12 Days of Organizing ‘Til Christmas:
DAY 1: Make Room For New Toys:
Christmas is coming and that means Toys! To parents/guardians, this means more landmines to avoid stepping on. It will happen, you will step on that dinosaur toy that for some explicable reason had his tail pointing up! While having kids comes with an expected amount of chaos, you can limit the chaos by controlling what comes in and out of the house.
The minimum standard that should be set is- ‘One Toy In, One Toy Out.’
The best time to purge old and unused toys is right before Christmas to make room for the new ones. Even better when the parents/guardians have the ‘In’ with Santa and know the toys that will be delivered on Christmas Day!
*Look for my post in January for specific tips on ‘How to Organize Your Child’s Room.’ For now, we are simply making room for new toys and will discuss organization of non- Holiday essential spaces in the New Year.*
Pareto Principle:
A principle to keep in mind while deciding what toys to keep, discard, and donate is the Pareto Principle. Economist Vilfredo Pareto concluded that 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes. The organizing world has also noticed this trend in the quantity of items used and acquired by people. Typically, people use 20% of their items, 80% of the time. This translates to 20% of your clothes are worn 80% of the time, 20% of your kitchenware is used 80% of the time, and 20% of toys are played with 80% of the time!
Where to Donate Your Toys:
Now you have decided what toys to throw away because they were broken or worn out. You have decided what toys are staying and what will be stored away for rotation. Finally, you have decided what toys to donate, but where?
Many charities that accept toys will only accept toys that are new for obvious sanitation reasons. If you have any NEW toys, think about donating them to:
* Arizona Helping Hands– Charity for Foster Families
https://goo.gl/maps/Q6e8bEr11oh9wza38
* Toys 4 Tots
https://www.toysfortots.org/donate/
* Phoenix Children’s Hospital– (At this time PCH is not accepting any new toys due to Covid concerns unless bought online and directly sent to the hospital)
https://www.phoenixchildrens.org/ways-help/donate/your-donation-helps
Unfortunately, this year is the most difficult to find anywhere to donate items due to Covid 19, especially used toys. Many places that previously accepted items have suspended their ability to accept donations due to sanitation concerns and well as storage issues.
Used toys typically can be donated to the following listed companies; however, Covid 19 has changed many guidelines for places willing to accept toy donations, so always check in advance before dropping off items.
*Good Will– I know there is a social debate about Goodwill because the excessive pay the CEO garners. However, Goodwill’s financials show $.87 on the $1.00 goes into programs that benefit the community. Many of the funds are used for community job placement. Make up your own mind and donate to where you are comfortable.
* Salvation Army
* St Vincent Di Paul
https://www.stvincentdepaul.net/thrift-stores
* AZ Humane Society– (have a thrift store that benefits the shelter)
https://www.azhumane.org/get-involved/give-now/donate-your-stuff/
* Local Church– Many have donation drop off areas
* Social Media (Facebook Marketplace, Next Door, etc)- List as Free to a good home
* Local Day Care
* Group Homes
***Check out the non- profit http://CharityNavigator.org to check the validity of the charity you choose to donate to.***
