I've been keeping them because I learned at a young age that plush animals were alive and had feelings. Mom really anthropomorphized stuffed animals when we were kids. Still does. I actually enjoy it sometimes because it's one of the few times she's actually funny and happy. And I think I'm okay with it because I see it as puppeteering. She's gotten quite skilled at doing voices, making them move in funny little ways. I know my kids will enjoy her doing this.
Unfortunately it means that I get a bit too attached to stuffed animals. I mean, I grew up thinking that plush toys needed "anesthetic" before they went into "plush surgery." I know now that they don't have personalities and they don't feel pain. But wow, I have to remind myself to believe that. Scary, huh?
So moms, what do you do with kids and plush toys? Do you play with your kids and let them treat their stuffed animals like they're alive? Or does that just give kids attachment issues?
The good news is that there are some stuffed animals that I know I don't have attachment issues with. They will not feel pain, they won't be upset. So out they go.
The Reckoning!
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| Free with a pair of earrings I bought. No idea why. |
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| A pet-sitting thank you gift from a family friend. |
I suppose the double curse of loving stuffed animals is that people are constantly giving them to you. As if my own collecting wasn't bad enough.
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| Now speaking of stuffed animal collectors, there's a guy at work who literally has about 1000 beanie babies. He has a storage unit for them. And then he buys more and gives them away at holiday parties. Goodbye to three Teeny Beanies. No storage unit for me! |
The Reckoning
Items 129-133: Five stuffed animals, all free. Off to the thrift shop!
Total money wasted on junk this year: $1262.00.
I once had baskets, closets, and bags of stuffed animals. They carried the attachment of lost love and fond memories. My children were not impressed. They were careless and "unkind" with our toys.
ReplyDeleteWhen the time came, I bagged them up for the children's shelter. I also belonged to a church once that set them in the pews to be loved during the weeks before Christmas, then gave them to charities as extensions of love.
When I cleaned my mother's home, I offered some to my sister, my grand-daughter, and then the rest I took to the Goodwill.
Eventually, there is just too much to even enjoy. I have two puppies now. They are friends and have learned to share space together. I can't remember who gifted them to me, but I have decided that they stay.
"Eventually, there is just too much to even enjoy." That's a really great point. How can I enjoy all of my stuffed animals if I have too many to count? Definitely something I'll want to instill in my kids at an early age.
DeleteI grew up playing make believe with stuffies and do the same with our boys. If it's any help, the boys don't seem to be forming unhealthy attachments at all. As for me, I too hung onto stuffed animals for a long time and even had a special shelf for them. Slowly, I started getting rid of them. I think I have finally gotten rid of all but my one special koala. A big help for me was to let the boys play with my old stuffies. When they stopped caring about my Cabbage Patch doll or bear, out they went for good. Sometimes I think kids can teach us so much about letting go..if only we stop to listen :)
ReplyDeleteyou know, maybe that's why I had so much trouble letting go after my grandmother died. It sounds like they have a good role model for healthy attachments :o)
DeleteI loathe stuffed toys. I loved my dolls but not after someone had them restored - they were no longer mine then. If your house was flooded then the stuffed toys would be wrecked completely. So, maybe think along those lines. If there was a fire... If I became a refugee... If I could only take one case... If I had to go to prison... If I suffered brain damage... If we had a plague of mice... Choose a few and put them safely in a suitcase with mothballs.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a great way to think about our things in general. What would I take if I could only have one suitcase? It's not about having everything, it's about having the important things.
DeleteI like your idea of the laundry basket. They're contained and have a space limit and they're where you can enjoy them. =) I've dealt with a few stuffed toys lately that had negative feelings attached, but I did keep one that has positive feelings attached and Kermit will stay with me. I don't have kids myself, but I do think letting kids pretend is a good thing. It builds their creativity and really, is there anything wrong with escaping reality once in awhile into a make-believe world? Even forming an attachment to one or two shouldn't be an issue. It's only an issue if you see them forming strong attachments to every single one...
ReplyDeleteI still have a few stuffed animals and other toys, which feels strange since I'm over 30. I started letting them go a few years ago with my other decluttering efforts and each one I get rid of makes it easier to get rid of another one. Not that you have to get rid of yours if you enjoy them! Mine are limited to a bookshelf in the basement, but I'm not really attached to the 8 or so that are left.
ReplyDeleteme too me too!
ReplyDeleteI have some very dear "friends" still from childhood. I recently had the courage to share them with my children and my neices. And I released a bunch to explore the next generation of children. It was extremely hard for me to do that, but I did. And after the intial fear that the they would get wrecked, it actually felt very good to share the love. I still have a small army of the extra special ones... and by a small army I mean 10 (5 of which I share with my sons).
A few years ago I gave away three trash bags full of beanie babies to a thrift shop. The guy who helped me unload them asked me if I knew that I could sell them on ebay. I told him I just wanted them out of my house. He thought I was nuts. I didn't care and felt a lot better about getting rid of them.
ReplyDeleteNow, the stuffed animals from my childhood? I let my kids pick the ones they want and the rest got donated. I don't think I kept any of them. I'm going at this purging thing hard core. No regrets yet.
We had real live pets so I knew the difference between the pets and the stuffed animals, but the stuffed guys held a special place in my heart. Not all of them though, some of them were special. I don't know why some and not others. I just grew out of them but they were held onto for a long time by my mom and then one day she got rid of them. I wasn't consulted, but I was okay with it.
ReplyDeleteThose beanie babies make me laugh. I never thought they were that attractive in the first place. I remember people talking about this one being worth X amount (something crazy) and that one worth twice that and... I always thought the market was saturated with those things, so are they really worth that much? And they are only worth that much if you find someone willing to pay it.
You were smart! My sister and I totally got caught up in it, even going so far as to splurge $40 for the Princess Diana beanie when we were in high school. Though maybe it was more meaningful to her since she still has an entire glass-front cabinet of beanies all very neatly organized. Worst part is that we saw it as a marketing ploy and bought right into it!
DeleteI still have stuffed animals and are in a tote in the basement. It's a combination of mine and my 3 siblings. My mom keeps them there for her future grandchildren. I have 2 in my room. One was a present from my favorite aunt and the other was a gift I just got this month.
ReplyDelete