Christmas is past (by fifteen days), a new year has begun, and I’m…stuck in a living room with twice as much crap in it as it had before. You see, my problem with the post-Christmas clean-up isn’t putting away the tree, the ornaments, or the stockings. That’s a snap.
(Because my husband does it.)
My problem is: Where do I put all this new STUFF? Specifically, all my kids’ new stuff. Like, the FIVE new board games Joshua received:
Or Sophie’s new posse (it’s a real tough bunch. You do NOT want to mess with Soph and her crew):
And then, there are the toys that are actually more like pieces of furniture. Exhibit A, Joshua’s (Christmas dream come true) Fisher Price GeoTrax set:
Exhibit B: Sophie’s Leap Frog learning table (which she adores!):
I’m throwing a baby shower for a friend of mine Saturday (if she doesn’t have the baby today. ‘Cause she was having contractions all day Thursday. Squeeze those legs together Megan!), so I am sitting here pondering where to put all of this new stuff that Santa brought, cause really, everysinglecarfromcarsmovie and all of Sophie’s posse are not invited to the shower. Aside from just throwing it all in the kids’ rooms until the shower’s over, I don’t have a clue!
My post-Christmas clean-up? It’s still not done! But it will be by Saturday! How about yours? What’s your biggest Christmas clean-up hang-up?
***************************
By the way, this post is part of a Blog Blast sponsored at Parent Bloggers Network and Right@Home. I like to visit Right@Home to print coupons for some of my favorite SC Johnson products (like Glade candles. ALSO Emily’s favorite.) but the site also has great cleaning and organization tips and yummy recipes too! I’m headed over there now to see if they can solve all my problems for me, and you should too!
Actually, this is my favorite part. Because nothing comes into our house anymore without something leaving. So the kids and I (I have a four year old, a two year old and a 6-month old) work together to choose several items to go to Goodwill. Usually it’s a stuffed animal for every stuffed animal we receive, or an old book for a new book. That way, everything new has a place where something old used to be. 🙂
I totally agree with the previous response! We made that rule right after kid #3 was born. I usually hang onto the items for a week or so though just in case they ask for them (which they never have). Instead of taking them to the Goodwill though, we take ours to the local women’s abuse shelter for the kids who may be staying there with their moms.
Well I think we are in luck…I think little P is NOT going to make a debut in time for the shower…she was just teasing 🙂
We were cleaned up about 2 days after Christmas! And now a mess again b/c I finally made it into the office to find many presents on my desk for my little man!
clean-up round II – this weekend
We started a new rule this year because it really was getting out of control. For every new toy, car, doll or whatever the kids bought or were given they had to get rid of at least one preferably two equal things that they didn’t want anymore. These things were either sold in a garage sale (where the kids got to keep the $ they made off of their old stuff) or donated to Salvation Army or Goodwill. I thought they would complain about getting rid of stuff but I have yet to hear one!
My biggest Christmas clean-up hang up is to try to fit all the decorations back in the containers they were before….and also cleaning the house, because its a really big mess.
i got nothing for you….we have the kids go through their toys and give things away even before the new stuf comes in at christmas and we are still over whelmed. It seems to multiply AFTER the presents are opened….we now have an entire closet devoted to just toys and the kids have a few in their rooms as well…
Haha! I have this problem, too! Actually, my parents came over last night for dinner, so I hid the box with the puzzles (for my daughter) and the digital picture frame (for me) in the garage – they do not need to know I still haven’t found homes for these new treasures!
My daughter has that same LeapFrog table, and she LOVES it! Her favorite is the banjo – it makes her dance every time!
We celebrate Boxing Day over here. Although usually we don’t go through toys on the real Boxing Day since my kids just want to play with the new ones. This year, I already had a bad of toys/animals to be donated (without the help of the kids..shh)! But I still plan on having them choose some things as well to give away.
It felt like too many toys before Christmas. So I have been cleaning up toys they no longer use and donating them. Then I ask my kids (4 and 2) to pick out some stuffed animals to donate. My husband’s work collects stuffed animals and hands them out to the community thru “Santa” each year. Still – with all that – I just found my living room floor this week.
Oh man, I’m with you on this one. Aiden got a HUGE train table…the big big ones they sell at Toys R Us. Plus fifty million other things. And I got a bunch of new kitchen stuff, like a stand mixer. We’re already busting the seams of our tiny house. Oh, and he got one of those ride on hobby horses…it’s huge too. We had to leave that though because it wouldn’t fit in the car!!!! I did the whole clean-out-the-toys before Christmas…but that doesn’t really help with these BIG gifts, you know?