Let's talk about donating toys!

TOYS. Can't live with them, can't live without. Toys are one of the most popular items donated to Mummies every day. In fact we have had to change our policy to accepting toys for kids under 5 as we get inundated and have no where to rehome them! If you and the kids have done the clear out and are ready to pay toys forward, these top tips will help keep them out of landfill.

1

Clean the toys inside and out - this may seem obvious but usually by the time the toys are ready to be donated they have gathered lots of dust! Think about the toy as a gift and get it sparkling clean for the next new owner.

2

Once toys are opened and played with, their parts tend to go astray - before you donate them make sure ALL of the parts are included and bag everything up together so they don't get separated from each other in transit.

3

We all hate to wait, so if the toy is battery operated make sure there are fresh new batteries installed so the new owner can play with it straight away!

4

Computer games, controllers, even DVDs etc can't easily be rehomed as we don't know the circumstances of the family, and whether they have games consoles to play them.

5

Size is extremely important - especially for families living in refuges or transitional housing. Stick to donating toys under 50cm in size, and freecycle the big stuff.

6

The type of toy is important too - we don't know the family's personal situation, but we definitely know we can't give them toys that look like weapons or are of a religious nature.

Hope this checklist is useful. We appreciate you dropping your beautiful toys for little ones at our Storage King warehouse in Rozelle, 7 days a week, anytime during their opening hours. Details at www.mummiespayingitforward.org.au

And if you have toys we can't rehome, pop into a Big W store, they also have a fantastic toy recycling program.

Thank you!