Comments on: Toys A Big Part Of Your Clutter? It May Not Be A Storage Problem. http://www.showmomthemoney.com/toys-a-big-part-of-your-clutter-it-may-not-be-a-storage-problem/ Teaching moms across the globe how to make money from home while still enjoying the greatest job on earth - motherhood. Sat, 16 Jan 2010 07:35:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Ashley Smith http://www.showmomthemoney.com/toys-a-big-part-of-your-clutter-it-may-not-be-a-storage-problem/comment-page-1/#comment-910 Ashley Smith Wed, 27 May 2009 19:02:07 +0000 http://showmomthemoney.com/?p=2319#comment-910 My daughters tend to be pack rats and I tolerate it to a point. They each have an organizer shelf in their room that they can pile as many toys on as they want I also allow them several boxes in their closet to store the overflow. They do not have to look neat but the toys must either fit in the organizer or in one of the boxes (the lids must close on the box. Once I notice that the toys have exceeded this limit I will pick a Saturday and depending on how out of control the toys are I give each daughter 2-3 garbage bags. They have the weekend to fill up the bags. They can fill them up with anything in their room and unless they ask for my help I leave them alone to sort through their stuff. By Sunday night there needs to be 2-3 bags filled sitting by their door and all other toys must be put away. Monday when they leave for school I go into their rooms with a bag of my own anything on the floor goes in the bag. If their boxes in the closet do not close I put whatever in on top of the boxes in the bag until they close. If they do not fill up the required number of bags, bags must be full to the top partial bags do not count, then for every 1 bag they are short I will fill up 2 bags. After my inspection I take the bags they left by the door along with any I filled up and take them to the dumpster. I have found that allowing them the decision makes the process go smoother. It has also made them consider when they get a new toy if they really want it because with every new toy their storage space will fill up. The first time I did this my oldest tried to cheat the system by filling each bag up less than half way and stuffing her excess toys in the back of her closet. Needless to say once she got home and saw 6 bags piled up in her room she knew I was serious. I allowed her to reduce the number of bags from 6 to 4 and since then My inspections I have not had to throw away a single thing. My daughters tend to be pack rats and I tolerate it to a point. They each have an organizer shelf in their room that they can pile as many toys on as they want I also allow them several boxes in their closet to store the overflow. They do not have to look neat but the toys must either fit in the organizer or in one of the boxes (the lids must close on the box. Once I notice that the toys have exceeded this limit I will pick a Saturday and depending on how out of control the toys are I give each daughter 2-3 garbage bags. They have the weekend to fill up the bags. They can fill them up with anything in their room and unless they ask for my help I leave them alone to sort through their stuff. By Sunday night there needs to be 2-3 bags filled sitting by their door and all other toys must be put away. Monday when they leave for school I go into their rooms with a bag of my own anything on the floor goes in the bag. If their boxes in the closet do not close I put whatever in on top of the boxes in the bag until they close. If they do not fill up the required number of bags, bags must be full to the top partial bags do not count, then for every 1 bag they are short I will fill up 2 bags. After my inspection I take the bags they left by the door along with any I filled up and take them to the dumpster.

I have found that allowing them the decision makes the process go smoother. It has also made them consider when they get a new toy if they really want it because with every new toy their storage space will fill up. The first time I did this my oldest tried to cheat the system by filling each bag up less than half way and stuffing her excess toys in the back of her closet. Needless to say once she got home and saw 6 bags piled up in her room she knew I was serious. I allowed her to reduce the number of bags from 6 to 4 and since then My inspections I have not had to throw away a single thing.

]]> By: Tashia http://www.showmomthemoney.com/toys-a-big-part-of-your-clutter-it-may-not-be-a-storage-problem/comment-page-1/#comment-470 Tashia Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:13:37 +0000 http://showmomthemoney.com/?p=2319#comment-470 Excellent Tips! I continue to struggle with the "storage problem," I guess I just need to get rid of some toys! Excellent Tips! I continue to struggle with the “storage problem,” I guess I just need to get rid of some toys!

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