What can we do with the toys that they no longer use? 2026

Toys normally fill the room of the little ones in the house. They grow exponentially with each birthday, Christmas, or any other day. In addition, children grow and more and more toys are left in a corner.

It is important to have everything organized and accessible to make the game easier for them, but you also have to be aware of those who are no longer appropriate for their age, those with whom they no longer play or do not work.

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It is very important to control the number of toys they have, they must be able to value them and manage their things and this is achieved with an adequate amount that allows them to be responsible for them. To play, it is not essential to accumulate many toys. You will see that the less they have, the more they play. In addition, we can improve awareness about responsible consumption and make children reflect on the value of BEING and HAVE.

Each toy has a function, so when they are no longer useful for various reasons, it is time to get rid of them and give them a second life. When we are going to reorganize the children's toys or anything else, you can do it with them, make them participate, it is their things and their space. They should be the ones who decide what they want to keep and what they don't. So start by sitting on the floor with them and have a dialogue in which they understand that what they don't need can be useful to another child. A learning that will help them to be responsible, to share, to value and gain autonomy.

Avoid “just in case” or procrastinating. It's no use if we end up taking all the toys we no longer want to our grandparents' house or leaving them abandoned in the storage room. So let's see what options we have:

Giving toys to children we know

From a very young age we can involve them in the decision to make with each toy, in this case involve them so that they can decide who to give it to. It is important to explain to them that these toys do not have to be stored, that there are different options and that one of them is to give them away so that other children can have fun with them and that they can choose who they want to give each of them to. In this way we are familiarizing them with concepts such as sharing and not accumulating.

Donate them to an organization

We can encourage children to participate in solidarity actions and give away the toys they want and thus promote solidarity. However, it is important to make them understand that it is not about getting rid of what no longer serves us; Toys donated must be in good condition. Let's donate things as we would like our children to receive them.

The truth is that, after Christmas, there are few toy collection campaigns and it is not always easy to get rid of them. These are some of the organizations that collect toys throughout the year:

-Butterfly skin stores: These are establishments that sell items donated by individuals and companies, whose work is to raise awareness of butterfly skin disease. The proceeds from the sale of these products are intended to help families affected by this disease. They collect toys, stuffed animals, books, clothes or anything else as long as it is in good condition.

- Bikes for life: a joint initiative of the Pinto Disabled Association (AMP), Alberto Contador Foundation, Ananta Foundation and SEUR Foundation. It consists of the repair of donated bicycles in a repair shop that employs people with disabilities for subsequent free distribution to disadvantaged groups. Play therapy: they collect consoles, controllers and video games for children with cancer to play during their stay in the hospital.

- Valora Foundation: this organization specializes in donating second-hand items, including toys. Once the donation has been made, interested parties can consult the list of items available on the foundation's website.

- Bene bene: an application that allows you to donate what you no longer need to people who need it near you, in your neighborhood or your city. Food, clothing, toys, furniture, electronics, books and any item that can be donated to help people in need. In addition, you can also ask at the children's schools in your area, hospitals or parishes since many of them collect toys.

sell them

There are various platforms for selling second-hand products, where we can earn extra income for those toys that are in good condition. If you decide to opt for this option, set a sales deadline by which, if you have not sold it, you can move on to another plan, since if not you run the risk that more and more things will accumulate and you will never reach the desired objective, which is to get rid of them.

Recycle them at a clean point

When the toys are damaged, in poor condition or broken and we want to get rid of them, we can take them to a clean point where they can take care of all that waste. Pay special attention to electronic toys as they have highly polluting components. Plastic toys can also be recycled, but be careful, because even if they are plastic, they do not go to the yellow container, they must go to the clean point.

Reuse them for crafts

Some toys or loose parts of some of them can be used to make some type of craft and thus give it a second life, but be careful with the amount of them that we keep for this purpose. Select only those that you clearly see can be useful for this purpose, let your imagination fly and get to work!

Whichever option you choose, it is important that children are not left with the feeling that the things we don't want just happen. It is important to be aware of the amount of things they have and really see which ones they play with. It's about seeing another perspective, questioning things and changing those we don't like, reducing, controlling how many the child really needs and how many we buy. In short, to carry out responsible consumption.

Article written by Patricia Ferrández, professional organizer at Armonía Home, order studio.