Over the weekend my kids got so tired of their toy room they actually volunteered to purge items. I couldn't believe what they were saying. After I checked them and myself for fever, you know just in case one of us was delusional, we got started.
Three kids can accumulate an enormous amount of excess if left without boundaries.
My one rule, of no more stuffed animals, doesn't matter much when there are 1,500 pieces of plastic junk sitting untouched in their toy room.
After an hour the kids donated three large garbage bags of toys and books that still have lots of life left in their bones.
They also created bags of treasure box toys to donate to their teachers.
Honestly I'm pretty proud of them. This type of purge would have previously been a huge fight.
They are sentimental but over the past year or so they've moved into a LEGO phase. By that I mean that's all they play with - building, tearing down, rebuilding.
It's sad to see some of the toys go out the door but it feels so much better.
The best thing about this whole process is that they were able to see instant results in the space. Clutter free and wide open for their LEGO play, that's how to describe their new space.
Don't worry, I matched their good deeds with three bags of items of my stuff. Mainly clothing and DVDs.
So here's your challenge:
We only have a few months until Christmas - purge before you're swallowed alive by clutter.
Trade-in DVDs, books and electronics at Amazon's Trade-in site. You'll earn a credit for the items they want. Ship it free and get the credit in your Amazon account within two weeks.