The Money Stuffed into Stuffed Friends
by Deb Colameta
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They multiply when you are not looking: Stuffed Animals. Recently, my kids bravely parted with several bins of these guys. There are at LEAST $500 in stuffed toys in this picture.
So $500 is going right into a SHREDDER recycle bin.
100+ Toys x $5 each = $500
What would $500 buy for you?
And trust me. $500 is a conservative number. I see many stuffies here that cost $20-$40, but I can hardly think about that.
They are particularly sentimental to me. They represent a time in my child’s life or a souvenir from a special family outing. The act of tossing them is tantamount to admitting that another chapter is closing on babyhood.
But instead of snowballing the sadness, I try to focus on the positives here to motivate me to keep going.
Besides creating space, another benefit of getting rid of stuffed friends is that the whole process will make you a PRO at saying NO to future stuffed friends.
Plus, think of all the dust mites. Ew.
Here are my top tips for what to do with our Fluffy Friends:
1. Involve the kids. Encourage your kids to choose who goes and who stays. Tell them how much money is tied up in the toys, if they are old enough to hear that financial lesson. Remind them that these are not real creatures and what matters most is the people in our lives.
And don’t force it. If they are really struggling to say goodbye, spare that stuffie until your next round of purging.
2. Pick one bin per kid for stuffed friends to keep in their play area. When the bin is overflowing, time to purge... and time to stop buying more stuffed friends!
3. Put the discarded stuffed friends in an out-of-sight holding pen… just in case someone (like you!) has a change of heart. No sense causing trauma over it. If they are ready to be recycled if no one has gone into the bin in a month. But DO set an actual deadline. Otherwise, they will sit taking up room in the garage for a year. (Trust me on that one.)
4. Recycle them. Find a textile recycling bin, one that accepts linens and fabrics and stuffed friends. Some animal shelters take gently used stuffed friends, too. This way, you won’t have a huge volume of stuff to go into a landfill.
5. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT look the stuffed animal in the eyes. They’ll pull you back in, every single time.
As we discussed on top-rated Sarno House podcast, you may have a small fortune stuffed into your stuffies.
Listen here to one of my favorite interviews: https://thesarnohouse.libsyn.com/deb-colameta-1-best-selling-author-of-best-offer-best-life
Be strong.
You are bigger than they are.
And send me pix of your progress!
xoxo Deb
Check out my # 1 Best selling book Best Offer, Best Life!