I feel your pain.

This year, I’m starting something new. There’s a cardinal rule in decluttering - when we bring one thing into the house, another thing must go out.

So I taught my boy the phrase “danshari”, a Japanese concept of parting with things you no longer need. I have a picture of a book titled Danshari (using it for visual impact here).

Of course, it’s hard to get a four-year-old to throw stuff, so timing is everything. I get him to Danshari one item whenever he buys a brand new item. (Aside: my father-in-law gave him $40, which can be used to buy several toys. But I don’t want to interfere with how he spends his money.)

Flushed with the excitement of wanting to play with his new toy, he obliges easily. He will select an item to throw into the waste paper basket and we will say thank you to it for all the good memories it gave us. (He is half-Japanese. That’s what Japanese people do haha)