Decluttering Challenge Day #5 - Toys, Books, DVDs and Games

Congratulations! You made it to Day #5.
Today I'm combining several items into one blog post because I recognize not everyone has kids or the massive amounts of toys that go along with raising children. Or some people might not keep real books anymore and instead have adopted a tablet or Kindle. You do you boo!
Feel free to pick and choose what category you want to declutter as time allows.

Day #5: Toys, Books, DVDs and Games

TOYS
1.) Get your kids involved and first select their favorite toys to keep.
I do recommend that you get your children involved in this activity to save yourself any tears in the end. Also, this is a great opportunity to talk with your children about donating toys and giving them to people who might not have as much as you do.
Gather the toy bins, the boxes, the crates, the stuffed animals, everything into one place so you can see what you are working with.
Have your children go through and select their absolute favorite toys to keep. This will help your children relax, knowing that their favorite toys are safe.

2.) Throw away anything broken.
After the favorite toys are safe, go through the toys one by one. If anything is broken beyond repair (or might take too long to fix, making it a hassle), it needs to be trashed.

3.) Get rid of duplicates.
Just like getting rid of your excess shampoo bottles, you need to do the same with the toys. Does you child really need five toy cell phones? Or three harmonicas? Keep the favorite of the duplicates and set the others aside to clear out of the house.

4.) Determine what stays and what goes with the remaining items.
As you go through each item, have your child tell you the last time they played with the item. Then ask them if they want to keep it or give it away. Remember, you do have veto power, but it is a good idea to let your child make some decisions.
I normally go through everything one time with my daughter and let her tell me if she wants to keep something or get rid of it. If she decides to keep some items that I haven't seen her play with in awhile (and I think need to go), I will put those items into a separate pile and go back through them at the end. When we go back through the pile, I will ask her why she hasn't played with it and we will determine together if we really do need to keep it.
Do this with stuffed animals, cars, games, baby dolls, dinosaurs, legos, everything.
A helpful tip if you have a child that doesn't want to get rid of anything is to tell them that they have to pick at least 10 toys to donate. Knowing that keeping everything is NOT an option will help them say goodbye to some toys. 

5.) Group like items together.
Once you have finished going through the toys, group the like items together. This will make it easier to find places for them to be stored and will also make it easier for your child to find a certain item during playtime.
Here are a couple categories that we use to group toys together:
-Things that move (cars, trains, trucks)
-Dinosaurs
-Baby dolls
-Doctor supplies
-Games
-Dress up items
-Musical instruments

6.) Sell toys in good condition to Once Upon A Child or donate the toys.
If you want to earn some quick cash, take your toys to Once Upon A Child. If your Once Upon A Child is anything like mine, they are always looking for toys.  They will give you cash on the spot for any items that they take. This is also a terrific place to sell the clothes that you got rid of on Day #1.
If you don't want to sell anything, then consider donating your toys to a local church nursery, rescue mission or local thrift store.

Books (both your books and your children's books) and DVDs1.) Go through each item one by one.
When going through your books ask yourself "Will I read this soon or do I plan to read it again?" "Is this book one of my absolute favorites?"  If you answer yes to those questions then you can keep them. Go through every single DVD. Is it a DVD that you watch all the time? Do you plan to watch the DVD again? Is it a family favorite? If those questions can be answered with a yes, then keep those DVDs.
If it is a book or DVD that you absolutely aren't interested in, get rid of it. Do not feel obligated to keep something because it was a gift. If you don't like it or don't plan on reading/watching it, get rid of it.

2.) Get rid of any duplicates.
Often with children's books, you have duplicates that were given as gifts. And sometimes you find you have more than one of the same movie. You don't need to keep them all; keep one and ditch the duplicates.

3.) Donate unwanted items.
Check with your local library or a thrift store to donate your unwanted books and movies. The important thing is to get what you don't want out of the house as quickly as possible.

4.) Sell anything that might be valuable.
Consider posting some items for sale on Facebook Marketplace or ebay if you think they might be valuable.

Games
1.) Get rid of games that you don't play with.If you or your children don't play with it, it needs to go. Otherwise that game is taking up space and collecting dust.

2.) Get rid of games if they are missing important pieces.
If a game is missing an important piece, I'm willing to bet that you don't play it anymore. So get rid of it!

3.) Ditch the games that your kids have outgrown.
As your children grow, their interests will change. It might be time to get rid of the games that they played with when they were really little. Look into donating them to a local church or thrift store or try to sell them to Once Upon A Child or on the Facebook Marketplace.


I'm so happy that so many of you decided to join me this week as we cleared out some clutter from our homes. There are still plenty of spaces in your house that could use a good going-through, so feel free to continue the decluttering into next week. The most important rule of decluttering is to get the unwanted items OUT OF THE HOUSE. If you aren't able to donate or sell your items immediately, gather everything into one space. Then make a plan to clear out the unwanted items as soon as possible.

Be sure to keep me up to date on your progress. Tag me on instagram (@lindsaytolar) and use the hashtag #PursuitOfPinkPURGE. 

Catch Up On The Challenge:

Day #1 Closets and Dresser Drawers
Day #2 Linen Closets and Bathroom Cabinets
Day #3 Kitchen
Day #4 Living Room