I was really lucky with my son that so many people gave us some amazing toys. Honestly, I have purchased very few brand new toys for Benson. I bought him a teether toy or two brand new but that's about it.
Kid toys are a tricky business. It seems to always be a balancing act between having enough toys to entertain, keeping things fresh and not having them take over your house. When you're buying brand new toys it can start to add up really quickly and you probably won't get as many toys for your dollar as you will if you're buying used.
My friend sold me an entire garbage sack of toys for $10, which was incredibly sweet of her! (Thanks Moon!) I got so many toys that I'm able to split them up between my office, the living room, the front room and Benson's room and he still doesn't play with all of them! Which is incredibly helpful because I like to switch his toys in and out so he doesn't get bored of them.
My absolute favorite baby thrift was an activity play mat. I am a member of a local Facebook garage sale group and before Benson was born I scoured that page daily for baby deals. I knew I needed to get a couple of things to entertain him since I would be working throughout the day and a play mat was on the top of my list. Brand new they run $20-$50. I got this exact one retailing at $49.80 for $3. Three. Dollars. It was missing maybe two toys, but for $3 I was not going to complain. Plus Benson doesn't know the difference! The best part of that purchase is that Benson will still play with it at 10 months old. It has been by far, my favorite baby purchase, thrifted or not.
If there are toys you really want brand new, then go ahead and buy them, or put them on your registry! My sister-in-law, whose son is just year older than Benson, was sweet enough to gift me her favorite toys and books. Some of those toys are my favorites too so I'm definitely glad we had a few new things for Benson when he was born.
If you do buy used toys just make sure to wash them before you let your little ones play with them, or if you kids are anything like mine, play = stick them in their mouths. I sprayed the non-cloth toys down with some disinfectant spray and then rinsed them off in the tub. It took me all of 10 minutes and then they were ready to go! You can wash most cloth toys in the washing machine. I really want this bag for that very reason!
I am also a big believer in donating unused toys to a friend or thrift store-mainly because I don't want them overrunning my house. I read an article that said to donate or sell old toys when you buy new ones. I loved the idea of getting rid of toys that are no longer holding kids' attention because by then they are just taking up space and not serving a purpose.
What are you best kid thrift finds? What's your policy on new and old toys? Any advice for this new mom?
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