Dump it all out. They are excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. I wipe it all down and we toss and sort and load up bags for donation. We decide together what stays and what goes.
We put it all back in an organized way. They love to see it all go back in with a little more space and knowing which tubs hold what.
We have agreed that it all must fit in this Ikea shelf. Top two shelves for games, a tub for trains, a tub for balls, and white boxes hold all others. Three kids in one room make this organization a must.An hour later they are jumping around the rug
pulling out the toys they insisted on keeping and enjoying them with all the free space. There were no tears, it was painless. But we are learning together to live with less.