Every year children are given a truck load of gifts from friends, family, etc. Parents get so annoyed as they are scattered from one end of the property to the next and then after a day or so, they are dumped in a section of the home, never to be touched again. Well my children have that many toys that they never really seem to play with any of them at all, so we have decided, after the billions of toys they received for Christmas, it is about time we went through their toys and got rid of all the ones that they have broken, don't play with, or are just simply too old for now. Unfortunately, we decided to start with young Ami's room... you have no idea the pain of this decision. Not just because it is hard to let go of memories, but because she just simply has far too much crap in her room. I say crap, because there is just so much stuff in there... rubbish and all. <sigh> Here is a before photo. Just so you have a rough idea of the pain I am about to endure today and every day until we have finally got her room done. Before: Spoiler Now in this pile, which is only a third of her stuff, is rubbish she had hidden in her drawer, under her bed, and everywhere she possibly could hide it. There is clothing, shoes, toys, etc. She is a hoarder like her grandparents are. <sigh> I'll have to post an after pic once it is done so you can see the major transformation after it is finished. Hopefully it won't take till the end of time... lol
Ah, good luck! I heard recently that (in Australia) the minimum amount of gifts that parents think they should give their child for Christmas is three, but that the average they actually receive is twelve (with an average spend of around $300). I'm happy if someone gives me a fruit mince pie or a gingerbread cookie - in heaven if both.
I have a friend who's nineteen and has never thrown ANYTHING away. I'm serious; the first time I went into her room, I was absolutely shocked. There was a second bed completely hidden underneath piles of clothes! And there were still party decorations from her fourteenth birthday on the wall. It's become mildly cleaner since she went to college (meaning I can see the second bed), but I assume that's only because she's taken half of her wardrobe to school. I feel really terrible for her roomate. You dont even want to hear about their kitchen... Good luck, Tor. I've seen worse, but when it's not yours, and you've got three other kids to take care of, I can only imagine how long that will take. I cleaned my room and the bathroom today (which means I did laundry, made my bed, dusted, vaccumed, threw out crap and old junk I didnt need for my bedroom and I cleaned the shower, toilet, surfaces, floor, and threw out crap and junk I didnt need for my bathroom), and it took me about six hours. Nightmarish.
Gone, we got them 13 individual gifts and then a Wii package. We spent over $2000 on gifts this year... I want to be the average that spends only $300 on each LOL Cogito... I love those horizontal surfaces, they look so clean! LMAO! Merc, I would kill myself if that were my house. I can imagine Ami's room will take 6 months LOL! But well done with all that cleaning. You must be looking forward to bed time. I am procrastinating at the moment. Her room is giving me a migraine.
Oh my..I remember those days. I wish I could go back and relive one day of them. *sigh* Seriously, it can be quite overwhelming. I had four children under the age of 12, so I completely understand where you are coming from, Tor. My boys would get upset if I even hinted of getting rid of one thing. It was a struggle, they all keep everything. Even now, my youngest has a fit if I go in his room to clean it. He has all kinds of stuff back there...it scares me to think about it.
Yeah... I'd be too terrified to go into their rooms once they get older as well. I remember helping with my brothers room after he passed. Way too many car parts lived in his room. Could almost build a car out of all the parts LOL
hahaha...I was just reminded of my baby brother's room. When he was about 12 or 13, he had a fixed fascination with Star Wars action figures and GI Joe. I had to help my mom clean his room, when looking under his bed, we found all those little action figures in various shoe boxes with bottled dirt. To this day, he still wont tell us what he was doing with all those bottles of dirt and toy men.
hahahahahahahahahahaha! Mine always has jars of nuts, bolts and batteries. He never threw batteries away, which was mad.
LOL...that is cute. It takes a brave parent to enter the domain of the children. Such unpredictable territory. hahaha
I don't have kids, but I just walked our house and made an over two page long to do list of stuff I need to do to clean up and make the house less cluttered. Oddly enough, I'm looking forward to it...
Don't say only parents understand the agony of cleaning out a child's room. Older sibblings can, as well.
Sorry. Don't understand. Why didn't you ask family and friends for useful presents, treats or a savings account instead of toys? And If the kids didn't/don't play with these toys and they annoy you so much, why is it so hard to let go of them? And Surely part of having toys is taking care of them and putting them away after the game is over? Can't you donate them to hospitals and children who have few toys as they are outgrown? Please forgive me if I sound harsh, but this sounds like consumerism gone crazy. My kids had very few toys, and they passed them down or shared.This was partly because we live thousands of miles from my relatives and partly because 20 years ago there just weren't many good quality toys to be had in Turkey. My parents put money into a special account instead, which we will broach next year when my daughter starts university. Perhaps it might help you to plan along these lines, so you don't have this difficulty recurring? And it really does help later to have a little fund of money and just a few nice quality things that the kids can keep.
OMG, I actually laughed out loud at this. I have two kids, and they spent the weekend picking up their room, which looked about ten times worse than that picture of your daughter's room! Took them a total of 22 hours to sort through the junk in their room. I refuse to do it anymore. At 8 and 10, my kids are capable of being organized without me standing over them or doing it for them. They also didn't get dumped on for gifts this year. I bought them a couple of books and some clothes. Grandparents spoiled them a little more with some video game and other stuff, but not as much as they have had in previous years. Luckily they have cousins who are younger than they are and can get their hand-me-down toys and clothes...otherwise my house would be overflowing with stuff.
Tor, I'm in that boat with you. Except we only have one child. But, our son has a play room that is literally overflowing with toys. His toys take up 3/21 gallon tubs, plus a three drawer dresser and a shelf, when they are all put away. Right now since Christmas just hit (still have some extended fam to get together with, which prolly means more toys), even the living room is full of toys. He is really into trains, so we built him this huge train track that goes from the livingroom, down the hall, into his bedroom, back out to the hall, to his play room, and down the hall back to the livingroom. It's awesome, but a pain to walk around. We need to go through all his toys and get rid of all the broken stuff and the stuff that he is too old for. I've been putting it off because it doesn't sound like fun to me. Will have to do it eventually. The hardest part for me is deciding what to keep for him, for when he has kids someday and what to give away. The broken stuff will get thrown out. It will happen soon though. I once told someone that I would develop a tick if people kept giving my son toys. Possibly even go into spasms when the word 'toy' was meantioned. LOL It hasn't happened yet. But, I have a feeling if we don't get it under control, it will happen eventually. This year he did get some gifts I asked people to get him, that are more educational, etc. Plus, I also requested gift cards so he could go shopping for himself. It also helps so he doesn't get two of something by someone getting him something he already has. It would probably help if he wasn't so spoiled, I mean well loved, by his parents.
trust me on this one. the only toys worth saving for grandchildren are barbie dolls with wardrobe, leggos, and maybe dinky toys. the rest are just clutter for you. mother of 2 grandmother of 3. it is so nice now to have the house almost toy free.
I share your pain. I have two, one is Tempest the oldest grandchild who is also a hoarder and I have to let her know months ahead that I'm going in. Its like a war zone, stuff everywhere usually takes me a full 8 hours to get all clean. I use the bin method, one of trash, one for saving and one for giving away. I find food products that are no longer recognizable. She will have it pretty much a mess about a week after. I try to be patient because I know she sets up barriers to deal with the rejection from her Mom. When it gets unhealthy, dust, mold, etc. I go to it. its is too overwhelming for her. There is a difference between just messy and something more. The other is just a clutter bug who always gets into things but never puts them away. He shares his room with his brother who is alot like me, and likes things in there place so I have to keep up with him so his brother can live in a decent space.
uh...as a mom of 7 i have only 2 questions... why on earth are YOU cleaning out that mess? and why would you have let it get that bad in the first place? tip for getting messy/lazy kids to keep their rooms neat: once a week, you launch a 'goodwill' attack... = you take a large hefty bag and put in it all the stuff you find in the room that is not where it should be... dishes and such go back to the kitchen and all else is to go to goodwill, unless the room is kept clean and neat for the entire following week [daily inspections must be made, of course]... even with the most recalcitrant, by the time the kid has lost most/all of his/her favorite clothes, toys, etc., s/he'll be 'retrained'...
Madhoca, I can't exactly turn around and say to my parents or Dan's parents, that they can't buy the kids things. If I did, they would get a tad aggravated. All the toys and clothing we get rid of is either handed down to someone else who needs them (Like last year when we gave a quite a few boxes of clothing, toys, books, dvds, etc, to a family who lost everything they owned in a house fire) or we take them to the local charity shops so that they can raise money for good causes, like homeless children, etc. Though anything broken, will go to the bin if it isn't recyclable. Becca.... my son was obsessed with trains for a while, so we got him a few Thomas tracks and he played with them for a month, now he don't use them anymore. <sigh> Maia, her room go this bad because I decided to empty her drawers to get rid of them to make room for her new bedroom setting. She has always kept a tidy room, but we now know why. Because she kept putting everything in her drawers and toy boxes, and she had her craft draws, as she loves craft, full of bits of cut up paper, etc. lessa, it is great to see you back on the boards <hugs> as for inspections of the room daily, I had always given her the benefit of the doubt before that she was putting things where they belonged. But after this... we are doing daily inspections and anything out of place will be taken off her and given away or sent to the local charity shops.
I keep my room neat and clean at all times, and I would prefer if my parents didn't get my sibs (brother, 9; sister, 4) toys for Christmas. What's wrong with books, or something neater? *rips hair out*
My sister's side of the room is a wreck. Mine is reasonably neat. Tommorow, when I'm done working, it is I who will probbbaly get yelled at. *Sigh*
