{"id":1578,"date":"2014-01-03T08:22:46","date_gmt":"2014-01-03T16:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.priceselfstorage.com\/?p=1578"},"modified":"2025-03-21T06:11:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T13:11:53","slug":"help-the-toys-are-winning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.priceselfstorage.com\/blog\/help-the-toys-are-winning","title":{"rendered":"Help! The Toys are Winning!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s the natural order of things, rather like the change of seasons, the coming of the full moon, and holiday treat over-indulgence! If you have children in your house, the post-holiday toy invasion has occurred, and you\u2019re losing the battle for control.<\/p>\n

The sad truth is, by one means or another, you\u2019re going to have to thin out the mass of toys, games, books, and stuffed animals that feel as if they expand overnight. This can be tricky!<\/p>\n

The first thing to remember is that kids learn by example, so you know what that means: the adults in the house are going to need to set a visible standard. A fairly simple way to take this preparatory step is to have a shared discussion with the kids about clearing out closets or toy chests, etc. Then get them involved in helping you attack the situation, and voila: they will be primed to act similarly with their stuff.<\/p>\n

Tips for Clearing out Kids’ Toys<\/h2>\n

Choices Set the Stage<\/h3>\n

Now is a good time to talk with your child about how he or she has been growing and maturing over the past number of months. Let them know how excited you are that they are doing such a great job of growing up. Ask them what toys they haven\u2019t played with for a while and suggest that it might be nice for another younger kiddo to have a chance to play with that outgrown item. Sometimes this activity needs to be done 2 or 3 times to attain your desired outcome because some little ones have a problem with giving things up.<\/p>\n

It may be helpful at this stage to mention that there are lots of families that have rigid rules about controlling undesired over-accumulation of stuff. Some operate on the \u201c1 only\u201d standard: only 1 car, 1 doll, 1 stuffed toy. This seems pretty arbitrary, and undoubtedly will not be embraced by two sets of grandparents who are anxious to shower their grandkids with all kinds of good things. You may also remind your child that a lot of families operate on the rule of \u201cone thing comes in, and another goes out\u201d and that this is a handy way to be certain your home is comfortable, not cramped. This rule is frequently used after the abundant receiving of holiday or birthday gifts! In this context, your kids may be happy to comply with discarding a few of their outgrown toys.<\/p>\n

The Next Step<\/h3>\n

What is to be the destination of the bags\/boxes of toys? If there are younger children in the family (or are anticipated to be coming!), this is a no-brainer. If you are among the lucky few to have lots of in-house storage, the problem is solved. If, however, you are like a lot of us, this may be the prime opportunity to get yourself the offsite storage<\/a> unit you\u2019ve been thinking about. Then, simply pack the toys up well and head off to your new storage unit with them! But if you plan to discard them, some ideas are:<\/p>\n