WHAT TO KEEP?

[Sarahbelle]

Does anyone have too much toys and stuff.

I've been given load recently and now my toy cupboard is so full I can't get to half of it. I need to sort out, but what to keep!

So what type of toys are a must have for your business?

[Lyns123]

This hard!!

I've got the same problem really, i've run out of space and new toys are getting lost but the kids still play with the old stuff.

It depends on the ages you mind, all mine are under 5 so i have, wooden train track, assortment of cars, fire engines, police cars etc, happyland stuff, kitchen and toy food, megablocks, dolls and accessories, musical instruments, puzzles, games, mini animals

I also have a rack with baskets in which have a tonn of stuff in, it's all random but the kids still play with things from there. it's got yoyo's, old mobiles, action figures, lots of stuff i can't even remember. You will just have to go through it and be ruthless

[terrydoo73]

I am going through this process at the moment and was very ruthless although would still need to do more!! My problem is really keeping some stuff from my mindees as it is not appropriate age wise - they are 2 1/2 and meccano is just not for them yet!! Also I had so many items of one sort that really it was silly - like 18 peg puzzles! I watched for their interests and I know I will not always have them but it suits me at the moment - for instance a little kitchen I had had for 9 years was continually being pulled apart and they were breaking it into pieces so was no longer appropriate to keep. I have loads of crafts which I have now boxed and put into a wardrobe that is locked away. Having said all that I still have about 18 boxes of stuff - all labelled on the outside! I have the Argos cubby hole system which you can put wheels on so one of the 6 set of boxes can be wheeled into the hall or living room as needed.

During the summer I have confined the mindees to just 2 boxes at a time because we are outside for a good hour at the time both morning and afternoon. Once September comes I will open up my playroom so they will have access to all the toys again - and I am dreading this. They have a tendency to pull a lot out at the time and not play with individual items. My playroom also stores my prams, cots and high chairs which they seem to be fascinated with and are always trying to pull them off the shelves!! Either that or they are trying to climb up the walls!!

I used my freecycle site to get rid of my double buggy but I still have a stroller. Would probably need to do the same with my cots as I have 4 of them!!

All I can say is - be ruthless. I have been minding for 8 years and have just kept accumulating stuff which was way too much. I know we are supposed to provide a good range of toys and equipment but there is a limit and we are not a nursery or a school!!

[miffy]

I wouldn't be without

dressing up clothes
cooker and playfood
duplo bricks
any fp little people stuff
happyland
various dens.pop-up houses
dolls/cots/buggies/prams
loads of arts and crafts
wooden train and car tracks
outside toys
tuf spot

Those are the things that my kids play with the most

Miffy xx

[Sarahbelle]

Thanks people! Thats given me a few ideas. Its hard when you know that you will get more children and they all have different interests. But I have too much stuff and really feel it needs condensing down. They don't play with it all and quite often just ask for their favourite boxes to come out, so I do feel sometimes that half of my stuff never sees the light of day! LOL.

Plus, we go out most mornings and then have garden play late afternoon when the weather is good.

All I need to do now is get motivated to drag it all out and sort it!

[loocyloo]

i have 2 shelves full of fisher price little people ! (about 100 people too !! ) and i keep trying to be ruthless, but i love them ALL and they get so well played with, that i can't!

same with puzzles and games - i can get rid of them if i have some similar, but still got probably too many! and the same with cars, dolls and animals!

i might as well face it, i'm a hoarder who loves toys ! ( the first pages i always look at in the argos catalogue is still the toy section, closely followed by the buggies! )

[watgem]

I have the same problem lol, which is increasing due to a new baby starting soon so have been buying toys and equipment, but the faves are-little people stuff, duplo, brio, cars carmat and garage, wooden kitchen, wooden safari set, games inluding soundtrack, lotto scrabble, snakes and ladders and popup pirate and bricks and the kidzoom camera. I am gradually trying to get rid of the battery powered toys because I always forget to replace them and they seem to have limited play value. Me and my friends often swap toys as well, but that doesn't really help with reducing the clutter!