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  1. #1
    anonomom is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Default I need to let go.

    I have my daughters going through their toys for a garage sale. They have too much stuff (totally my fault) and it needs to be done. I can name a dozen things I'd love for them to get rid of.

    And yet...half of what they're bringing out I want to grab and keep. Old stuffed animals from when I was a child. The toy kangaroo my sister bought for DD2 when she was born. A limited-edition toy from DD1's first trip to Disney. They're not doing it on purpose, of course, and I have no reason at all beyond sentimentality to keep this stuff. I really need to let it go. But it's flipping killing me in this moment.

    Please talk me down before I end up huddled in the closet clutching my old Tigger to my chest and hissing at anyone who approaches.
    DC1 -- 2005 DD -- 2009 DS -- 2011

  2. #2
    wellyes's Avatar
    wellyes is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
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    Take photos. Lots of photos. It helps decluttering enormously.
    If it helps, I just took 4 *huge* bins of toys out of the playroom and the kids play there more now than ever before. Less is better.
    DD - 8
    DS - 5

  3. #3
    lizzywednesday is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    I think it's fine to hold on to a few things that are special, but they do have to be limited to "special." The limited edition stuffed animal & baby gift would meet my definition of "special," for example, but stuff that might have been won as a prize on the Boardwalk wouldn't.

    I still have my baby doll ("Buttercup") and my Steiff teddy bear ("Crying Bear") in addition to one or two small stuffed animals that were well-loved (Digger the Dog, who I used to drag around by a shoelace tied to his "cap") or that I purchased for myself with my own money (the Pound Puppy "Furry" puppy toy and the stuffed raccoon I bought when I was 10 or 11.)

    With DD, it's harder to toss things because I'm living in a perpetual state of "what if we have another?" - I really would rather not have to replace carefully curated toys, KWIM? (You know, all the things that don't make noise?)

    Good luck!
    ==========================================
    Liz
    DD (3/2010)

    "Make mistakes! Get messy!" - Miss Frizzle

  4. #4
    Katigre is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    Buy a clear plastic Rubbermaid box about 50qt size. Whatever you can fit in the box you can keep, the rest has to go.

    Sent from my Android phone using Swype
    Mom of 4: Boy (10), Girl (7), Boy (4), Girl (2)

  5. #5
    anonomom is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    That's a great idea.

    I'm laughing at myself right now because it used to drive me up the wall when my own mom wouldn't throw anything out because "it will be worth something someday" or "it's a collector's item." But that's exactly what i thought when Year of a Million Dreams Minnie hit the discard pile. As if Disney didn't make (and sell) millions of those that particular year.
    DC1 -- 2005 DD -- 2009 DS -- 2011

  6. #6
    HonoluluMom is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    I'm in the process of going through DD's baby stuff (uh, she's almost 4) and am having a hard time letting go. I love Katigre's idea of keeping sentimental things as long as they can fit in one box. Thank you!

  7. #7
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    One box, take pictures, and write about it....those are the things I try to live by. That said, we have lots of Stachio's artwork to cull through right now before school starts.

    Writing about how my kids loved a certain toy or lovey really brings it to life for me, too. I have very fond memories of how they dragged something around and called it x....Plus, it really creates a memory they can relive too!
    --------
    DS - Adopted by loving parents 1995
    DS1 7/2009 ('Stachio)
    DS2 9/2011 (Peanut)

  8. #8
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    Yes, take pictures and then let it all go. I had a large doll collection for years. Sold or donated every doll except for one---my first baby doll that I got for my first birthday. I saved that one for DD1. And then I found the exact same doll, new in the box, at an estate warehouse so I bought it for DD3!

    Anyway, I don't miss my doll collection one bit. Not one bit. It was just stuff that needed to be dusted and packed every time we moved.

  9. #9
    Simon is offline Ruby level (4000+ posts)
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    Can you maybe save just the Tigger? My favorite part of visiting my own grandparents was that they always put out one special stuffed animal that belonged to my Dad when I visited. I have special fond memories of that little animal.
    Ds1 (2006). Ds2 (2010). Ds3 (2012).

  10. #10
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    Well, I'm not one to talk, because I have a wooden chest full of childhood stuffed animals and dolls in our master bedroom!!! I've pulled a few out for DS over the years, but mostly they're just in there. MY childhood Tigger is nice and cozy and surrounded by his friends Pooh, Kanga and Roo, among others.

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