If you don’t want to be left with a mess this January, then now is the time to de-clutter all of those toys and make plenty of room for the things Santa brings.
I’ve been putting our Christmas tree up in stages, when I am done with my morning workload and the little ones nap. That gives me about a 30 minute window each day. On day one, I put the tree together, and then on day two, I wound it with lights. Today is day three, and I’ve carted down a box of Christmas decorations to be put up later.
One other thing that has to be on the agenda for this week is a de-cluttering of the toys. This was pretty evident, when I had to move a big plastic bin of toys out of the way to make way for the tree. We use our living room mostly as a play room these day, but still, the bounty is overflowing. Add to that some toys in the kids one bedroom (the other two are in the middle of being done), and it is an avalanche of toy chaos.
Right before the holidays, or at least early into them, is a great time to de-clutter toys. That is because you can often motivate the kids to give up items with the promise that this cleaning will make room for new items. You can also instill in them a sense of how privileged they are to have their things and how wonderful it would be to donate some of their excess to other kids.
Or you can try the sneak approach. I wouldn’t recommend this for all kids. My six-year-old still reminds us of how Dad got rid of an old play kitchen set without asking first. The set was given away nearly three years ago.
For babies, though, it is a bit easier. As long as you don’t get rid of the one favorite blankie or teddy bear, you are probably go to go with whatever you de-clutter. I’m taking advantage of this week to de-clutter not only the outgrown baby toys, but the books and clothes as well. Won’t you join me? Post your toy de-cluttering story in the comments section.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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