Overabundance of toys

Teddy bear, ginger bread man doll, and sock monkey dolls on top of trashbag to give away
Toys, no longer needed, were added in a bag to give away or donate

A few blogs ago, I mentioned an article suggesting that parents would be better off giving children household objects to play with rather than spending money on a lot of toys. One of the challenges I’ve seen for parents is how to maintain control over the amount of children’s stuff in their homes. New things get brought in from school, from grandparents/relatives, even gifts driven by guilt. Fewer things leave the house than enter. One of the ways to minimize the number of toys is to avoid storing toys that children have outgrown or are no longer interested in playing with. Get those out of the house by donating them or passing them along to a friend or neighbor’s child. Less is still more.

I’d love to hear from parents/guardians on tricks you use to help shed broken and outgrown toys.