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Starting over again with kids' possessions
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If you could start over again with your kids’ possessions, what would you do differently? I would like to pare down what my kids (10 and 7 yo boys) have. I keep thinking we do not have a lot, or we will do a purge and things seem very manageable. And then a birthday occurs, life happens, and everything has multiplied! They are too old now for me to simply purge their things without discussion (as I used to do) but things have to change. Here are my thoughts; I would appreciate knowing yours!
-Give each child a medium size plastic shoebox for special mementos; when that is full, they must purge it to make way for new items
-Limit one or two collection at a time (they are both currently collecting glass bottles)
-Have each child name their favorite 5 playthings and begin to pare down from there. Legos are a must keep around here, plus matchbox cars, dress-up, and blocks. Games and books don’t count – those are family possessions. But beyond that??I would like them to have favorite things to play with but would also like one of those “default” activities to be time spent outside or creating something new, experimenting, etc.
Just thinking out loud and would love some new ideas/perspectives.
Thank you!
Your thoughts are very similar to what we do. Books, board games, and Lego have no limit as we all use them often. 5 favorite stuffies, a wooden toys bin, drive bin (cars, trucks, tractors, hex bugs), wooden train set bin, costume bin, and each have a special memories tin. we have a Wii with games and assesories in a bin. I have an 8 cubby shelf unit from ikea that all these zippered bins fit in except the 2 Lego boxes that fit in the Lack Ikea coffee table we turned into a Lego table. I made it by gluing 9 Lego square sheets to the top.
We do a purge every thanksgiving (early oct for us Canucks) so that parents without much money may get some good finds for their little ones at the thrift shop. it is something my mama had to do a few years when I was young, so that makes it special and important to my children. I was feeling burdened by all the piles of accumulated fun one year and had to pare down for my own sanity. I showed the children my own donations of craft supplies too, so they saw me sharing as well. Our bins can get full, but we pare them down again. It seems they play better with less choices and manageable amounts of blessings.
Everyone is different on this one! At my house space is the dominating issue. We’re in a small (1200 sq. ft) home with soon to be 9 children. It is essential that we stay on top of how much ‘stuff’ each person has. Bedrooms double as play spaces (3 kids in 1 room, 5 kids in 1 room). So here is what we’ve done:
In the bedroom with 3 kids they share a single dresser for clothing (ages 14, 9, and 2). There is a cubical (9 cube shelving unit with bins) and a set of shelves in the small closet of the room that also holds containers. All toys/craft materials/books must fit in these two spaces – and each child has a designated number of shelves/bins. The 14 year old also has two guitars and a keyboard that fit in the side of the closet.
In the bedroom with 5 kids they share a single taller dresser for clothing (6 drawers). (Kids age 10, 7, 6, 4, 3) They have a 6 cube organizer and a dresser with a drawer for each one to keep their personal toys/treasures. Beyond that they have one bin out from the attic – legos, duplos, wooden trains, etc. Whatever they choose.
So in essence, we managed toys by managing the space allotted to each person. Once their personal items fill the space they have to start culling things out to add something else in. Lids are helpful to giving a finite space definition.
I’ve been working on this too for a couple of months. The problem we run into is that most of the toys are shared…meaning, they all play with all the toys. So creating baskets of their toys won’t work as clearly. Or there big: dollhouse, camper, etc. I have scaled back significantly and will wait to observe how it goes before I try to organize the toys. As of now, I put ALL toys out of the bedrooms and into the basement. It helped tremendously with keeping the school day with less distractions and a clear time for playtime. We do have books in the bedrooms though.
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