The Simple Life

There are some changes taking place here in my world. Randall and I have decided that we want to return to a more simple way of living. We want less chaos and less stuff. So, in honor of our new plans, I'm going to make a few posts that discuss simplifying your life - and mine.

Today I'm going to talk about toys. Yes, every parent knows quite a lot about toys. We see them in the stores. We see them on TV. We see them in our floor. Toys are the one constant of childhood. Every child loves toys. The problem, of course, is that toys often take over our homes and our lives. Trying to tame the toys is an ongoing battle - at least in this house where toys are everywhere. In an effort to simplify my life, here is what I am doing (and recommend that you should do also, if you long for simplicity) to tame the toys.

First, I have gone through the mountains and mountains of toys and **gasp** tossed them out. Now, mind you, I did this when my children were not at home. They did not witness this ruthless display of elimination. The toys that were broken - TRASH! The toys that were forgotten - CHARITY! The toys that just were outgrown - CHARITY! The toys that were never played with (even when they were new, and trust me, there were far too many of those) - CHARITY! I managed to cut our toy supply down to a mere two boxes worth of toys (not including the Legos - those are in their own box...). Guess what! The kids never even noticed that most of their toys were no longer here. Really, that is a true indication that my kids just had way too many toys. Okay - I admit it. They still have way too many toys, but it isn't nearly as overwhelming now as it was just a short week ago. The toys that still live here are only those that are the most loved and the most played with.

Second, I will be setting up a toy storage center and a system of sorting the toys that will make it easier for the girls to find what they want to play with AND to put things away when they are done. My one major goal for the toys is to teach my girls to put their toys away on their own. Yes, I know that I have been very lax on this particular issue. Up until now they were never really expected to put those many toys away. Well, the rules are going to change (just as soon as I get my system set up). Toys will no longer be allowed to wander the house all day and night unattended. Toys have to go home when they are done playing. I know this will take some time to become second nature, but we'll get there.

Third, and this is the biggest, we just aren't going to buy more toys. Well - at least not very many and certainly not without a great deal of thought about whether they will actually play with them or not. Even with the holidays coming, our toy collection will not grow uncontrollably. I've spoken to all the Grandma's and anybody else who might be buying gifts for my kids. They know that our girls have accumulated way too much stuff. They know that this holiday season really needs to be less focused on STUFF and more focused on making life special. As for me, I've decided to buy Christmas toys sparingly and carefully. Whatever I buy will compliment whatever they already have.

I hope to find myself feeling less crowded and less overwhelmed very soon. There are many more steps in our journey to simplicity. And honestly, I need SIMPLE these days. However, it's far too much to cover or accomplish in one day.