Should it stay or should it go? The ultimate question when prepping for a garage sale.
This morning the kids and I were playing around in Natalie's room, and I started cleaning out extra toys and things for the garage sale I have been putting off for weeks and I encountered a few problems. Natalie was much more willing to get rid of special things than me! So I had to decide, do we keep this sweet little toy because so-and-so gave it to her or because it was her first such-and-such, or do we sell it because she has openly said she doesn't play with it or doesn't want it anymore?
My choice was easy, keep keep KEEP! So now I wonder, do I want to keep them (and she not) because I am old enough to realize the memory factor of the item, or because she has the clarity of the fact that if she doesn't use it we don't need it. Who is right? What do I do? Some things I absolutely can not bear to part with, but what about the other stuff? (For example the cute little soft cat that Brady and I got for her when we were out running errands, that she loved to death for at least a week or more.) What do you think? Let the kid decide what stays and what goes? Or let Mama have the ultimate staying power because we can see that in the future it may be something they miss?
Oh, and I know I have a lot to catch up on, for my far away family and for my own personal record keeping, but I just can't bring myself to do it right now. Too busy, or just too lazy, take your pick...
Sunday, May 31, 2009
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3 comments:
stuffed animals for the most part go in my book. I have kept some b/c kids love them and someday you'll be grandparents and need them. Toys...if they are going to be classics keep, if not who cares and throw. I'm keeping some of the nicer bigger things for grandkids like my mom did but tossing the rest. Good luck.
Keep it. Get some Rubbermaid tubs and keep what you want to keep. You have plenty of room and you always throw it out years from now, but you can never get stuff back. Love. Dad
Take a photo of the toy or a photo of Brady or Natalie with the toy. Make an 8x8 (or 6x6 etc) scrapbook of photos of toys your kids had that were special. Have one for each of them. Don't get fancy with the scrapbooking, don't worry about lots of pretty paper or embellishments, concentrate on just getting the photo and the story. Write where they got the toy. Why it is a special toy. What they did with it. Ask them why they liked playing with it. That book will be more enjoyable when they are 30 than a box of toys they don't remember where they got them from or that they played with them at all. Their kids will also enjoy reading about toys their parents played with (I have toys, stuffed animals and I have no clue about them). Keep a few special toys (maybe 5 altogether, and that's five through their entire childhood so you may have to toss one of the five should a more favorite one come along later) to hand down to them (scrap these too so you remember who gave, etc).
If you don't do this, you will have a garage full of stuff like your Dad and I that just grows and grows!
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