Classic Toys

You say you have lots of storage, right? My mother in law saved all my husband's classic toys. We are thrilled to be able to give those to my son. he loves them and we are so happy she did that. We plan on saving them, so he can give them to his children.

The newer stuff? I'd sell or donate. With exception, do you actually watch the movies? If so, don't get rid of them. You will just spend more money renting them, and I think that's really silly. Keep the ones you watch, since they are paid for.

I would keep the kitchen set, if it is a good one, and hotwheels. My neighbor (mid-50's) just pulled out his old cars and his grandsons love them! A retro kitchen would be pretty cool someday, too!

I definitely feel the kids should have a say in what they want to stay and go. Once it's gone, it's gone.

Sorry, I'm a saver, too!

Oh, man! I WISH my parents had kept some of our toys!

Not so I could play with them when I was an older kid, or for the selling value... But how great would it be if my DD could play with the same toys?!?

I remember playing for HOURS with these connectable fence-looking toys. Also, very colorful animal sections that linked together to form whatever you wanted. Wooden Lincoln logs, oh yes! Lol. Now I'm feeling sentimental. I can't find these toys for a reasonable price now, so my Dd will never get to play with them.

I would keep them, and use them when you have grand kids. You won't have to buy new toys, and Grandma's house will have things that are different than what they are used to. (My grandma did this, and we always loved to go to her house. Her old toys were so great!)

Stuffed animals, I would donate when your kids are done with them, along with everything o your donate list EXCEPT the hot wheels and tracks... Those are fun! Keep them! Lol. The only exceptions to stuffed animals are any that have significant sentimental value. I am STILL mad at my mom for throwing away Super Squirrel (pink stuffed squirrel I carried everywhere up until I was 6, and slept with well I to my teens. I left it at her house during visitation, and she tossed it because it had a hole in the tail.)

Definitely don't throw out the Disney DVDs... I worked at a video store, and they actually do run for quite a bit. Disney LOVES to pull their movies into moratorium (Disney Vault, anyone?) only to release them years later at ridiculous prices.

The Lincoln Logs IF they are REAL wood and not plastic? Sell them on ebay. Same with the other stuff...wooden blocks, sit and spin, etc. sell them...why keep them in storage? It's wasting space and if they don't like them now - nor play with them now - what makes you think they will later? If you are hoping to give them to your grandkids? hope...not worth the time to hold on to them.

Hot Wheels and tracks - sell on craigslist as well as ebay.

Barbies - if they are more than 5 years old - might sell - put them in a lot. If they are from YOUR childhood - then you need to sell those separately.

Don't save it. Get rid of it - either by selling or donating.

Do you think you'll stay in this house after the kids are grown? If so and you have so much space, I'd definitely keep the stuff you mention. I'd keep the Barbies too. I don't know Geo tracks... We have very little storage so I'm only keeping Thomas the Train stuff and AG doll stuff probably. It was so expensive and you get a fraction of the cost selling it. I think time goes fast and next thing you know you have grandkids. My parents kept some stuff and it was helpful if we'd visit for the kids to have toys there. Reselling gets you almost nothing... I'm the same as you in terms of not getting rid of toys bc my kids do play with them. And as you said, if you pull it out, it's like a new toy. So why not keep it? Not like you're paying for a storage locker... We don't have a huge house and/or storage and I still keep stuff bc I figure it's a blip in time and soon enough it'll all be gone. (mine are 7 and almost 9). The DVD's I'd get rid of except maybe one or two classics. Soon DVD's will be like VCR tapes. Everything will be digital. I might get rid of the playdough toys btw. Those aren't so expensive and the plastic might not hold up and then at least you're getting rid of something.

I do not involve my daughter in the getting rid of toys process because she just gets upset and the toy that she hasn't touched in a year or more suddenly becomes interesting--only to be cast aside in a few days again.

I throw away all broken and marked up toys. I also throw out paper, there is SO MUCH PAPER!

I go through her toys and get rid of anything she hasn't played with ina long time. Sometimes if I'm not sure about something I will put it in a box in the garage that she doesn't know about. If she doesn't ask for it then it's donated.

She has never gotten upset at any of her "missing" things. It's much easier for her to not have to part with the toys, which always ended up being traumatic. I would argue that she never played with it, she'd cry and then I'd let her keep it. Then she'd play with it for a few days and then ignore it. I'd try to get rid of it again and we'd start the process all over again. Her room would remain cluttered and messy. When I went in and cleaned, she was actually excited that her room was clean and neat and she felt more relaxed and happy.

You probably could get a lot of money for some of the toys on ebay. Otherwise your home is important real estate space so it's okay to get rid of things! Get rid of what your kids don't play with unless it has special meaning to them or you. Bless another family.

My kids now love to play with the toys I played with as a kid when they go to my parents' house. My son also thinks it is really cool to play with my husband's old Transformers when we visit my hubby's parents' house. (They did not keep much , however.)

I would keep somethings that you may want for the grandkids in the future OR for if friends/relatives with younger kids come to visit. Some of the things my parents kept were Legos, Little People (yes- they are the old chocking hazard ones, but we watch the kids and they are still AWESOME especially the Sesame Street set!), puzzles, Big Wheels, Transformers, I think there may be some barbies (DD not old enough yet), Play Kitchen (was taken apart and in pieces in the attic), and Playdough toys. Also some really cool sprinklers - they just don't make them like they used to!

I would go with your list. Except the hot wheels track unless it is the one without batteries. Your grand kids are going to LOVE you.

My parents kept nothing of ours save for a handmade set of three bears which used to grace the wall over our crib. Money was tight and space was at a premium when we were younger. I can't think of anything that we had had at the time that I wish they had held onto.

Their circumstances and attitudes have changed now that they are grandparents. My mom is too often at the dollar store picking up yet another must have item for our DS, her first and only grandchild.

I think your list makes sense.
Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

Things that the grandparents have that are popular with grand kids (ages 1-6):

FisherPrice little people stuff (house, airport, lift-and-load, etc. we had a TON of these growing up, and my parents let us take some and they kept the rest
LEGO and Duplo blocks
Transformers (MIL has a bunch that belonged to my husband and his brothers, my little guy LOVES to visit these almost as much as the grandparents)
Wood puzzles
Shape sorters
Various cars and trucks (I would seriously encourage you to save some of those Matchbox cars)

Things I want to pass down to my kids:
The doll house my mom made
The dolls and doll clothes my mom made
My wood blocks
My favorite children's books
My shape sorter (my mom had all the pieces saved and everything!)
My toy box and little rocking chair

Things that got handed to my kids when cousins got too old for them:
Lincoln Logs
Duplo blocks
Wood puzzles
Wood train set stuff

Maybe it's just my kid(s), but my son really enjoys when he knows that he's playing with something that he knows I played with when I was younger, or that belonged to his cousins. Of course, I am a huge sentimentalist, so would have a hard time parting with anything my kids really enjoyed when they were growing up.

My son looooves playing with the toys hubby's mom saved. Mainly the little wooden train set (Brio, I think) and old school Little People stuff (the school and airport). Toys were different in the 70's and 80's though, stuff these days do not seem as durable. I wouldn't save the stuffed animals, my mom did and after 20+ years in the attic, even in airtight containers, they were deformed and musty smelling and got thrown out. I'd save stuff that has special meaning to your kids and will be likely to make it without too much trouble in storage for a long time.

I like your lists of toys to keep except I would get rid of the 24 piece puzzles & opt for puzzles w/less pieces.

I would definitely keep & find room for the kitchen.
I'd get rid of the sit & spin but keep the barbies & Hotwheels.

Before you donate, how about trying to post those items for sale on Craigslist or even have a garage sale. Don't over price them. You may not get much but something is better than nothing. Donate them if you don't feel like dealing w/the hassle.

I would ditch the sit and spin and the doll house, in addition to the items you already have listed in that category (unless the doll house is wooden).

We have Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys and Legos that are put away. My kids are 12 and 15. I only have the Legos in the attic. They still pull out the others from time to time.

I'm not sure what you mean by "playdough toys" though. I'm guessing plastic stuff? I would ditch it, too. You really don't even need any toys to play with playdough. We have/had two of the dentist sets (complete with the drill, lol) and they did use them. But they had just as much fun without anything but a wooden roller and a plastic knife to cut out shapes and make animals with their hands. We made lots of snakes, worms, dogs, pigs, giraffes, etc. And letters. You don't need the plastic stuff. Just buy fresh playdough when the grand kids are the right age. It's plenty cheap. :)

I would get rid of it all because unless all those items were passed down they are not classic. Cheap modern toys do not increase in value even if they are more new because they are not classic, they are used.

Hi. Just did a cleaning/organizing of our toys. I kept stuff my son likes to play with and stuff i would like him to play with in the future. As for stuff he has outgrown...in case we have a future child...I saved 'the good stuff'...stuff like puzzles, books, montessori type things hard to replace...I guess I would get rid of the stuff that it is a 'chore' to clean as you know you clean them more than they are used. Does that make sense?
Best.

Is the Fisherprice doll house plastic, or wooden? If it is plastic, I wouldn't keep it. My parents kept my Barbie doll house in the attic - the furniture was still good (and my girls play with it now), but the plastic walls of the house got brittle and it disintegrated. That's a lot of space to take up, for something that might not keep well. Same with the sit n spin. If you are keeping them in a climate-controlled basement, then maybe. But definitely not in the attic.

I wouldn't keep big playdough toys, either. Honestly, we have a lot of playdough stuff, and the kids and their little friends prefer to use plastic easter eggs and plastic silverware with them, over the playdough toys. Maybe keep some of the smaller molds, but not the big playsets.

Keep the Barbies and the Hotwheels. Mom saved ours from when my brother and I were kids, and they are endlessly fascinating for the grandkids.

As for stuffed animals - ask the kids. They might surprise you with what they want to get rid of. And they will eventually outgrow them, anyway. But the grandkids think that stuffed animals make Gram and Da's house look more kid-friendly, so maybe keep the cuddliest ones? (The tags say not to, but most really can be machine washed and dried, if that helps.)

Keep the dvd's for now. If space is an issue, then put the discs in CD folders and discard, recycle or even donate the cases. It is just so much more fun to flip through a physical box or folder of DVD's than it is to click through a menu with a remote control. Plus I'm guessing the grandkids will enjoy the "old school" feel - sort of the same way my kids are fascinated with vinyl records.

Other than that, I would definitely keep the wooden toys and puzzles you listed. (I am unfamiliar with geo tracks?) I don't see the Diego playset being a keeper, either - it's been a while since I've even seen Diego toys for sale, and I haven't seen new episodes in a while either, so I'm afraid that is a character whose time is up (sad, because we love Diego!).

Also, keep any classic or favorite children's books you have in good shape. My kids love reading a book at Gram's and knowing it was mine.