Toy dump

It’s time for a toy dump.

I don’t know how it’s possible, but somehow my daughter’s toys reproduce on a regular basis. Every few months, we are overrun with pieces of molded plastic that I did not buy and have no explanation for how they ended up in our house.

And yet, there they are. Plastic shoes. Puzzle pieces. Half-eaten granola bars tucked deep into princess purses folded inside bigger princess purses. Don’t get me started on the bobbles — you know, the inexplicable, tiny beads or round things or thingamagickies.

(Erin Stewart)

All of these toys end up in a big bin in my daughter’s room. I avoid this bin at all costs until the woeful day when its bounty brims over. And so I must dig. I must comb through the layers of odds and ends, trying to remember what is this little doo-hickey and what in the world does it do.

The deeper I dig, the more I find. And with each piece I find, a little part of me screams as I fight back the urge to make a toy bonfire in the yard and laugh maniacally as I throw in every last Polly Pocket high-heeled shoe and unmatched baby sock.

But I digress.

What I’d really love is some suggestions on how to stop the toys. They must be stopped. How do you keep toys and the inevitable toy pieces from multiplying in your house?

Erin Stewart is a regular blogger for Deseret News. From stretch marks to the latest news for moms, Stewart discusses it all while her 4-year-old daughter crams Mr. Potato Head pieces in her little sister’s nose.