another toy question

[BNC]

I hate purging toys! I never know what to keep, lol.

We have pared it down to a small tub of baby toys (which are currently put away since we don't have a baby in the house), the kitchen /food bucket, the doll house / furniture bucket/ doll bucket, 1 bucket of mega blocks, 4 baby dolls and 1 bucket of baby doll "stuff", 2 Barbie cars and 1 small "portable doll house", plus a bunch of stuffed animals. Each bucket is maybe 10x8x8 from Ikea. We have 6 buckets of toys and 4 buckets of random art supplies since we love to craft.

It's still way way too much. All 3 girls share a very small room, and all of their toys are in there. 1 bunk bud and a toddler bed. They have maybe 4ft square of floor space to play. All of the buckets are stored on shelves that run around the perimeter of the room at around 6ft high.

They play with every single toy we have, and will routinely play with them all at once (build a town with mega blocks, drive the Barbie car through it, stuffed animals will guard the town and the doll house will be the castle in the middle of the town, etc...).

I want to downsize, but I don't know where else to cut! Even Kate (4) has said....you know it wouldn't take as long to clean if there wasn't so much stuff, lol!

They all have different favorites too..laney loves the kitchen, Kara is really into babies, and Kate loves the doll house.

Do I just give up and learn to live with the clutter? Or slower take 1 or 2 things away and see if they notice?

Help!

[crnchy_mama_lala]

It wouldn't hurt to try! Just keep them in your closet or somewhere for a couple weeks and see if they notice. If they do notice they still might not want it back if they feel their room is too crowded.

[Riverleaf1772]

I don't know. I think that's bordering on too few toys for 3 girls. If they are happy with it I would keep it.

[harmoni247]

My first thought is that you have too many doll sets.

the doll house / furniture bucket/ doll bucket, 4 baby dolls and 1 bucket of baby doll "stuff" 2 Barbie cars and 1 small "portable doll house"

1. which doll house is the most practical/favorite? You can get rid of the other.
2. You probably don't need 2 Barbie cars. Go down to 1.
3. Can you minimize the amount of doll accessories they have down to 2 buckets? 1 for doll house sized items (including the dolls) and 1 for regular baby doll clothes/accessories.
4. why 4 dolls when you have 3 children? Can you take that down to 3?

4 buckets of random art supplies since we love to craft.

Is it possible to reorganize this into 3 buckets....one for each child. You can put a few of everything in each bucket so they can just grab their bucket when they want to craft and no arguing over supplies sharing, plus you lose 1 more bucket!

plus a bunch of stuffed animals

Are they attached to them all? Or do they just play with them because they're there? Can you ask them to pick out 1-2 each that stay on their bed? My boys each have 1 waldorf doll and one stuffed animal on their bed, that's it. If they fell in love with another stuffed animal, they'd have to choose which one they want to keep. They've never acted deprived over it. They are just like your DD, Ds has told me before how he would never want to live at so and so's house because it takes sooooo long to clean up. I usually involve them in the process and ask them to pick their favorites and we'll give the rest away. I love that it can teach good life habits. If they're just little hoarders, I'd probably take half away, see if they notice, if not, half it again and repeat.

[BNC]

We have 4 dolls because we regularly have my niece over and they all love babies. We will be getting rid of one that had an impromptu hair styling session with a pair of safety scissors, but it's being replaced by Santa with a bald headed baby, lol.

I probably can pare down the doll house stuff to 1 bucket that holds both furniture and people. I think I'm the one with the hang up there....we have all the furniture for the fp loving family doll house....they really only need the basics....bed, table, chair, etc... they probably won't notice if the gardening cart or mud room cubbies go missing, lol. They have a TON of little people and animals they use as their dolls...probably 40ish. They do play with several at once, but I'm sure they could do with less.

My oldest is the stuffed animal hoarder. She sleeps with at least 20 on her bed every night. They rarely leave her bed, but she does play with them daily. My other two both have special animals they sleep with but that's it. I should probably start by stealing 2 or 3 of the animals off odds bed and see if she notices, lol.

[BNC]

Originally Posted by Riverleaf1772 I don't know. I think that's bordering on too few toys for 3 girls. If they are happy with it I would keep it.

It's not a ton, but the space is so small it gets really crowded really fast....plus they are sure the get lots more for Christmas in a few weeks.

[mrspopo]

It doesn't sound like a lot of toys, but I can see how that would get overwhelming in a small area. I'd consider weeding out the baby accessories, and getting rid of a barbie car.

[happyhats]

Maybe reorganizing is the next step. Think about a different place to put toys, like a closet or in the living room. It doesnt have to be a conventional place, just whatever works. Then see what they reach for when its not within quick reach.

[elizabeth.scalf]

Originally Posted by BNC I probably can pare down the doll house stuff to 1 bucket that holds both furniture and people. I think I'm the one with the hang up there....we have all the furniture for the fp loving family doll house....they really only need the basics....bed, table, chair, etc... they probably won't notice if the gardening cart or mud room cubbies go missing, lol. They have a TON of little people and animals they use as their dolls...probably 40ish. They do play with several at once, but I'm sure they could do with less. .

I have the same doll house I think, and I'mabout to do the same thing you are. Get rid of the extra flower planters and towel rack, leave only the bed, table, chairs, etc. I think they'd play more if they weren't overwhelmed with so mny pieces. How many little people ca each girlplay with? 3 or 4, can you pare the littl people down to maybe 15, with 5 animals?

Maybe you mentioned th, but what is the layout of the room? a bunk bed, a toddler bed, are there any dressers or clothes? All the toys are stored up high right, so they're no taking floorspace? Is there a closet? A desk to do the crafts or do you do crafts in a different room?

[BNC]

Here is a picture of the room, pre purge and pre toddler bed. We added the toddler bed where the kitchen is in these pictures...took down the dress up station and the doll house and kitchen stand side by side now on what is left of that wall.



The closet is fairly large, and honestly, pretty empty. It no longer has the small dresser in there. I can store plenty of things in there if I needed to...I just dont want to look at it all. They each have 2 weeks worth of shirts, and a change of linens in the closet, then the drawers/stairs to the top bunk hold, socks, underwear, pjs and pants for the girls. they each have 3 buckets (1 for socks/undies, 1 pjs and 1 pants).



the wood bed in this picture is the toddler bed next to the bunk beds


You can see the size of the buckets I am talking about on the shelves around the perimeter of the room...they are all labeled so they can just ask for what they want.

The ABC rug on the floor is pretty much the only space they have to play back there...it takes up 99% of the remaining floor space.