I have toys on the brain (and under the foot) because we (and by "we" I mean Robert, since I am still sick) are cleaning out the toyroom today. First of all, note that we have a "toyroom." Yes, that's right: an entire room dedicated to toys. When we moved into our house, we had 4 bedrooms, one of which was really small. Once our room, the boys' room, and the guestroom were claimed, we thought "oh, we'll put the kids' toys in the small room and they can play in there; it will keep the toys contained so they won't get all over the house. It will be so nice."
2 years later, I don't think "nice" is quite the word for it. More like "chaos." Or "disaster." The room is literally knee-deep in toys. The floor is so completely covered that you can't see the carpet, let alone walk in there. It is a health. fire, and saftey hazard. The kids can't even get in the door to play in there. Nevertheless, they try, which just results in more chaos and lots of bumps and bruises. Robert and I just looked at each other and asked "how did this happen?"
The worst part is, we have not just left this room alone for 2 years. We regularly cleaned and straightened it. We bought buckets to organize the toys and had great plans to rotate them through so the boys would just play with one bucket at a time. Shortly before Christmas, we built some shelves to hold the buckets. The problem is, we never QUITE finished. So the toys got put away, the boys dumped them all out again, and the mess just grew and grew. Sigh. The best laid plans...
We have finally come to a conclusion that we probably should have reached a long time ago. It is simply a matter of sheer volume. We have WAY too many toys. Evidenced by the fact that Robert has filled 4 80-gallon trash bags full of toys and he isn't done yet! How did we get so many toys? I guess that's what happens when you have the first grandchildren - on both sides. Plus numerous aunts and uncles, and great aunts and uncles and grandparents. And a few well-meaning friends. Don't get me wrong - I am not blaming any of them for their generosity. It is our fault for never adopting the "out with the old, in with the new" philosophy.
Growing up, one of my favorite series of books was the Laura Ingalls books. She grew up on the prairie, in small log cabins and covered wagons. Their possessions were kept to the minimum. I remember one Christmas when Laura and her older sister both recieved their OWN tin cup to drink out of (they previously had to share), a stick of candy, and a shiny new penny. And they were THRILLED about this Christmas - it was their best ever! Clearly, our standards have changed. But sometimes I wonder if their attitudes weren't better than ours. We have all this stuff and it has become more of a burden than a blessing.
We have got to minimize. By an order of magnitutde! (ask Robert what that means because I use the expression without fully comprehending it) So here's our new plan. We will keep all the new toys. Every birthday - or Christmas, or whatever holiday they might be getting toys - we will keep the new toys, and maybe a few - a FEW! - old favorites. But the old stuff has to go. Less is more. That is our new motto!
I think Robert's up to 5 trashbags - not including the big toys like dump truck and workbenches. That's 400 gallons of toys. 400 GALLONS! Good grief. But on the upside, you can see the floor of the room again. And lest you think that he is getting all the work, once I get well, I am the one who gets to sort through them and make 3 piles: toys to keep (smallest), toys to give away (bigger), and toys to throw away (biggest). Then each child will get 1 small bucket of toys to be put on the shelves. The toyroom is going to become a schoolroom instead. At the very least, books and pencils will take up less room, right? ;-)
Wish me luck.
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