I really need to de-clutter room of my 6.5 y/o son who still has toys from when he was 3 y/o.?

Question

I have tried asking him which ones he would like to give away to other kids and I've tried pointing out that some of them are broken beyond any hope of repair;but he looks at them with such soulful puppy eyes and I haven't the heart to force him.

His room will explode one day from so much stuff.

Should I just do it when he's not around and hope he won't notice that some of the older toys are missing?

Answer 1

He probably wouldn't notice! But if you want to get him involved, then set it up like one of those organizing shows and make a game out of it.... 1 box for give away 1 box for trash/broken toys and then 1 box to keep. Tell him to only keep the toys he really loves. The broken ones shouldn't be a problem, if he still balks at the give away then make a deal with him to keep them somewhere out of sight, like the garage, basement whatever for one month( eternity when you're 6.5) if he hasn't missed them after that they're free to give away. Then make a rule that when he gets a new toy, he has to give one away, that will at least keep the clutter from expanding. You could also try the garage sale tactic, if he's getting money for his toys he might really be willing to get rid of them.

Good Luck

here is a great website for clearing all your clutter

http://www.flylady.net/

Answer 2

I periodically de-clutter my two daughters' rooms. I throw out things that are broken and give other things to a thrift store. I only get rid of things that they've outgrown, don't particularly like or are broken. I especially like to do this before Christmas or birthdays to make room for new toys. Sometimes I will put toys in the attic if I'm not sure about a toy. If they ask about it, I can get it back down. If not, I can give it away. It amazes me that after I declutter, they act like they have new toys because they can actually find things in the toy box.

Answer 3

First, you can't really ask your child, you have to tell him what is going to happen. You are the mother here.

You could clean when he's not around. He really won't miss it. You should clean his toys out once a month. I do this for my girls. Some toys I will still keep but put away and rotate them back in. If he has really special favorites, keep those. We have a virtual toy store in the playroom as it is. I can't imagine what it'd look like if we kept everything!

Another suggestion: Help him decide what to give away (donate) to help kids less fortunate than him. My girls love doing this; it makes them feel really good. Let him pick out a few toys for a garage sale to put towards the purchase of another toy or book.

Answer 4

I have 2 children whose birthday are 1 wk before christmas and 1 week after. December is a big present month for us.

In November, we clean out all the old, unused and broken toys to make way for new. My kids know that we donate the good ones to goodwill, (and while dropping off, pick up one new) and trash the broken ones.

They do fine and don't miss the old because we talk about how this helps children who don't have any toys.

Answer 5

Of course he doesn't want to give them up, he is 6. Wait until he is at school and go in with 2 large bags. One for the broken one for the toys he is too old for. Take the brokens bag to the tip and the old ones to a charity store all before he gets home so it is too late for him to change your mind. The other option is simple....just don't buy him any more toys

Answer 6

We have had the same trouble with our daughter. She is 7 now and what husband and I do is go through her stuff when she isn't home and throw some of the cheap fast food toys and junk away and then save some of them downstairs in storage bins in case we have more children. I have also sold some at a yardsale. Some second hand stores also take them as donations.

Answer 7

First off don't ask your child what he wants to keep. You can't let him rule you just because he gives you puppy dog eyes. He does it because he knows that you fall for it. He'll continue to do it and before you know it he'll have control over you and not the other way around. You need to tell him that he has to pick the toys that need to go. If he doesn't do it in x amount of days than you go in there and you declutter regardless if he cries, whines, kicks, and screams. As stupid as it sounds if you don't put your foot down about this he'll walk all over you from now on. You are in a power struggle. He needs to know who is boss.

Answer 8

Don't ask him, tell him that he needs to thin out the toys. Tell him that if he doesn't help you make some decisions, you will do it on your own.

I've used, "We need to give away or sell some old toys so Santa doesn't look at this mess and go...Wow! They don't need any new toys here!" when I am trying to thin out the toys near the holidays.

If you plan to give them away, talk about other kids who don't have toys and would love to play with his old ones. My girls get very giving when we talk about it that way. (For instance, a little girl who lost all her stuff in a fire...they packed a whole box for her.)

Answer 9

When my daughter was that age, I told her that there were alot of children that had no toys at all and for her to go through her things and pick out the items she does not play with anymore. We then took the toys to a local shelter or goodwill. She was very proud of herself for helping.

Answer 10

try telling him that if he doesn't get rid of the old toys, then he will not get any new toys until he decides to let go of them.

also, try explaining the process of donating the unbroken toys and tell him that they go to another child that needs them more than he does. my brother did that when he was about 7 and felt very proud of himself and he had nearly 2 garbage bags full of toys to give away.

good luck!