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" How do you decide which old toys and children&amp;#039;s books to keep and which to toss? \u2013anonymous I used to be sad that my mom hadn&amp;#039;t saved many of my childhood treasures. But now I know why. Who has the room? And most of it really was junk. Even if I had it all, what would I do with it? (Okay, I do have my Skipper doll and my sock monkey on my office shelves.)  I ditch far more of my kids&amp;#039; stuff than I keep. I use this neat little system:  * Has it been used in the past year? If so, it&amp;#039;s a candidate for Tossing Out. At minimum, I go by stages. If the youngest child has safely passed infancy, out go the baby toys; after toddlerhood, the toddler stuff; and so on.  Exception: A certain Teletubbies pop-up toy, which is about the most adorable plaything my kids ever had, not to mention durable, and they have as much fun with it as visiting babies every time we haul it out.  * Does my child have a burning attachment to it? This tends to exempt the stuff that&amp;#039;s on the shelves of their room (within reason) \u2013 tattered blankies, certain stuffed animals, games that still have enough of their parts to be functional.You have to be careful, though, because before you know it 232 beanie babies and 5,399 Pokemon cards will be declared the objects of burning attachment.  * Do I have a burning attachment to it? Okay, I confess! THIS is the real question! A mother&amp;#039;s prerogative! This explains why I still own the board book I Am a Bunny , among oh a few dozen others. I can&amp;#039;t bear to part with books I adored reading aloud, or the beautiful old editions, or the quintessentials by Dr. Seuss, Richard Scarry, and Beatrix Potter. And then there are the dolls (my weakness). Did you know Corolle babies keep their trademark vanilla scent for years? And so do their wardrobes, to pricey just to pitch! There&amp;#039;s the American Girl accessories, the ones I wished I&amp;#039;d had when I was a kid! The impressive collection of Barbie furniture, which maybe the grandchildren will like some day. The wood dollhouse\u2026and the tea set, the wood blocks, the\u2026 Those are my excuses, anyway, and I&amp;#039;m sticking to them. (And trying to contain the stuff to a discreet box or two. Or at least a box or two per child!) Everything else, bye-bye! \u2013Paula Spencer Toss your mom Qs to momfidence@gmail.com "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a41409/should-i-keep-old-toys-or-junk-em-4640/>