Over the long Thanksgiving weekend I had a lot of time to get some projects off my to do list. We may or may not be moving in the Spring and either way I intend to have less stuff! I figure if I can do one or two projects each weekend, I will have our house organized and streamlined by Spring. This weekend's projects included a major cleaning of the boy's room, and pairing down the holiday decor.
I am just going to get it out in the open right from the beginning: My son is spoiled. And, it is all my fault! Growing up I did not have much. I suppose I have been doing everything in my power to keep little man from the same life. I go over the top for birthdays, Christmas, etc. I also pick up odds and ends throughout the year that I give him because, frankly, I love to make him happy. I have read a number of interesting articles lately that extol the virtues of down sizing. One mom even wrote a very inspiring article about her family's decision to get rid of the majority of their possessions and go live on a boat. After reading her article, I was inspired to pair down his belongings. The guilt I originally felt over "taking away his stuff" was removed as I realized that he would be happier if he was surrounded with things he actually played with and loved.
I planned ahead, knowing I would need time to get myself completely motivated for the task. I did not want to do this over the course of multiple days. Too many days on the task meant too much time thinking and second guessing. "What if he wants to play with this again?" "But, he used to really like this toy when he was little." "What if I find the rest of the pieces to this?" Nope. Could not give myself too much time. I psyched myself up by reading a lot of articles about the benefits of downsizing. I mentally planned what the room would look like when done. Then, I got at it! I had picked a day when the kids would be gone all day. I got up early and pulled every single toy out of his room. At first, I just started dumping everything in the living room. Then, I decided it was silly to move stuff multiple times if it was going out the door. I grabbed two bags. The white ones were for charity and the black bags were for trash. If I touched something that should go in one of those bags, it went. Everything else went to the living room to organize. I put netflix streaming up on the TV and went to sorting. By the end of the night, the room was put back together and two CARLOADS of stuff went to charity. Some of the charity stuff was from holiday things I had purged the night before. The trash can was full as well as the recycle bin.
I nervously waited for my son to get home the next day. Would he ask for something I had given away? Would he be upset that his room was so.....empty? His reaction? He had a huge smile on his face and he spent the next few hours playing IN HIS ROOM. Wow. He never plays in his room. Later, he came up to me and gave me a big hug and said, "mommy, thank you for cleaning my room."
Now, THAT was worth it!
The article that inspired me to just do it: http://www.wisebread.com/downsizing-with-kids
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