When my sister and I were kids some of our greatest treasures were old games of our brothers that we found in the attic. It was always exciting to find a new to us game up there, and these games generally ended up getting a ton of use.
Posted 1 year ago # -
hmmm, i've been pondering this topic for a couple of days.
and i've come to the defining question....for me.
is saving stuff for your kids (for them to maybe possibly perhaps use in the future) all that much different from saving stuff for "future me"?
isn't it justifying clutter by imagining that it will be useful "one day"?my mother had her own things to enjoy during her childhood.
now, some books and games are classics....but a lot of other stuff is generational.
just my thoughts.Posted 1 year ago # -
It's a little different from "future me" because when you have a 2 or a 4 year old, you know they are going to get bigger and use a next-size-up soccer ball; they'll learn to take turns and play board games; they're going to gain hand-eye coordination; they're going to learn to read and hold a skinny pencil (and want a letter stencil and a spirograph); they're going to move up from board books to picture books to chapter books.
Once you're an adult, your future self is much more like your present self than when you're a toddler or a preschooler.
Posted 1 year ago # -
My kids have been old enough for awhile to have saved them pots and pans, towels, linens, furniture for when they moved out. I was never sorry that I saved things for them, even if it meant squeezing it into the storage areas we have. All 3 of them that have already moved out have gladly accepted anything and everything I offered, and were glad of it!
I did save toys etc. from child to child since they were close enough in age to justify saving- in fact I wish I would have saved more of their stuff to pass to the next one. But I never went out and bought stuff, new or used, in case they might use it one day.Posted 1 year ago #
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