Out With the Old, In With the New
As Bean’s first birthday approaches, I have been taking stock of his toy situation. He’s doing pretty good in that area. In fact, he rivals a Toys R Us. But since I know he’s getting ready to get a whole lot more for his birthday from family, I decided it was time to clean out his toys. I am a big believer in not collecting too much stuff in your life. You use what you use and then you give away what you don’t so that other people can use it. And that’s a lesson that I want Bean to grow up with, so I figured his first birthday was a great time to start.
Bean and I went through all of his toys one day last week. Each toy was sorted into one of three piles: keep, save, and donate. In the keep bin, I kept anything that I might need for another baby. And I had a handful of the toys that Bean has played with since he was born but isn’t really into anymore that I wanted to save so that when he’s 18 and going off to college I have some things to cry dramatically into. Things like this lion toy. He’s had it since he first got home from the hospital. It used to be on his swing at daycare and he loved it so much that I got him one for our house, too.
I also saved the blinking star from his activity mat. He loved that thing so much that I would take it off the activity mat and move it to wherever he was – his swing, his crib, his bouncer. He stared and stared at it until it would freak Chris and I out and we’d turn it off. Then Bean would cry, so we’d turn it back on again.
Anything that I wasn’t going to save and Bean isn’t currently interested in playing with was boxed up to give away. I put together one big box of things to give to a friend of a friend here who is expecting her first baby soon and everything else went to Goodwill.
Naturally, as I pulled out things that Bean hadn’t played with in months – if ever – he instantly became infatuated with that one toy.
Like this teething ring that you put in your fridge or freezer. I don’t know if it was the temperature or the texture or what, but Bean never really liked these things. I had a bajillion of them, but he never played with them. Until I was ready to give them away…
But it was anything, really, not just the teething ring. Anything that went into the Give Away box, Bean took an instant liking to.
And, I mean, he’s ONE. It’s not exactly like I can explain that we’re doing a good thing or that I can reason with him. Instead, I let him play with whatever he wanted to play with and I figured when he went down for his nap I could box up the toys and they’d just disappear.
But then Chris came home from work and took one look at the boxes and made this face…
Sorry it’s so dark…
And I suddenly remembered that Bean is of his father’s blood, which means he is destined to be a pack rat for the rest of eternity. Which means that whenever I clean out a closet or a toy chest or a drawer and throw things away or give them away, I will have to explain and justify my decision making process to TWO people now, instead of just Chris.
Actually, that’s not really what that means. What it REALLY means is that I will just have to clean out closets, toy chests, and drawers when they are not home and they’ll never know the difference.
I win.
(Moms always do.)
16 Comments
Megan (Best of Fates)
Okay, I’ve looked and looked but for the life of me can’t figure out which toy is suppose to be an elephant. Is it the first picture? Because while adorable and rainbow colored, I think you’re doing Bean a disservice if he thinks that’s what elephants look like. Same with the second picture, because while I can’t actually see the front of said animal, its body appears to be a long string. That’s just not accurate.
This message brought to you by people for the correct representation of elephants in childrens’ toys. Thank you.
Katie
LOL – sorry. They came as a set, there was a lion and an elephant. I could only find the lion picture, but forgot to change my post. I’ll fix it not so that elephants of the world are not angered.
Kimberly
I do that all the time, clean out when he’s gone. Only once did he ask about something, and all I said was, “Haven’t seen it, Hon.” It’s a great solution to living with a pack rat!
Rachel Rewarding Memories
I totally believe in getting rid of things, especially when its for new things, however i remember when my dad got rid of my sisters Mr Pop (did you have that game) she went crazy mental, he had to go to the charity shop and try and buy it back lol
Gale
I used to clean out the kids’ toys while they were at school. I’d hide them in a black plastic garbage bag in the garage for about a week, and if they didn’t ask about them I got rid of them. Once they were older they liked the idea of getting money for things they were reluctant to part with, so we did more of the garage sale route to getting rid of stuff then. I also find that moving frequently has a decided influence on the decision of whether to keep something… Not that I recommend it, of course. It just seems to help 🙂
Dawn
A while ago I read about an idea that I am hoping to try…. It was that “If birthdays are for getting, then half-birthdays are for giving.” In the clip, the family celebrated each person’s half birthday with half of a birthday cake and by collecting belongings that the family memeber had outgrown or lost interest in or was too “young” and donating them.
Thought I would share with anyone who might read about it here too……
Nate's Mom
Dawn – that is a lovely tradition! Nate better get ready for that one…! 🙂
Cindy In Owensboro, KY
I am like you in that I try to sort through the kids’ toys before birthdays and X-mas and if they haven’t played with it in awhile then I take it to Goodwill. I have tried the whole garage sale thing but it just is not worth my time to make very little money!
Sara Rickman
Ah, the joys of living with a packrat! My husband keeps everything, even old work shirts that have half a sleeve ripped off. I always throw stuff out while he’s at work and for 10 years he has never asked about a single thing. Keep at it, and your kids will learn valuable lessons about giving and about clutter!
Abby @ They Lend Me Their Hearts
My husband is also a major packrat! I have 4 garbage bags of his clothes that are going to goodwill that I haven’t told him about! He won’t ever know the difference either, but if he knows about them, he’ll want to hang on to them (“for when I lose weight, or for when someone robs us and takes all of my good clothes and I need to wear something I haven’t worn since 9th grade”… that kind of stuff)
Marla
Awesome post. Isn’t it funny how you can blame certain traits on Chris!
Marla @ http://www.asthefarmturns.wordpress.com
colleen
Nolan LOVES that star thing too! He will laugh at it when it isn’t on! When we turn it on he totally loves it. Sometimes he gets overstimulated under it and we need to calm him down. What’s the big deal with it?
abi
arrghhh…for pack rat husbands! I couldn’t quite make out your husband’s face, but I knew what kind of face my husband would be making!
Pam
I can’t believe how light bean’s hair has become!
Stephanie
I’m SO with you on the pack rat husbands. My dear boyfriend and I are in the middle of packing for a move and he wants to keep EVERYTHING! If we haven’t used it (or even looked at it) in a year… chances are, we aren’t going to!! Lol. Drives me nuts.
Shoe Gal @ High Heel Hijinks
I think it is a boy thing. They are pre-wired to be pack rats. My husband is the same way. He wants to save everything and I mean everything. Scraps of paper he wrote something on that he can’t even decipher (just in case he remembers 3 years from now what he wrote). I am like you. I like things to be neat, orderly and not too cluttered. I am not sentimental over a lot so if it hasn’t been used in the last few months, it gets tossed.