How do you know when to get rid of a toy?

I've been struggling lately with the amount of toys my girls have. Compared to a lot of other families I know, we don't have that many toys/games, but it still feels like we're drowning in toys that are rarely used. So I'm wondering how I know when it's time to get rid of something?

For example, we have the Pottery Barn Anywhere chairs in the girls bedroom. They're hardly ever used except at bedtime when the girls climb from one chair to the next and jump all over the place. I hate to get rid of them because they're so darn cute, but really... maybe it's time? Another example - we have ten million stuffed animals. Piper and Cricket have their favorites (perhaps 20 or so) but the rest are used only when it's time to line every animal up or create a zoo that takes over the entire living room. This occurs maybe once a month. The rest of the time we just have bins of animals taking up space.

How do the rest of you handle toys/furniture/games/puzzles/etc that are used infrequently, or are barely used even if they're fantastic in theory?

 

It depends really. If it's something that is pretty much getting below their age anyway, I get rid of it. If it's something they might grow into, I'll keep it. We moved a month ago and I got rid of 3 trash bags of random toys. We don't have that many stuffed animals so it hasn't been an issue.

I'd move those chairs to the living room maybe? My kids never used their little couch much but now that it's in front of the tv they are in it every single day at breakfast.

 

I found the same thing with my older kids so we packed everything they own into sturdy plastic boxes with lids and then stored them in the garage except two of them. Once a month or so we rotate the boxes so they get to play with 'new' toys all the time. They're happy, I'm happy and our house doesn't look like a toy store anymore. They also seem to look after the toys better when there are less of them.

 

We have a closet in the playroom that is totally stacked full of toys! So we rotate them every couple months and that helps me figure out which ones really aren't played with. I usually will sell those or donate them. For stuffed animals we have the little corner hammocks in their room and we just pull them down every now and then.
A good place to store them has also really helped me feel like they aren't all over the place.
Good luck!

 

I have the same issue with the chairs. They are very attached to their chairs, but the only thing they really use them for is to put tomorrow morning's clothes on. Or they turn them upside down and make castles out of them or something. Still, I can't really consider getting rid of them -- the girls would never stand for it.

With the stuffed animals, I got one of those tall mesh laundry hampers and said as long as their collection fits in it, they don't have to get rid of anything. But I certainly never buy new ones. I'm hoping maybe when they're in elementary school, they'll decide it's time.

For other stuff -- if they're too old for the intended age range and they rarely use it anymore, it goes quietly out to the garage. If no one misses it for a few months, it gets handed down to the cousins.

I have a hard time getting rid of certain things (puzzles, especially) because they'll go for months without touching them, but suddenly hit a puzzle phase and want to do puzzles all the time. Fortunately, at least those are in boxes, so they can sit pretty neatly on a shelf.

For the random plastic objects, I tend to clean out the drawers (we have a 3-drawer storage unit that I throw all that random stuff in) every few months and toss everything unless they actively play with it.

The things I have the hardest time with are toys that are 1) large, 2) battery-operated, and 3) very exciting when they first get them. For instance, a large fire truck and an Elmo THX (or whatever it was, two years ago). Part of the problem is that DH bought both those things and is proud of them. And the girls LOVED them for about a month, but now almost never play with them. But I feel like it's such a waste to just get rid of them, and DH would be sad because he picked them out. :unsure: So they just sit on the top shelf in their closet.