Getting my 7 year old to part with her toys is worse than pulling teeth. She has things in her playroom that have not seen the light of day in well over a year, but fights tooth and nail to keep them each season.
This weekend, I offered allowance money for her to give up “5 quality items” that I could sell at the next consignment sale. She wasn’t interested in the money (a smart one, she is). So I had to lay down the law and tell her that if she didn’t give me 5 items, that I would pick them myself and she probably wouldn’t like that. Reluctantly, she agreed.
She first brought out a cheapy plastic bobble-head kids meal toy. So I had to define what a quality item was. Second, she offered to give up one Barbie from the big bin of Barbies and clothes that take up half of the bookshelf in her playroom. So I had to explain that the reason for doing this is to make room for something else. If we weren’t able to get rid of the bin for the Barbies and free up space, it wasn’t doing any good. I think she was mostly tired of hearing me explain everything so she decided to play along.
After some thoughtful playing, she came up with 5 quality items for me to sell. The princess dress-up costumes were no surprise now that she is over the princess stage. The Barbie cash register that she loves to play with, now, that was a surprise. Two puzzles and two bins of dolls later, she was done.
The sad thing is that you can’t even tell they are gone and I bet she will never miss them.
If you would like more information about local consignment sales, visit our sale directory.
