The Sorting Phase

Still sorting.

Although The Toyman keeps saying he's getting rid of stuff, the volume of toys in the basement doesn't seem to get much smaller. Maybe it's me. But I don't think so.

I know that there is a lot of sorting to do, and I also know that for him to be able to finally get rid of the stuff, he has to have a certain mindset before he can comfortably part with stuff and not feel as though he's missing out on something, or that he won't have anything left when he's done. He'll want to make sure he doesn't sell something he should have kept - him having regrets after something has left his possession is the last thing I actually want to have to deal with.

I guess this is the collector's dilemma - at least for some (I didn't have a lot of trouble getting rid of mine), but I also think this is just a bit like the mind of a serious hoarder. The basement might look like a hoarder's nest, but at least it isn't full of garbage and food wrappers.

Most of it is the toy collection, although he has had his share of old papers that we didn't need to keep (ask our kids about that!) He's had less of a problem getting rid of some of that. Several large storage buckets have already been taken to a professional shredder, and another one is waiting to go out.

The problem is the toys. Not all of them - there's some he doesn't seem to have a lot of attachment to, and those are easier to toss into a "sell" bin, but then there's the rest.