okay, i have 2 younger kids, ages 7 & 9. they have LOTS of toys. a lot of these toys have MANY pieces. these pieces get strewn from here to there. some in this room. some in that room. some upstairs. some downstairs. i have been trying to clean my house a little at a time and im finding all these little tiny pieces as i go.
now, you have to understand that i am VERY anal. very obsessive. i hate to throw away these tiny little pieces cuz if they can all be grouped back together, we'd have the missing pieces to this game, or that dollhouse or this lego set, or that whatever.
BUT, part of me is like, heck, if they dont love their stuff enough to keep all the pieces together, then why should we keep them? but another part of me is like, but what if we pull out a game to play and all the pieces arent there and i KNOW i just threw some of them away. then i feel all guilty and crap.
so what do i do? my husband would be mad if he knew I threw something away that would complete a set of whatever. but if its lost, then he isnt mad. but if i clean up and then he finds something missing, he assumes i threw it away and why didnt i keep it cuz now this whatever is useless. of course, i only THINK he thinks this but i'm pretty sure he does.
right now, ive just been bagging stuff up as i go and now i'm getting a collection of bags. i could have the kids go thru them but i know if they do, theyll get all excited at seeing long since missing pieces and just go wild and strew the stuff all over again as they pilfer thru the bags. of course, i only THINK thell do this but i'm pretty sure they will.
but i tell you now, i dont wanna take the time or mental stress to go thru and sort them out myself. but let me repeat myself, i'm VERY anal. very obsessive. and i hate to throw away all the bags. and there are bags and bags of this stuff.
so i cant bring myself to sort thru them. im afraid to let the kids go thru them. i cant bring myself to throw them away. id really like to just trash them all. but.....
AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!
ive had this problem for years but i finally want to face it and deal with it and just decide what to do and just do it. but what IT is, i dont know yet. so because i cant decide what do to, i now find myself disgustingly, collecting bags. *shaking head in disbelief*
Feb. 25, 2008 - I have the same problem
I completely understand your situation - but I have found one thing that has helped. Instead of using bags -I use a couple of plastic storage tubs -not too big. But one for game pieces, one for girl toys and one for boy. That way I can do a quick sort, not throw them away and then let the kids go looking when they want something. Every few months we just sort it all out and start over. I hate wasting toys and I hate picking them up. I'll admit I do vacuum up lego pieces frequently.
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