Clutter

I’ve been trying to work with the kids to reduce the amount of STUFF we have. So far, it’s been an exercise in patience. (My own has been tested quite a few times!) I’ve managed to pare down my wardrobe to approximately three hampers worth – when I say hamper, we’ve got a bunch of those “pop up” hampers to sort out our clothes. The kids have been rounding up broken toys or things they’re too big for – of course, when I suggested this initially, my daughter looked at me in horror.

“BUT I CAN’T GET RID OF L’ELEPHANT!”

L’ELEPHANT! is Ramona’s Babar that she got when she was born. It was a gift from my parents and it’s essentially her “blanket.” I asked her why she was so worried: “I’M TOO OLD FOR TOYS.” She’s 7. I assured her – no, you’re not too old for all toys, sweetheart, just some. L’Elephant is a special circumstance. He’s very special. Not all toys are as special as L’Elephant, I explained. Ramona showed me the box of toys she’d gathered to throw away/give away/etc. and it was nearly all her toys. She was clutching L’Elephant tearfully and I said, Ramona, let’s go through this box. We found plenty of toys she still loved but thought she was too old for – I can see so much of myself in her, including the anxiety. We’re going to have to keep an eye on it, I think. She’s already so serious and so thoughtful, but sometimes it can really do a number on my big girl. It’s hard to see your kid hurting over something so silly. Then I feel guilty because these are clearly my genes rearing their ugly head and then it all goes downhill from there.

What was the point of this post? Oh yeah, so we got rid of about ten medium sized boxes of stuff to the Goodwill which was great AND sold some furniture on Craigslist and now the fun begins – spring cleaning!