Moving: Suggestion on kid's things?? Other unwanted stuff?

odusgolp
odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
edited October 2024 in Chit-Chat
1. I have one 5 year old. His "papers" are excessive. Fills more than a file box from the past 5 years. How do you decide what to keep and what to toss? This includes any drawings or art projects, homework, etc... ya know the drill :)

2. He has some very large plastic toys: Workbench with more tools than you can shake a stick at, a Kitchen set w/ all the toy food stuff, an art desk... you get the point. I'd like to get rid of one of the above before we move. My thought is the kitchen set as he seems to play with it least (but he still does on occasion). He really does not agree with this idea :wink: Keep it all and make room for it or continue to encourage gifting it to another little dude/dudette somewhere?

3. Other stuff: I have some really cute "stuff" that I don't want - Brand new Saki set from Pier 1, different vases, pottery type stuff. A computer, flat panel monitor, 3--in-1 printer, a couple tables.... Toys. Clothes. Two tube TVs. You get the point. I'm not having a garage sale. They always have been a waste of time for me. Donate it all? Try to sell some of it on Craigslist?

Throw me your thoughts....

Replies

  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
    sell what you can on craigslist, every thing else donate to a thrift store or good will or the salvation army. i do this every six months or so
  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
    I don't know what to tell you for #2 or #3, but I know some parents place drawings, etc. they want to keep in a scrapbook type thing or take photos of the drawing, get them developed, and put them in a photo album! that's a cute idea!
  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
    i tend to only keep some art work. the stuff you can tell they put alot of heart into. its hard to do, but ya have to do what ya have to do
  • kimberly702
    kimberly702 Posts: 369 Member
    Definitaly donate. I know at Goodwill they will give you a receipt for tax deductions, other places might too!
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    have a yard sale!
  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
    I don't know what to tell you for #2 or #3, but I know some parents place drawings, etc. they want to keep in a scrapbook type thing or take photos of the drawing, get them developed, and put them in a photo album! that's a cute idea!
    thats a really good idea!
  • methetree
    methetree Posts: 381
    encourage the little guy to gift the kitchen set to another child or a daycare or something.

    Sell your stuff on Craigslist - a little cash in the pocket is better than a buncha stuff you don't want.

    good luck on your move!
  • wickedcricket
    wickedcricket Posts: 1,246 Member
    yes contact FREECYCLE - people will come to your home & pick it up. Or donate it. I'd suggest donating to a local Food bank or free store- places like Goodwill will turn around & sell it for THEIR profit
    another good idea might be a consignment store? they will either buy your stuff outright or mail you a check when they sell it - a consignment store sells it FOR you - very convenient

    Good luck
  • Katbaran
    Katbaran Posts: 605 Member
    I don't know where you are or how far you're moving but how about a consignment shop? Oops, Wickedcricket beat me to that suggestion!
  • MelissaL582
    MelissaL582 Posts: 1,422 Member
    I would sell or donate the things your son no longer plays with, same goes for the stuff you no longer want to keep. I stopped asking my kids what toys do they want to keep- they tell me they want everything. For the "school" stuff, I'm keeping a handful of his art work/drawings. I've only kept a few of his assignments from kindergarten.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    yes contact FREECYCLE - people will come to your home & pick it up. Or donate it. I'd suggest donating to a local Food bank or free store- places like Goodwill will turn around & sell it for THEIR profit
    another good idea might be a consignment store? they will either buy your stuff outright or mail you a check when they sell it - a consignment store sells it FOR you - very convenient

    Good luck


    oooh.... freecycle is not a bad idea. nor is the rest!
  • kennethmgreen
    kennethmgreen Posts: 1,759 Member
    This might sound crazy, but it can be powerful for the kid. Ask him to pick out stuff he really wants to keep and stuff he'd like other kids to play with. Have *him* help you divide stuff into piles of keep/sell/give away/throw away.

    Getting rid of stuff is something we do regularly. Just be careful the kiddo understands getting rid of means forever. When it's presented as donating - giving someone else the chance the enjoy it now - I think it fosters ideas of community and sharing. (my opinion)

    Or just hide it all for four months, then wrap it up for Christmas. Lots of saving! No lines at the stores!
  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
    I've just this minute taken a break from going through some boxes in our under the stairs cupboard in preparation for a car boot (garage) sale on monday and going through similar decisions. I have heeps of part used bottles of toiletries, and our bathroom is tiny. What do I do with them all? I'll use them eventually, but only if I can see them, and there's nowhere in the bathroom to stick them - debating on a plastic chest of drawers for the study then maybe I can rotate what I have on the bathroom windowsill somehow, maybe!

    Doesn't help you much but I sympathise!

    I second the advice given on the extra stuff - freecycle, car boot/garage sale, charity shop, donate to a hospice or somewhere similar. Whatever you do, try and avoid it going to the tip!


    EDIT: ps If anyone has any advice on how they store extra bottles of toiletries and make up etc that they can't fit in the bathroom, including first aid stuff etc, let me know!
    For the kids stuff, get him involved in the choices, and for the drawings, my mum kept everything, and then when I finally moved out, she turned up one day with a car full of stuff, dumped it on me, and most of it went in the bin - she'd been storing it for 20 years for me to just trash it anyway!
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    I've just this minute taken a break from going through some boxes in our under the stairs cupboard in preparation for a car boot (garage) sale on monday and going through similar decisions. I have heeps of part used bottles of toiletries, and our bathroom is tiny. What do I do with them all? I'll use them eventually, but only if I can see them, and there's nowhere in the bathroom to stick them - debating on a plastic chest of drawers for the study then maybe I can rotate what I have on the bathroom windowsill somehow, maybe!

    Doesn't help you much but I sympathise!

    I second the advice given on the extra stuff - freecycle, car boot/garage sale, charity shop, donate to a hospice or somewhere similar. Whatever you do, try and avoid it going to the tip!


    EDIT: ps If anyone has any advice on how they store extra bottles of toiletries and make up etc that they can't fit in the bathroom, including first aid stuff etc, let me know!
    For the kids stuff, get him involved in the choices, and for the drawings, my mum kept everything, and then when I finally moved out, she turned up one day with a car full of stuff, dumped it on me, and most of it went in the bin - she'd been storing it for 20 years for me to just trash it anyway!

    Over in my neck of the woods, some of my girlfriends have been having "exchange" parties where they bring toiletries, books, clothes and exchange w/ friends :) it's kinda fun actually.

    But I soooo feel your pain! I have so much of that stuff as well!
  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
    hmm,my post kind of went funny then and out of order, ah well

    Good luck getting rid of the kids stuff. I've just decided to throw out anything part open that's more than a few years old, sell the stuff that's closed and untouched on monday, and found a big tupperware box for the rest that I'll try and remember to look in!
  • jenny95662
    jenny95662 Posts: 997 Member
    its so hard i know, I am still not sure what to do. I have a 5 yr old with the paper issue too. I asked a friend of mine and she said what she did was get binder or scrapbooking book and put all the stuff in there and only kept the things she thought were real important and stuff. Like for me i got rid of the papers we did together (had a art project every month to do with my daughter for her pre k class) and kept other things. But for the most part things that were sentimental to me like her first picture of her family and then her last picture of her family from her pre k class to see how she progressed and stuff like that. Now I have not done this yet so easier said then done lol

    As for the toys i wish i had an answer i have toyr r us in my house and it just keeps coming but i have no idea or dont really want to get rid of things lmao
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
    1. I have one 5 year old. His "papers" are excessive. Fills more than a file box from the past 5 years. How do you decide what to keep and what to toss? This includes any drawings or art projects, homework, etc... ya know the drill :)
    I've thrown out every piece of non-creative school work. When it came to their artwork and written papers, I let them go through and choose the things they wanted to keep. Then I tossed the rest. They'll never remember what they chose to throw out. In fact, they probably never remember what they chose to keep either. My sons are 13 and 11 now and I've gone back and thrown away other things as well. I keep the things they make for me, though.
    2. He has some very large plastic toys: Workbench with more tools than you can shake a stick at, a Kitchen set w/ all the toy food stuff, an art desk... you get the point. I'd like to get rid of one of the above before we move. My thought is the kitchen set as he seems to play with it least (but he still does on occasion). He really does not agree with this idea :wink: Keep it all and make room for it or continue to encourage gifting it to another little dude/dudette somewhere?
    I try to get the boys to *want* to give their stuff up to another kid who doesn't have things. They're surprisingly generous when they know there are kids who don't have nice toys.
    3. Other stuff: I have some really cute "stuff" that I don't want - Brand new Saki set from Pier 1, different vases, pottery type stuff. A computer, flat panel monitor, 3--in-1 printer, a couple tables.... Toys. Clothes. Two tube TVs. You get the point. I'm not having a garage sale. They always have been a waste of time for me. Donate it all? Try to sell some of it on Craigslist?
    Small things, I'd offer to my friends. Large things I'd sell on Craigslist.
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