We have a toy museum on the living room floor, and in the bonus room, and in a corner of the kitchen.
Our collection includes probably 100 vintage Hot Wheels, vintage and contemporary Little People playsets, a couple bins of Thomas the Tank Engine trains and track pieces, a couple of lightsabers, some Tonka trucks, at least Trouble board games, several sets of Uno cards, God knows how many action figures and vehicles from McDonald’s Happy Meals and a Bat Cave with a Batmobile and a Batcopter and a Joker-Mobile.
As things tend to do, our toy collection got out of hand slowing, a piece or two at a time.
It turns out that our parents didn’t throw anything away. They saved everything, and when the grandchildren came, they unboxed the toys and sent them to us, which was really sweet, but Thing 2 (the 5-year-old) also has Thing 1’s old toys and a bunch of toys of his own toys, too.
I had this bright idea a while back: For every new (or used) toy that comes in, one goes out to the garage.
That lasted about a day, until Thing 2 decided he really, really, really needed that one fire truck. (Serves me right for getting see-through bins).
So, our house is a mess.
On the other hand, he’s growing up fast, like his sister did. So, the house is cluttered with old toys. I’m going to feel worse when he outgrows them.
Todd Pack 
I can’t tell you how many times a day I tell my 6-year-old to relocate her exhibits. But, you’re right, it will be a sad day when she outgrows them.
Haha! I’m just an aunt and I had one of those. I wrote a post about finally getting rid of all I mean most of the toys I had accumulated over the years. My nephews are now 17 and 13, and it was still hard to get rid of some of it. But that was my connection to their ever dwindling youth, to all the good times we had at my house.
Of course, space is good too. And now I have some.
I’m with you there! It’s a comfort to have my grandchildren’s toys strewn about and to have to make space for a high chair and booster seat. Grandkids rock!
You say that because you get to play with them and indulge them but don’t have to deprogram them after the visit to grandma’s! “I don’t care if Grandma let you jump on the couch, we don’t jump on the couch at home!” 🙂
Scuse me, we always waterboard them before sending them back home.
My mom still has all my original Fisher Price toys (including the village). My kids love them and — truth be told — so do I.
The mail!
We have the mail, too, surprisingly. Or, we did, until Thing 2 got hold of it. Not sure where the letters are now.
When my 3 kids were little, they helped me to divide up the toys into three piles (criteria was theirs – I don’t remember what it was.) Two of the piles went into boxes and were put away, the other pile stayed out to be played with. After a week or so, that pile went into boxes and was put away, and a new batch of toys came out. It was fun to watch how excited they got when a new box of old toys was opened!