simplicity

Do you ever feel like the toys just keep multiplying all your house? Yesterday I decided to simplify the toy situation. So at the end of the day, all the books and puppets went into a cupboard and the toys went into one toy box and the doll houses were hidden behind the couch. One huge garbage bag was taken to our guest room, which has turned into the "stuff to go to the attic but never quite makes it to the attic" room.

I feel so cleansed and well...civilized. Now I just have to self-talk my way through the day to fight off the feeling of clutter that little ones generate. I know, I know, clutter is just a part of the package with kids. My husband subscribes to the philosohy of "clean up as they mess up", but I have been pondering the consequences of this mindset, namely, I will be cleaning up all day! Why not just clean once, at the end of the day, and even better, teach the girls how to clean with me. (This plan is foiled if you have guests over "during" the day.) Now, I admit, depending on my sleep and stress levels, I do find the clutter overwhelming some days, but I am a firm beliver in effficiency.

These are my random thoughts on cleanliness, brought on my having guests to my house last night, which is quite frankly, exausting because all day I am feeling the pressure to keep the house clean for the end of the day....but that is a whole other topic...why do we feel the need to present our house as calm, cool and well...clean...when in reality it is anything but that!

On another note, I have a tidbit of advice about how to control the toy situation and keep the little ones entertained after their nap, so you can have more time to recharge. I used to go to the dollar store every 2 weeks or so, but this idea is even more frugal. Swap a toy bag with a friend (or in my case my sister). After the little ones have fallen asleep at nap time or night time, put a few toys on their bed. When they wake up, instead of crying out for "Mummy" the plan is that they see their new toy or book and play for a while longer. Or, even if this doesn't stop them from crying for their Momma, at least they have a few novelty toys or books to keep them excited for the afternoon. If you don't have someone to swap toys with just leave a few toys out for the children to play with during the day, and then at nap time, reach into that huge garbage bag in the "guest room" and reunite your children with their long-lost toys.

Now, I admit, sometimes I do hear the whisper of a nagging guilt about turning my children into consumer robots but I can usually quiet that whisper with the joy of seeing them play independantly with their new little goodies. Perhaps I should just stick to giving them new books instead of toys....hmmmmmmmm