Too much

The kids have too much stuff.  Way, WAY too much.

I didn't realize it had gotten this bad until I was doing the Love & Logic "if mommy cleans it up, it goes away" thing.  For three days in a row I cleaned up all the toys spread out in the play area and stashed them in the closet.  They never even missed them. 

They have so many toys that the loss of a few - or many - made zero difference to them. So last night after they went to bed I cleaned.

There are now 4 FULL bins of toys tucked away in the utility room - the fate of these toys to be decided later.   Add to that the full bin to take to Goodwill and one full trash bag of junk that we just tossed.  Even after all that they STILL have more than enough to play with.

Four very full bins of toys packed away in the utility room.

I'm hoping to pare down even more over the next few months, but for now this is a BIG improvement.  All the toys are now easily contained in bins on the toy shelf.  There is also a separate cabinet full of art supplies.  So don't worry - they aren't being neglected - they just had too much!

Toy shelf with bins, table & chairs, and play kitchen.  Manageable fun.

I'm hoping that this major toy reduction actually sparks more PLAY.  The other issue we've been having is that I let them watch way too much TV.  So this week I'm going to try a 2 hour limit per day.  Yes, that's right 2 hours is a DRASTIC reduction for us.  I think it goes hand in hand with too many toys.  When everything is out and it is a mess they can't really play.  But now, with a clean space and the hope of only getting out one or two things at a time there will be room to play. 

Something that I think will help spark their imaginations and get them playing is our latest edition (yes, I see the irony in acquiring MORE when I'm trying to make do with LESS) - a PLAYHOUSE!   It is outside, in the shade of the deck, and my hope is that they spend lots of time outside and playing with it.  We brought it home yesterday afternoon and they have already had such a wonderful time with it.

Huck and Noodle showing off the new (used) playhouse.

I'll let you know how it goes.