Overwhelmed

Yesterday we were hunting for a missing library book. We hunted everywhere, then it came to kid rooms. They looked like world war 16 had hit. There was crap EVERYWHERE, and I do mean EVERYWHERE. Under beds, stuffed in drawers, stuffed in closets, old food wrappers, old drinks, uncapped markers, you name it, it was there. You could probably feed a toddler with what I found... even a pint of blueberries. I was frustrated and overwhelmed with the amount of stuff all over.


If I, as an adult, was overwhelmed, how did my sweet babies feel? They are blessed with hand me down clothes, hand me down books and toys, new stuff from family, birthday gifts, holiday gifts, you name it. We are so lucky to have an abundance of stuff for them and we rarely have to buy something new, mostly just shoes and winter gear. That said, I felt overwhelmed. At one point, I walked outside on the back porch while my eyes filled with tears. How could all this love translate into frustration?

We've been downsizing "stuff" for Ryan and I. I mean do really need 10 pairs of jeans, when I only really wear my favorite pair? Do I really need 30 work dresses when I have a few favorites? So a coworker and I swapped some clothes. I got some stuff from her that I now love and then got rid of more from my closet since I was putting "new to me" stuff in. It felt good and fresh and better. It was less overwhelming to make a choice and dig through a hundred things when only a few were favorites. Ryan finally purged some of his work shirts *read old stained, paint covered, holey shirts). He felt better too.

Why not bring this joy to our kids? We've been doing it gradually. Grayson had 50 t-shirts. We picked his favorites and I put the rest in a storage bin for Luca. We'll go through that one more time soon because I've noticed he's still drawn to the same shirts over and over. We got rid of all of his jeans but two pairs, because the kid hates jeans. I put those in the same bin for Luca. We went through some of Bella's stuff last night and we still have WAY more to do.

The entire process, though tedious, will bring more happiness and less frustration to all of us.

I put it out there on a moms board yesterday about the toys. I hate "Taking toys away" when they are perfectly good. I've opted to go through with the kids this weekend (well at least to start) and then put the rest in a bucket in the basement for a bit before giving away or donating.

We've already started making a Christmas list with things to use or do... movie passes, indoor activities for winter, skating, snow shoes, snow shoe poles, sleds... that way it's stuff that is useful not just toys that build onto the already crazy amount of "stuff" that we own.

I've found that the more things they have in their room, the more overwhelmed their little minds get. They boys will play endless legos and Bella will play endless barbies. She has a desk in room that she never uses, its filled with stuff... it's going away this weekend. The boys have a ton of little animals that they used to love but their current is legos, so they are going away to store for now. Yes, it will be downstairs but that's where it will stay. Calm their minds, calm their hearts, calm the chaos as best we can.