With Christmas right around the corner, many homes will be receiving a new load of toys with no place to go! Now is a perfect time to do a little pre-Christmas clean out! Not only can you de-clutter and make room, you can take your used toys and donate them to kids who may not be receiving any gifts this year. This is a great way to teach kids at a young age the importance of giving to those who are less fortunate.
Simple Steps for Cleaning Out & Organizing Toys
- Get out all the toys and take inventory of what you have
- Whatever is broken or damaged, throw it away
- If a toy has never been played with put it in the donation pile
- If a toy hasn’t been touched in the last 6 months put it in the donation pile.
- If you have a TON of one type of toy, pair down and donate the remainder.
- Put toys back in to your bins by category ex: cars, blocks, stuffed animals. We use bins from Ikea and bins from Target for toys.
- Make sure you have blank spaces and room for new toys
Once you have cleaned out all of your toys and have what you are ready to donate, now you need to pick a place to donate. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Local resell charities (Goodwill or Salvation Army)
- Local shelters
- Children’s centers (Boys and Girls Club- find your closest club here)
- Local preschools or nurseries (be sure and call before you just show up)
- Toys of Tots (find your local program here)
- Ronald McDonald House (find your local chapter here)
