Ask the child.

I'm raising 2 grands age 7&9 each year around this time we go thru the toy boxes, actually big plastic bins, and the boys decide what they are keeping and what they are donating to the women's and children's shelter. They find this very rewarding as they are giving and they are making their own choices on what to give. I do supervise them as they are doing this and a few times had to ask..are you sure you want to give that away...lol...we end up with toy space, and the boys learn how gratifying it is to share....win win.

We make space- the kids choose. I tell them santa won't leave presents if there is not space, so they need to decide what can be dontaed/thrown to make obvious shelf space. As a teacher, the worst thing you can teach children to do is throw toys into a bin; each items should have it's own home. Bins are for things like Legos, which sit on the shelf.

Renee I would not think the worst thing a child can be taught is to throw toys in a bin..my boys have cars and trucks galore..way to many to put on shelves. A bin works for me..no its not a fashionable toy box but it works.

I will however say things like legos are put in their container..games in the game boxes, ect...the bins are not just a dumping ground.

Those rolling drawer units sold at office supply places are PERFECT for huge quantities of Lego. The various pieces can be sorted by drawers. My grandsons had SO much Lego and this was a perfect solution.

I'm pretty sure that asking your child is the safest bet to go with things. If he says keep everything then maybe put some away that he/she was doubting about?

How old are you kids? Asking is a good idea however with my toddlers they magically want all their toys once I say we will donate lol! My tricks is to go through the toys alone and donate the ones I know are not being used often or at all, I also get rid of broken or missing pieces toys. Do you have a lot of the same items? Try to limit to one or two? I also have bins for certain types of toys so once that bin gets filled I start to toss out - for example we have a dress up bin, a stuffed animal bin, designated two book shelves, toy car bin, so once they get overcrowded I pick out a couple and donate they go! Good luck and good job!!

Hello! I would say start by tossing anything broken and any pieces you can't relate to anything else. It would take so much time and effort to try to match pieces to toys if you don't recognize the pieces immediately, that it would not be worth it. Second, you probably can tell those things the children play with over and over versus those they ignore. The toys that are never touched, you can donate or sell. If not sure, hide them for a couple of weeks and see if someone asks about them. Then you'll know. Keep in mind that no matter how well you organize things, there is a certain amount of space you have to do so. If the amount of toys is unreasonable, there is no way they will ever be properly organized. Purging is a necessary activity. Some parents would never throw anything out without consulting with the children. The obstacle in this case is that many children, when presented with the task to purge, then they want to keep everything, even things they have never played with. How to counteract opposition? Here are a couple of suggestions. I know you can think of many more! (1) Suggest they can receive the money from the selling of the toys (2) Appeal to their feelings if suggesting to donate the toys to less fortunate children (3) Explain to them they have outgrown the toys (this one is particularly effective as it makes them feel older) (4) Explain they need to make room for new toys as Christmas is coming. Good luck!

Each kid gets up to Ikea 4 bins, in addition to the play kitchen, dress up trunk, doll house, large doll furniture corner, and weaponry basket. One box is miscellaneous for each kid. The others each hold one type of toy. We actually have empty boxes as the kids get older. We will keep Lego, building blocks, train set, and a few others for grandkids.