Any great ideas? I have seriously spent several hours on this in 20 minute stretches, and I don't have any slam dunk ideas yet.
DC might take a few of them: they have some restrictions (nothing with characters, for example), and I'm pretty sure they could never use 10% of our surplus stuffed animals (which are the biggest offenders). But that would be a drop in the proverbial bucket--possibly helpful, but not a solution all by itself.
Local children's hospital isn't accepting anything used, due to infection control. (Also, their wish list is heartbreaking: they have an entire sublist of items used to distract kids from painful procedures and treatments, for example.)
Goodwill is always an option, but I think most of their donations end up in the trash. So on the one hand, what do I care, I should just be glad it's out of our playroom (and with a tax deduction on top of it). But on the other, maybe I've seen Toy Story 3 too many times, but I would rather they be reused by a kid who wants them and will play with them, rather than filling up a landfill somewhere.
Local family homeless shelter refers toy donations to Goodwill. They don't want anyone's used toys, and I can't blame them, really. (They are taking donations of new toys for Christmas, which we donated via the kids' DC.)
Google suggested maybe Head Start? I kind of like this idea, especially since DH was a Head Start kid. But their donation wish list didn't include other people's used toys, so I don't know. I should call them, probably, but I suspect they'll say no.
Any other brilliant ideas, short of stuffing them into the big can on trash day? I feel sort of crappy about that, because I really do feel that they could be reused, if only I could find the right recipient(s). But maybe that's a pipe dream, and I have to face the fact that everyone's collective overconsumption on my kids' behalf doesn't have a happy, heartwarming ending.
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