How do you deal with a child who has too many things? Not toys, per say, but treasures. Rhayn has collected so many little trinkets over time that it is spilling into the biggest mess I have seen since I was a teenager, and I never let my parents in my room (if I could help it.)
How can I cut back on the clutter of toys and trinkets, without making her cry? Usually I throw a lot out while she is at school. This is the week before school, and I asked her to clean her room of toys, by dragging them all out into the toy room. Well before I knew it (and three days after the initial asking) her mound of stuff covers a huge portion of the play area. Now I am afraid to let the other kiddos play there. Plus she dumped it all in the walkway, you can't even get back to the other things. Argh. I am so frustrated.
On top of this all, she has been moving things around, "reorganizing" my books and Gwen's things. So everywhere I look is a mess. I haven't been keeping 100% of my eye on her because it is my week with Care-Bear. Also Gwen is into everything, you know, since she is nearly two.
I need some serious help. I need some one to come over with a big trash compactor and throw most of it away. I have grounded her from the following:
1. The My Little Ponies (which she dumped all over under my bed, weird)
2. Toys or books besides Squish Baby in her room. (Only other exception is the shelf of "special toys" she keeps in there.)
Any other ideas? I know that she is only six, but I need to show her this IS NOT OK.
******On another note, I am so excited. I get to go out ALONE tonight. I am going bra shopping, yeah. (I am fitting in my pre-pregnancy bras, even cup size. Gwen is still nursing, but not so much during the day. I really need some lift! Currently I am wearing a bra that is so stretched out and old, I had to sew the band to make it fit.)
It is birth circle night, and I am going to that, too. I NEED this. I know I will feel better when I get home. As for dinner? I am leaving them with corn dogs and mac'n'cheese. I have cooked up nice dinners all week, and since I won't be eating with them- Let them eat corn dogs!
4 comments:
I've always done quite a bit of throwing things out, when the boys were younger. I'd wait til they were at school, and fill the biggest black garbage bag up to the top. Amazingly enouph they rarely asked where the items were.
Have fun on your night out.
i sit here at my desk looking over my piles of random stuff and think of the boxes of who-knows-what i have in my basement. and, being as i have no justification as to my own collection of ridiculous items, i probably can't help much.. though, i remember flipping channels one day and watching some declutter show and they made this rule where if the person wanted to add one thing to their "pile of stuff they wanted to keep", they had to get rid of one.. at least that way the pile never got any bigger...
but i do wonder this.. if she has soooo much stuff, where does she get it?? ;) someone's gotta be supplying the the stuff. she seems to young to have a job..
Tif-do, oh yeah she doesn't complain when I do that. I have a pile of donate and sell items (the better stuff will go to the consignment store I like to go to.) I have already thrown out 2 bags of trash.
Alex's Human, The main bit of stuff- the "trinkets" are rocks and beads and general stuff she finds visiting or even at school when we are out walking or . She collects so many things. Every paper she has ever put a pen to.
Her main supplier would be her grandmas. Both "regular" and Great. They give her little things. I will admit to buying a small portion of the clutter. AS well as Will, he gives her crap, too.
My 5 yr old is a total clutter-holic. I let him have one box in his closet called his "Treasure Box" and it holds stuff just like this; cards and rocks, little trinkets and papers he wants to keep. Most of his artsy school papers we put up on the walls around his room (those are full!) and we rotate them out. He rarely complains when things go missing.
As for toys...just have her help you weed them out, maybe do it for a yard sale and let her know that she can earn money towards one large(r) toy. Good luck!
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