So, last Friday I decided to clear out a bunch of their toys. Most of their toys have specific homes, like the box of dress-up shoes, the cabinet for stuffed animals, the drawers of Lego, the bookcase of books, etc. However, most toys are just tossed into a set of bins. And as often as not, the toys end up lost behind and under the bins. I thought about how a friend once told me how he went through his house with the goal of clearing out 40% of his stuff. So, I had the girls pull out all the toys from in and around the bins.
I had them through out all the garbage (scraps of torn paper, unrecognizable bits of broken toys, etc.) Then everything that had a home elsewhere was put in its proper place. Then I told the girls that they could keep half of what was left. Each child was to pick out two toys: one to keep, and one to go. If one of them wanted to keep a specific toy, she had to find a corresponding toy to get rid of before her sister decided that to offer it up in exchange for something else. The girls obliged with surprising willingness. I think that they were actually happy to get rid of the clutter. I thought some of their choices were a bit strange, but I left the decisions regarding what to get rid up completely up to them.
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