Like @marinelife said, most people accumulate stuff. However, having kids is really a recipe for a significant increase in “stuff”. We’re constantly struggling with it and have not found a the perfect method for our family. However, here are a few things that we do that tend to work…
- We don’t do happy meals or anything that results in a useless piece of plastic.
– We communicate very often to our family (grandmothers, aunts, uncles, etc) that we do not want the kids getting junk. They get presents for their birthdays – they don’t need to be sprinkled with tiny crap all the time. Want to give my kid something? Give them an experience. Bring them to a museum. Make mud pies in the back yard. Draw with them.
– Art stuff: We have bins that are organized by material (more or less). The kids are expected to return the unused materials to the appropriate bins when they are finished.
– Art: Anything that really stands out to us or to them (we let them decide) gets hung up in the house somewhere. Periodically, we (my wife and I) take it down to make more room. If it’s exceptional or really moves us, we have storage bins in the basement for keeping some of their art. Otherwise, it makes its way into recycling.
– Toys, such as cars, playmobil, etc are cycled throughout the year. We only keep a few things out at a time. This serves to keep the mess to a minimum. It also helps keep the toys fresh. After a few weeks of sitting out, the dinosaurs can get a bit stale. We put them away (in more bins) in the basement or closet. Then, when we pull them out again in a few weeks or so, it’s like they just got them as a present all over again.
– Xmas and birthdays: We have strict rules about presents from our family members. This was communicated one xmas about 8 years ago, and I send out the rules every years before xmas. Basically, 2 gifts per child. We make recommendations, and we highly encourage gifts that are an experience rather than a piece of plastic.
Also, it’s inevitable that the kids will collect some small plastic crap. They each have a system for that stuff (a small box). We go through the stuff from time to time and clear it out (throw stuff away that we don’t want/need).
Regarding the bin system we have: Each bin is one of those huge plastic bins. Each one has a specific use and is clearly labeled.
If I think of anything else, I’ll mention it later. good luck!