Decluttering Toys Before Christmas

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Decluttering toys is one of those jobs that I really hate.

I can never decide what needs to go and what we need to keep. I’m a bit of a hoarder, so I’d keep everything, if I could.

But decluttering toys before Christmas is one job you definitely shouldn’t put off!

We’ve got about 6 weeks left until Christmas, and some of you will be thinking “that’s plenty of time!”. But is it? Really? Think of all the things you need to do before Christmas and then think about the pile of toys that just keeps getting bigger every year. That can’t just be me, right?

Jack and Alice aren’t even 3 yet, but they have more toys than any child could play with in a lifetime. It just seems to have happened without me noticing. We are in need of a serious declutter.

So where do you start?

Start planning at least a week before you do anything. Make note of the toys that are played with the most – decluttering toys doesn’t mean thowing away old favourites. Anything that is played with over the course of a week is not “clutter”.

Anything that makes you think “I haven’t seen that in a while!” or “I forgot they even had that!” is probably safe to get rid of!

I struggle with this bit, I’ll admit. Because I find something they haven’t played with for a while and think “Wow! This is cool! They’ll love this!” But the truth is, if they really loved it, they would have played with it in the first place! Any other time of year, maybe you could put the toy back into rotation and see if they’ll play with it, but not at Christmas.

Think of all the extra toys you’re going to be dealing with in 6 weeks time

When the kids are faced with all those new toys, do you really think this amazing toy, that they’ve already had for a year and haven’t bothered playing with, is going to get anymore attention than it already is?? If not… out it goes.

This weekend, I did my own toy decluttering

We still have more toys than we need, but we’ve made a bit of room for the new toys that I know will be here after Christmas. We’ve downsized from a 4×4 Kallax unit to a 2×4 Kallax, so that’s some pretty hefy decluttering, right? I’ll probably have another sort out in a couple of weeks. I want to see what they play with now that there’s a few less options. If anything gets forgotten about, that can go out too!

But what do you do with the toys you don’t need anymore?

It can be a bit daunting, being faced with a big pile of toys you don’t need anymore. Personally, I sort them into three smaller piles, which makes it a bit easier to deal with.

Sell

If you can sell it, do that first. For a start, you can make a bit of extra money, which we all need at Christmas.

Donate

If you can’t sell it, donate it. A bunch of our old toys are going to a local pre-school, where I know they’ll be loved. But don’t forget charity shops, childrens’ hospitals, women’s refuges, etc. There are so many places that you can donate your unwanted toys to people who really need them.

Bin

The third pile is obvious. If you can’t sell and you can’t donate it, just chuck it out. You won’t miss it.

And that’s it. Decluttering toys isn’t the most fun job in the world, but it is necessary for most of us – especially this close to Christmas!

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