Christmas Toy Prep

Christmas is literally around the corner and it's time to clean out the toy collection. Each year before Christmas, my child must select five or more toys that he can donate to charity.

To start the process you need two paper sacks. Mark one "TRASH" and the other "GIVE." Keep a Force Flex bag handy ($1 off coupon here), you might just need it once you tear into everything. It’s amazing how many McDonald’s toys, random pieces of art work, school papers, and other treasures your child can collect in a year. This year we filled up a giant black Force Flex bag of these beloved items.

I like to divide the room into zones - closet, behind/under the bed, toy bins, book shelf, desk, etc. I'd recommend letting your kids do the first zone alone. Set the timer for 15 minutes and when the time is up, it's time for mom to inspect. If your child does well with the first zone, move on to the second, third, you get the idea. My child’s concentration goes out the window by the time he gets through the second zone. At that point, roll up your sleeves; it’s time to guide the process. This year it only took us 2.5 hours, one Force Flex bag, and two giveaway sacks to get through the entire room.

Make sure you lay some ground rules before you start. Kids need boundaries and generally do better when the expectation is set. We have two rules when doing this:

1. If you have to ask Mom what she thinks about a certain toy or item, throw it away. If you have to ask, it's more than likely bound for the trash.

2. If you have trouble deciding, Mom will narrow it down by putting two choice in front of you followed by the words, "Which one goes in the give pile and which one are you going to keep?"

Ladies, get your trash bag out and get your kid's room whipped into shape. Just NINE days until your child's toy collection expands.

Good luck!