Feeling a bit guilty...

[Karly]

... so the ever "clutter makes me crazy" person that I am, went through the kids toys the other day and pitched a bunch of stuff to Goodwill. I do this periodically, and the kids know it as 'giving to those less fortunate.'

Anyway, one of the things that drives me nutzo is stuffed animals. I hate them. They seem to reproduce right in front of my eyes, and although I never buy them, and am constantly giving them away, the kids still have a bunch.

Fast forward to today. Tyrus tells me about a "Stuffed Bear Party" tomorrow at his school, and he's thinking about taking the small white Ring Bearer bear he got from Josh's cousins for being the ring bearer in their wedding, because "I like that one, and it is small enough to fit into my backpack."

:shuffle: Well, yep, you guessed it. That tiny bear is not here anymore because someone less fortunate now has it. :whistle: He of course doesn't know this, and I'm not exactly sure what to tell him tomorrow when he's searching desperately for a bear that's no longer in our house.

Maybe I should ask the kids before I toss their things? I promise he's never played with this bear before! I didn't think it would matter to him, but that was before the "Stuffed Bear Party" was announced. :shuffle:

[Alyssa]

I say just toss. Every time I ask, we never get anywhere b/c they want to hold onto everything, even if they never touch it. Or you could go a 1/2 step and put things in bags for 3-6 months and if they don't miss anything, then you can feel better about then giving it away.

[Bev]

Turf it! That's what I do.

In fact, a couple of weeks ago Mason wanted a remote control car that has been sitting in our spare room since January 5th, the day of his birthday party. Yep, he gets too much stuff so I put it in the spare room and he forgets about it.

Anyway he wanted it so I said he had to pick SIX things to "give the poor children" if he wanted to open it. It took about a half hour of him gathering up the smallest things he could find, including his brother's things, until I finally agreed that the ones he picked were sufficient. Moral of the story, it's easier for you to choose what to toss, not them. :)

[Wendy]

I am getting ready to do this very thing in about two weeks. I cant get rid of anything with Abby around so I have to wait until I am on vacation and Abby is at school. I cant get rid of any of her stuffed animals though...she loves them too much and really does play with every one of the 200+ she has....UGH....but I going to dump a bunch of toys that are on my nerves....the clutter is out of control.

[Cami]

If you solicit the kids' input, nothing would get tossed (at least by my kids). I have "put things in hiding" to see if they miss them and then eventually get rid of them.

I hate stuffed animals too. We have too many to count and that's after getting rid of garbage bags full. I don't remember EVER buying even one stuffed animal.

Addison has teddy bear day today too... is there some National Curriculum that the kindergartens are following? :giggle:

[sheila]

:lol: Maggie hasn't had her Teddy Bear day, but I'm sure it is coming.

I'm another who hides toys/stuffed animals for a while before donating them. Last time I did it, they found the bin though. When I got to it, it was empty again.

I also have to the hiding thing for Stagg's stuff sometimes. When we moved in he had more shoes than I did, and I put about 7 pairs of them away and told him he had 2 years to ask for them specifically and then wear them before they went away. Only 1 pair made it out (and he never wore them, but there was sentiment involved).

[Missy&Maggie]

We did this just before Maggie's last birthday -- filled a huge rubbermaid tub with stuff one night. The only thing she asked for back were her train tracks, which I took out. But the rest she has totally forgotten about and will be tag sale material once I finally decide she's going to be an only child. :)

[Mandi]

Today is teddy bear day for Micayla too! They are having a teddy bear's picnic (from the song, remember?)

Anyway, I personally ask the kids what they want to get rid of. Mine are good at picking up the things they no longer playing with for donation. But I guess it really depends on the kids. If they weren't, I'd definitely toss behind their backs. :scan: :lol:

[Karin]

I have a hard time asking Steve what he wants to get rid of. I tried when we were packing in March-APril, and we seemed to unearth more stuff than to pare down. So, I donated a LOT to the Salvation Army without asking him. I'd wait until he was in bed, and then just go to town with my garbage bags. I donated about 3 full bags of toys, one solely stuffed animals. I only kept the nicer ones/ones with sentimental value. Occasionally, he'll ask for something that I may have tossed. Rather than start a meltdown, I just say I haven't seen it and we can look for it sometime. He's usually on to something else within a few minutes.