Left out toys = anyone want free kiddy bikes/big wheels?

Our complex has been pretty quiet for the seven or so years since we bought the place. Lots of retirees, working couples, and single folks. Not many kids. The ones that're around have been pretty decent. A couple with two little girls moved in a few years ago, and those girls will run around and laugh and play, but they don't do the stupid screamy stuff, and they pick up any toys they're using.

I think there've been some recent arrivals that have younger, less well-behaved kids though. We've heard louder kids around, and for the past couple of days we've seen kiddie bikes, Big Wheels, and similar toys left in the communal patio area. My bedroom and living room windows face this part of the complex, so I've been very aware of what's left out there.

Spouse and I have decided that when it gets dark out, we're gonna go scoop up the abandoned toys and take them to the dumpster. Enough is enough. I am not about to let this place go downhill.

It's a communal area? Yeah, I don't blame you.

Wish we could do that with the kids in our neighborhood (the kids, mind you, not the toys).

You and the other folks were there first, therefore you all established how your community appears and is managed. Smart people move into an established community, look around, gauge the atmosphere, and act accordingly. These people didn't and will have to deal with the consequences.

You could always put that kid crap out on the curb with a sign that says "Free Stuff"

Maybe you can get with some of the other people and put up a sign that states that anything left unattended in the communal after whatever hour will be taken to the dumpster. If the community rules allow it, the people leaving out crap should be fined after so many times.

I get first dibs if they leave out mom or dad's golf clubs!

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“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

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thom_c
I get first dibs if they leave out mom or dad's golf clubs!

You are not in your right mind. You need to go lie down.

I would sell it all on craigslist.

Just don't get busted. Are there security cameras? Wouldn't want you to get into trouble, especially with breeders.

I once had some neighbor spawn who would play on my lawn when I was at work. No big deal until they started leaving toy traps for my lawn mower. If they left them, they didn't get them back. Tough shit. You can't keep track of your toys and clean up, you don't deserve them.

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randomcfchick
Spouse and I have decided that when it gets dark out, we're gonna go scoop up the abandoned toys and take them to the dumpster. Enough is enough. I am not about to let this place go downhill.

Sell 'em on eBay! Make a couple dollars.

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Passive Aggressive
Master Of Anti-brat
Excuses!

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Spouse and I have decided that when it gets dark out, we're gonna go scoop up the abandoned toys and take them to the dumpster. Enough is enough. I am not about to let this place go downhill.

My advice is to think carefully before throwing away someone's property, if only because of security cameras. You might want to figure out where these cretins live and deposit the toys at their front door with a note advising them that they need to show some courtesy and stop leaving their property in the common area.

Another option is to work this through the property management company or the condo board. They get paid to deal with this stuff. You could make the argument that it's an eyesore and trip hazard.

People bash on HOAs and townships with zoning rules, but I don't mind.

Yeah, it sucks that I have to file paperwork to paint my garage door or put up a new fence that is exactly like the old one.

However, they cannot put up swing sets that are seen over the fences without approval. No junk cars allowed, you have to park in your driveway, and you have to keep your lawns neat. No kindercrap of any kind allowed to be left on the front lawns.

I too would watch for cameras. If it is on my lawn, it is fair game though.

I do toss lost balls out of my yard though...came back from my 30th HS reunion last summer and found a couple of baseballs so I threw them back next door....and noticed the trampoline was missing. The kids would bounce and yell HI PUGS when I let the crew out. I guess the family renting next door had moved out while I was gone and the owner of the property threw them into my yard. She got them back.

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From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
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I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."

I would totally post to Craigslist where to find these "free" toys. Then you don't get seen by anybody doing anything to the stuff, but chances are good such a swarm of moomies will show up that nobody will be able to ID who made off with what.
Maybe a picture taken surreptitiously from a phone camera held just so in a way that nobody else really sees what you're doing, added to the free stuff ad.
Mombie swarm ahead!

The complex I live in confiscates any toys that are left out and disposes of them. End of story.

This place may have breeders in it, but it isn't exactly breeder-friendly. It was originally meant as housing for seniors, but didn't work out that well because most of the units have stairs. It was taken over by breeders, but the management has a very good way of making sure they don't get out of hand, including putting letters around warning parunts that kyds making too much noise will not be tolerated here.

I would take the toys and sell them on Craigslist. There's nothing wrong with a little extra income on the side, no?

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Medusa
Just don't get busted. Are there security cameras? Wouldn't want you to get into trouble, especially with breeders.

That is very true. 20-30 years ago sneaking out in the middle of the night and just taking them might have worked but today, with cameras everywhere, some so small you can't see them, it's just too risky. Even if the complex doesn't have cameras, if stuff starts disappearing, people might take it upon themselves to put a camera in their window if it looks on the common area to see who's doing it.

The only safe way to handle it is go through condo management.

One who loses in all this is the henpecked engineer duh who has to work all the time to pay for more and more kindercrap that gets taken away and it henpecked by stay at home breeder and the kids to replace it all. But I still say take it all away and recycle the plastic if possible so it doesn't end up in the Pacific ocean.

maybe just take the crap and pile it in a corner somewhere. that way the stuff is still there.that way if someone complains, it hasn't been stolen, just relocated. or find someplace as inconvenient as possible for the breeders.

two cents ¢¢

CERTIFIED HOSEHEAD!!!

people (especially women) do not give ONE DAMN about what they inflict on children and I defy anyone to prove me wrong

Dysfunctional relationships almost always have a child. The more dysfunctional, the more children.

The selfish wants of adults outweigh the needs of the child.

Some mistakes cannot be fixed, but some mistakes can be 'fixed'.

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. Leo J. Burke

Adoption agencies have strict criteria (usually). Breeders, whose combined IQ's would barely hit triple digits, have none.

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twocents
maybe just take the crap and pile it in a corner somewhere. that way the stuff is still there.that way if someone complains, it hasn't been stolen, just relocated. or find someplace as inconvenient as possible for the breeders.

Right in the pile of dog poop that some bad dog person didn't clean up. Pit (pun fully intended) the bad dog owners and breeders against each other. Then grab a brew and sit back and watch the sparks fly. :beer

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“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

I like the Craigslist idea, you don't even have to go out there. If the brats leave their toys out, just put a post on CL that says "free toys" and the address. Problem solved.

Of course if there are no cameras, you can go gather up the shit and hang on to it until Xmas, at which point Toys For Tots would be thrilled to give it all to the less fortunate.

Still deciding what I want to do.

The complex does not have security cameras. I thought about slapping "FREE TOYS" signs on them (with or without CL ad), but of course the parents I'd want to see those signs aren't around when their kids are playing. I may email the HOA board about it & find out their recommended course of action.

Reason I am skeptical about involving them is they've been slower than snails to fine the few people who blatantly violate rules (even the ones that are easily traced), and in this case there's no way of knowing who those kids belong to because the parents aren't around.

There's a Goodwill three blocks away that I'm sure would love to sell those toys, though. Tempting.

The 'Free Toys' sign will work a treat. It'll also provide endless entertainment as the other kids in the area take them, then for the brats to try and get them back.

jerry

Heh, just realized that if I donate 'em to Goodwill, those parents might wind up buying back the very toys that went missing. There's something deeply satifsying about that. Or even better, someone else in the neighborhood buys them for their kids, and the previous owners see those kids pedaling around on 'em. Beautiful!

Spam code was: PTHKT <----sound of blowing a raspberry at the messy, lazy parents who left this crap out.

I'd dump them in the basement. That way it will take them a while to find it and they might acquire some mold, but you can't be accused of stealing them.

Sadly, the basement isn't accessible like that...it's crawlspace under the condo buildings, accessible via a hatch in the hall closet. Otherwise that would be a perfect solution.