It’s the time of year when the inflow becomes more than the outflow, and that worries me. Yes, we like getting Christmas gifts. However, the sheer number of Christmas gifts can be staggering if we don’t control the flow. We’re lucky. Between doting grandparents, doting parents and doting everyone else, our daughter has a lot. At Christmas time, this translates into a lot of stuff.
I am guilty of much of the household inflow as well. You see, in the summer time we go to garage sales. The rest of the year we go to thrift stores when we need something for our home or when we need some clothes for my daughter. It’s also just a bad habit. My daughter gets a small allowance and she loves to spend it, particularly on thrift store toys. The beauty and the problem with these toys is that they are cheap. They come home in droves. We also acquire items for free. Never one to pass up a good deal, I’ve made a habit of saying yes to people when they ask us if we need something. I end up with wonderful, useful items, but eventually they turn into items that we no longer need as well.
Before Christmas and birthdays and whenever I feel like cleaning house, our two best friends around here are Freecycle and the local charity store. Freecycle is good for getting rid of larger preschool items like tricycles. It’s also good for getting the next stage of an item, like a two-wheeler bike.
I sell the coveted baby, toddler, and preschool essentials on Craigslist to recoup some of the cost, but most of the detritus in our home is not something that would easily move on Craigslist. Back to the thrift store it goes after a year or two in our home, ready to be played with by another child, I hope.
I keep some unused toys, usually the ones that are good quality wood and may become heirlooms in the future. I also keep the ones that have a lot of sentimental value. Perhaps I should consider thrift stores long term toy rental. That’s what we use them for.