Toys! Toys! Toys!

Toys! That takes on a life of its' own. They clutter the bedroom. They overtake my living room floor. They thrive in the closets and in the garage. They are everywhere! Just how does one come to accumulate so many toys? Toys with annoying sounds, toys with flashing lights, toys that could probably cook and clean if I wanted them to. They tend to move in unexpectedly and stay long after they are welcome. I'm surprised they haven't started a toy democracy with a toy president and toy cities.

My war on toys has begun! Everything that was overflowing out of the bins has a designated space in my May garage sale. No longer are the toys going to continue to dominate my living space...that is for the garage.

My solution to this problem: 2 medium size bins. That is the limit for toys now. One bin is designated for crappy plastic toys (that will be making their way out sooner than later) and another for awesome, wonderful wooden, cloth or metal toys. The plastic toy bin is located in my sons room (where he only goes to sleep). The wooden toy bin is located in the living room (where he is ALWAYS playing). This makes it easier to rid my home of the useless plastic toys. I do, however, have an exception for plastic toys: they have to be educational (like the leappad).


My son has started to play more with the wooden toys than the plastic toys. He has decided that he wants some new wooden blocks and some wooden cars :) I think he may be getting some fabulous wooden toys for his upcoming birthday (like a train table and tain set).

The Office Area

The first stop in my declutter-a-thon is my office area. I am getting on board with the other mommas at mothering for the April Office Area Challenge.
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=646796
Even though my office area is only a small desk and filing cabinet in my Living Room, it seems to be a black hole. It sucks in all pieces of paper, books or whatever and then multiplies times 10. My overall goal is to have a better, more efficient space.

Steps to ultimate goal
1.Clear items off desk area
2.Reorganize filing cabinet
3.Organize some sort of mail system
4.Garbage can

The "stuff"

I must start with all the "stuff". Stuff tends to take over without us realizing it. Before we know it, we are drowning in it. Swimming against the currents of the overflowing piles of toys, clothes and whatever else makes it's way into the waves. It seems to migrate to wherever we are and follow us around like a shadow or a little lost puppy dog. We are scared to shoo it away since we don't know what will happen to it. It intimidates us. It hinders our decision making. It causes stress and anxiety. Stuff.....

In our society today....bigger is better. You are judges by your stuff. Not by your personality or your strengths and weaknesses. You are judged by how big your house is, how many TV's you have, what kind of vehicle you drive, etc. It is all competition. I don't think so. I used to think that. I don't know what clicked or caused a change. I think that simplicity is better. Convincing my husband that is a whole other story.

Simplicity...what is it? It is just living life simpler. Having 2 pairs of shoes insetad of 10, having 5 outfits instead of 28, living in 500 sq. ft instead of 1200...just making your life easier. Anyone can do. It only takes this first step...ridding yourself of all the unwanted, unneeded,poor quality, emotionally draining, stress inducing stuff.