Sort and Share: Getting Rid of Toys

I have three kids and a small house. My house is maybe 1,100 square feet if I count the dark, creepy space in the basement behind the hot water tank where spiders like to hang out. In other words, I don't have extra storage space for toys. So each spring, we do the sort and share to keep our toy population under control.

Basically, sort and share is dividing all the toys into four piles: 1. keep 2. give to a friend 3. sell 4. donate. Of course, the first year I did this drill with my kids, everything kept getting put in the "keep" pile. But with a little coaching and talking, our other piles grew. Here are the ways we help our kids think about each pile to make getting rid of toys a little easier.

1. Keep Pile: In order to go in this pile, the toy must be played with on a regular basis. If we keep it and no one plays with it for 6 months, I'm allowed to donate it as I see fit. If it's a seasonal toy, we put it in the appropriate box in the garage for that season.

2. Give to a Friend: This pile is the next easiest to get kids to build. It's less threatening than just donating to Goodwill or the Salvation Army because the toys are going to someone they know. We offer toys that we have outgrown to friends with younger children. This puts the emphasis on how big and grown up everyone is getting, rather than giving toys away. Plus, there's always the chance that they will get to see and play with the items again when visiting that friend.

3. Sell: Very few toys fall into this category for us, to be honest. But we do use Craigslist or a yard sale to sell some bigger items. For instance, we sold our old Little Tikes slide and outdoor climbing set. We talk this category up with the kids by pointing out that the money we get will go toward a new toy they are all wanting or a special outing as a family.

4. Donate: This category is a great opportunity to talk to kids about others who are less fortunate. But it still isn't easy for most kids to pack up a toy in a plastic bag and drop it off at a donation center. We helped our kids ease into straight donations by looking for places that were more connected to them. Toys that are in great shape can be donated to the library, a doctor's waiting room, a church nursery, or day care center. Soft cuddly friends can even be dropped off to animal shelters.

If there are toys you're not sure about, create a holding tank. Put them in a box and place that box out of sight. If no one asks or looks for an item in that box for 3- 6 months, you'll feel better about donating them. If someone does indeed go looking for a specific item, you'll be able to pull it out. And if you only successfully get rid of a couple of items, that's okay, too. Each time you do a sort and share, it will get easier for everyone involved. Eventually, your toy population will be under control enough that you won't have to store any boxes in that creepy space with spiders.