8 of my 11 boxes stored hereIt's pretty challenging trying to be Minimalist when you are a Mum!
Suddenly what you own grows exponentially. And you have no control. You get given stuff by very generous friends and family. It's toys, toys and more toys!!!
Before kids, Husband used to joke, "They will get a suitcase each. And whatever doesn't fit, they don't keep" Ha! Only if.
I like Bea's policy - from Zero Waste Home blog - she lets her boys have four medium sized boxes/crates. When they want to add a new toy to their collection, she asks them to go through what they already own and donate. Then they make space in one of the boxes. One in, One Out. I like the idea that she teaches them to Edit. And Give. You can't just keep adding to your pile.
Right now, I have 11 medium boxes.
Counting and taking stock. It's a small step.
Yes, yes, yes! Jess and I have been talking about this too. Particularly being overseas, the only way that many family and friends feel like they can express their love for our little girl is through gifts and we are swimming in them. I have been advocating one in, one out, but I quite like tying it to physical space (x number of boxes).
ReplyDeleteWe've just joined a toy library, which will hopefully teach the concept of passing things on to others once you have enjoyed them.
Toy library - what a brilliant idea - esp. good for big stuff you don't want to buy e.g. ride on car.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to ask for Experience presents now for the kids e.g. a special day out with Grandparents to the zoo, farm, & museum.
If you haven't already seen it, you might like this post where I tried to do a little brainstorming about gifts. And I found this a helpful distinction (between stuff and things).
ReplyDeleteYeah, the toy library is cool. Open every week for a few hours and you can bring your little one and they can play with anything and then take up to four items out for up to a month. It was £5 or £6 to join and I think I'll be taking Aurora once a month.
I quite like the idea of the child choosing a toy to remove before adding a new one. How old do you reckon would be appropriate?
ReplyDeleteHow does it work with gifts though? I can't see Emma being very impressed!
Maybe 4? I guess when they can understand the one in one out policy :)
ReplyDeletewith gifts, it would count as one new thing, so one old thing to donate to vinnies. Of course, this is all good in theory, how it actually works in practice is different!! e.g. Ethan got a big box of lego today from my parents, I can't ask him to donate his old lego...so his lego pile grows...hmmmm