Organize Your Family

Happy to Grow Up

Clear out toys, clothes, and gear as your youngest child outgrows them. Don't sneak beloved toys out of the house in the dead of night and hope that your child forgets they ever existed. How would you feel if someone did that to you? You'd probably stop trusting the toy thief and keep a much closer guard on your remaining possessions. Instead, invite your child to pick a few toys that he has outgrown. Together, pick a charity or friend who will be your beneficiary. If saying good-bye is hard, take a picture so that your child can preserve the memory in an album of outgrown toys. Let giving away toys be a ritual by which you celebrate your child's growth.