![]() Am I keeping this cool-to-me, vintage action figure because I want my kid to like it? Or does he actually like it? This was a big one for me, and a new question I hadn’t before thought to ask until I heard someone else mention it. Do I love the idea of this toy more than my child actually loves it? This is why kids love cardboard boxes more than the toy itself. Can this toy be a hundred things? Can the kids use it five different ways today, and still use it five different ways tomorrow? Which is pretty much what I mean when I refer to the imagination. ![]() I want our toys to provide the tools our kids need to truly use their imagination. I’m cool with radios, movies, and certain screen-based games-but those are for entertainment. ![]() Does this toy do all the playing, leaving our kids to do nothing but sit back and watch? Well, then it’s an entertainment piece, not really a toy. This meant we didn’t have much to declutter in this department, but it was still a good reminder to ask this question as we sorted through our stuff. I’m highly sensitive to noise, so noise-generating playthings were already my arch nemesis. Do the toys play, or do they allow the kids to play? Here are the questions I asked myself during the decluttering process. It’s a frequent question I get- how do you handle toys?-and since the last time I wrote about toys was during our travels, I thought it’d be good to re-address it, now that we’re back. Right now, I want to talk about how we chose what to keep, and what our travels taught us about the necessity of playthings. We loved living with so little so much that we want to recapture that lifestyle as best we can in our “normal” life. We’re still getting rid of stuff, in fact. And it’s been on my mind a lot as we set up this new pad.Īs I mentioned in an episode of Brooke McAlary’s podcast, when we returned home, we got rid of truckloads-more than we did before we left (and we decluttered quite a bit!). I was already a massive advocate of not owning more than you need, but the definition of “need” gets redefined even further after you’ve lived without most of your stuff for a long while. Our year of travels gave us some incredible perspective on what actually matters to us-specifically when it comes to our stuff. (side note: I really can’t believe how fast time flies.) We’ve left some wiggle room for a few new additions that will be coming, but we also were sure not to go completely overboard with gifts so that the space doesn’t get cluttered right back up again.It’s now officially been five months since we returned from our family’s round-the-world trip and two months since we’ve settled in to our temporary rental house back in the States. It feels so great to have this space decluttered before the holiday. Board games are all together and aren’t so crammed into the shelf that they’re hard to get in and out, etc. Caleb’s (age 7) books are on lower shelves that he can reach and Connor’s (almost 10) are up higher, though still in a spot where he can grab them easily. Their smaller toys are separated by type into bins. Not only did it make the space look cluttered…Ĭube Unit | Fabric Storage Bins | Adhesive Bookplate Labels ![]() I love having a space to display the boys’ artwork in their playroom, but it was getting totally out of control. Ultimately, the final decision on what to keep and what to get rid of lies with the boys, but I’ve found that separating out the lesser used items beforehand makes them more willing to part with stuff. Going through the playroom by myself allows me to make progress without protests from the kiddos, and it also lets me “pre-organize” the space so when it comes time to get their input, the process is faster for them and their short attention spans. This allows me to get rid of any true junk or trash (broken toys, wrinkled up papers, instruction books they no longer need, etc.). I also create a pile of “suggested subtractions,” things I know that they have probably outgrown or no longer have interest in. I did the first pass through the playroom by myself.Īnytime I declutter toys, I typically like to go through the playroom while the boys are at school first. These sweet angels would never complain about decluttering, would they?! □ Photo by the oh-so-talented Jenny B. ![]()
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