Diaper Swappers

2+2macht4 · 08-03-2012, 04:32 AM

I have gotten rid of hoards I mean over 500 pieces of clothing from our storage its insane. And each time I look at a size I am pulling out more.

I am wanting to do a fleah market at the end of the month and I want to finish my major purge but have hit a plateu. My family is no support my mom is alwaysasking why not keep this or that or dont get rid off too much I feel like its is still waaaaayyy to much. So I guess I just want some validation.

I am good with shoes and toys ect but I get stuck on books and clothing.

Sleepers- In most sizes I have about 10 light and 5 heavy

Onsies I have about 20 in each size still- mix ls and ss

In 3-6 I have 8 pieces of outerweat sweater, pull overs, coats, hoodies

what about books how many board books do you keep around?

I feel like I am suffocating in stuff.

elizabeth.scalf · 08-03-2012, 05:49 PM

Books are tough for me too. There are so many good ones that I WANT them to like but they just don't for whatever reason. But realistically, my 2-year old reads the same dozen or so picture books over and over. My 3.5 year old reads probably the same 30. Yet I still have a hundred piled around

. I have a hard time getting rid of some, but I've found that I do muh better if I just look at a pile and pull out my least 1 or 2 favorites each time. It's a slower process but it doesn't overwhelm me. You could try pulling a few each of the sleepers, onesies, etc in a bag and toss it in a closet for 2 or 3 weeks and see if you actually need those or not. You'll be surprised that out of sight, out of mind, and you won't need nearly as much as you think you do.

pgkcb13 · 08-04-2012, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elizabeth.scalf

Books are tough for me too. There are so many good ones that I WANT them to like but they just don't for whatever reason. But realistically, my 2-year old reads the same dozen or so picture books over and over. My 3.5 year old reads probably the same 30. Yet I still have a hundred piled around

. I have a hard time getting rid of some, but I've found that I do muh better if I just look at a pile and pull out my least 1 or 2 favorites each time. It's a slower process but it doesn't overwhelm me. You could try pulling a few each of the sleepers, onesies, etc in a bag and toss it in a closet for 2 or 3 weeks and see if you actually need those or not. You'll be surprised that out of sight, out of mind, and you won't need nearly as much as you think you do.

I do that, every week or so I look through the toys or books or whatever and pull the least favorites. With my 3yr old having an insanely good memory I hang onto them a little longer than I should just to make sure she doesn't freak that whatever it is is gone.

Books are crazy hard for me too.

hibiscus869 · 08-04-2012, 03:15 PM

I have a 'rule' that everything has to fit in a certain container. So for example all our books have to fit in a rubbermaid bin. If we want/need extra books we go to the library. But the core amount has to fit in that rubbermaid bin. Same with our Montessori activities, they have to fit in certain bins (I have two for activities, one for playdough, and one sensory bin). I just refuse to store a bunch of stuff.

As far as clothes I feel like 10 outfits is enough, I do laundry once or twice a week generally. I had WAAAAAAY more than that this summer because my sister bought a bunch of stuff and it was just overwhelming. And I feel like two sets of pajamas is generally enough. I tend to end up with more than I need because I see cute stuff and have to get it. But I'm trying to limit myself to getting about 10 outfits that I REALLY like rather than just a bunch of stuff I'm ho-hum about.

As far as toys we don't really have a lot. Most of it is Montessori related (yes I'm Montessori obsessed right now) and fits in the bins I mentioned. We have low shelves and I have about 8 activities out at a time on those shelves and we just rotate periodically. I have one enormous bin of Legos I'm always threatening to toss but my DS and his friends REALLY enjoy them so I have kept them, and they would be expensive to replace. After having moved a few times I've realized I don't want to re-accumulate a bunch of toys so I am really choosy about what I buy. Quality over quantity for sure.

Quickshep19 · 08-04-2012, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hibiscus869

I have a 'rule' that everything has to fit in a certain container. So for example all our books have to fit in a rubbermaid bin. If we want/need extra books we go to the library. But the core amount has to fit in that rubbermaid bin. Same with our Montessori activities, they have to fit in certain bins (I have two for activities, one for playdough, and one sensory bin). I just refuse to store a bunch of stuff.

As far as clothes I feel like 10 outfits is enough, I do laundry once or twice a week generally. I had WAAAAAAY more than that this summer because my sister bought a bunch of stuff and it was just overwhelming. And I feel like two sets of pajamas is generally enough. I tend to end up with more than I need because I see cute stuff and have to get it. But I'm trying to limit myself to getting about 10 outfits that I REALLY like rather than just a bunch of stuff I'm ho-hum about.

As far as toys we don't really have a lot. Most of it is Montessori related (yes I'm Montessori obsessed right now) and fits in the bins I mentioned. We have low shelves and I have about 8 activities out at a time on those shelves and we just rotate periodically. I have one enormous bin of Legos I'm always threatening to toss but my DS and his friends REALLY enjoy them so I have kept them, and they would be expensive to replace. After having moved a few times I've realized I don't want to re-accumulate a bunch of toys so I am really choosy about what I buy. Quality over quantity for sure.

The bin thing is really smart.

Jodie ~ wife & mama

2+2macht4 · 08-05-2012, 11:31 AM

I struggle especially with books we live in a non english speaking country there are of course books in this language but not english at the library. But I also have to ship said books from the US so I try to be reasonable. Its hard to maintain a balance there are sooo many books and even then I can think of tons more from my childhood I still want or would rather have.

And on top of that we need to maintain a second library in the language here as our kids are bilingual.

hibiscus869 · 08-05-2012, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serenajean1

I struggle especially with books we live in a non english speaking country there are of course books in this language but not english at the library. But I also have to ship said books from the US so I try to be reasonable. Its hard to maintain a balance there are sooo many books and even then I can think of tons more from my childhood I still want or would rather have.

And on top of that we need to maintain a second library in the language here as our kids are bilingual.

I can see that would be a different deal when you're living in another country and don't have a library for English language books. I also know about the bilingual thing, as we have that in our house too and we can't get rid of ANY of those books because they can't be replaced easily. We have a BIG bin for those books.

I actually think if you're going to have a lot of something, books are acceptable. I mean they are useful, they aren't just toys or clothes.

browneyedgirl · 08-06-2012, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hibiscus869

I actually think if you're going to have a lot of something, books are acceptable. I mean they are useful, they aren't just toys or clothes.

This is my opinion too. I love books, those are the one thing I have no desire to minimize.

mrspopo · 08-06-2012, 06:00 PM

Books are tough, especially since you have another on the way and will get more use out of things you hang on to.

We have a 1 year old. There's 3 areas in 3 different rooms that each have a dozen or so books... so each little book area has just enough for her to go through but it's not an overwhelming amount. We also have a bookcase of books for her to grow into, I like to keep special books from my childhood or whatever to share with her. Just like with other things, whenever I feel the urge to purge I'll go through and pull out the ones that aren't getting used. I don't like having a ton of books in a stack because I think she enjoys having books she loves right there without having a pile to dig through.

And for clothes, we have 2 drawers for her and that's it. Whatever doesn't fit in there is too much. As we go about our day I stuff anything that I don't like or doesn't fit in a bag. And once in a while I'll pull anything out that's too small. I have some boxes with the next sizes up and just grab from there when we start running low. When her bag is full I go through and pick out what to save for future babies and what to donate.

08-03-2012, 04:32 AM	#1
2+2macht4 Wahm Moderator Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: I live in Southwest Germany, but have a mailing address stateside in Oregon:) Posts: 10,413 Ratings: 153 Feedback: 100%	Need some support- minimalizing toddler I have gotten rid of hoards I mean over 500 pieces of clothing from our storage its insane. And each time I look at a size I am pulling out more. I am wanting to do a fleah market at the end of the month and I want to finish my major purge but have hit a plateu. My family is no support my mom is alwaysasking why not keep this or that or dont get rid off too much I feel like its is still waaaaayyy to much. So I guess I just want some validation. I am good with shoes and toys ect but I get stuck on books and clothing. Sleepers- In most sizes I have about 10 light and 5 heavy Onsies I have about 20 in each size still- mix ls and ss In 3-6 I have 8 pieces of outerweat sweater, pull overs, coats, hoodies what about books how many board books do you keep around? I feel like I am suffocating in stuff. __________________ Rena crunchy, ecclectic SAH expat mommy to Lu (12/22/2010) and Ez (10/28/2012). Married to my myspace BFF T and living in Germany since 2008.

08-03-2012, 05:49 PM	#2
elizabeth.scalf Registered Users Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Hershey PA Posts: 2,052 My Mood:	Re: Need some support- minimalizing toddler Books are tough for me too. There are so many good ones that I WANT them to like but they just don't for whatever reason. But realistically, my 2-year old reads the same dozen or so picture books over and over. My 3.5 year old reads probably the same 30. Yet I still have a hundred piled around . I have a hard time getting rid of some, but I've found that I do muh better if I just look at a pile and pull out my least 1 or 2 favorites each time. It's a slower process but it doesn't overwhelm me. You could try pulling a few each of the sleepers, onesies, etc in a bag and toss it in a closet for 2 or 3 weeks and see if you actually need those or not. You'll be surprised that out of sight, out of mind, and you won't need nearly as much as you think you do. __________________ SAHM to Coralie, 1/09, Siri 9/10, Ellie Sue 9/12.

08-04-2012, 03:15 PM	#4
hibiscus869 Registered Users Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,200	I have a 'rule' that everything has to fit in a certain container. So for example all our books have to fit in a rubbermaid bin. If we want/need extra books we go to the library. But the core amount has to fit in that rubbermaid bin. Same with our Montessori activities, they have to fit in certain bins (I have two for activities, one for playdough, and one sensory bin). I just refuse to store a bunch of stuff. As far as clothes I feel like 10 outfits is enough, I do laundry once or twice a week generally. I had WAAAAAAY more than that this summer because my sister bought a bunch of stuff and it was just overwhelming. And I feel like two sets of pajamas is generally enough. I tend to end up with more than I need because I see cute stuff and have to get it. But I'm trying to limit myself to getting about 10 outfits that I REALLY like rather than just a bunch of stuff I'm ho-hum about. As far as toys we don't really have a lot. Most of it is Montessori related (yes I'm Montessori obsessed right now) and fits in the bins I mentioned. We have low shelves and I have about 8 activities out at a time on those shelves and we just rotate periodically. I have one enormous bin of Legos I'm always threatening to toss but my DS and his friends REALLY enjoy them so I have kept them, and they would be expensive to replace. After having moved a few times I've realized I don't want to re-accumulate a bunch of toys so I am really choosy about what I buy. Quality over quantity for sure. Last edited by hibiscus869; 08-04-2012 at 03:19 PM.

08-05-2012, 11:31 AM	#6
2+2macht4 Wahm Moderator Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: I live in Southwest Germany, but have a mailing address stateside in Oregon:) Posts: 10,413 Ratings: 153 Feedback: 100%	Re: Need some support- minimalizing toddler I struggle especially with books we live in a non english speaking country there are of course books in this language but not english at the library. But I also have to ship said books from the US so I try to be reasonable. Its hard to maintain a balance there are sooo many books and even then I can think of tons more from my childhood I still want or would rather have. And on top of that we need to maintain a second library in the language here as our kids are bilingual. __________________ Rena crunchy, ecclectic SAH expat mommy to Lu (12/22/2010) and Ez (10/28/2012). Married to my myspace BFF T and living in Germany since 2008.

08-06-2012, 06:00 PM	#9
mrspopo Registered Users Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 2,421 Ratings: 61 Feedback: 100%	Re: Need some support- minimalizing toddler Books are tough, especially since you have another on the way and will get more use out of things you hang on to. We have a 1 year old. There's 3 areas in 3 different rooms that each have a dozen or so books... so each little book area has just enough for her to go through but it's not an overwhelming amount. We also have a bookcase of books for her to grow into, I like to keep special books from my childhood or whatever to share with her. Just like with other things, whenever I feel the urge to purge I'll go through and pull out the ones that aren't getting used. I don't like having a ton of books in a stack because I think she enjoys having books she loves right there without having a pile to dig through. And for clothes, we have 2 drawers for her and that's it. Whatever doesn't fit in there is too much. As we go about our day I stuff anything that I don't like or doesn't fit in a bag. And once in a while I'll pull anything out that's too small. I have some boxes with the next sizes up and just grab from there when we start running low. When her bag is full I go through and pick out what to save for future babies and what to donate.