More often than not, our house has toys strewn all over the place. It’s life with kids, wouldn’t you agree?! In the beginning, when it was just True and Brave, I regulated more over what toys came into our house (I gave the grandparents specific wish list). I love handmade toys and supporting independent designers and businesses, and that would be my preference, but let’s face it, the kids all love that Disney and commercial toys and I’ve learned to be cool with it. Most times.
We have bought them most of their My Little Pony toys for either some special occasion or milestone, but all the other ones, especially Disney, are pretty much grandparents. They still have plenty of handmade ones they love too. Also, we regularly go through their toys and move things out if they don’t get played with. The girls know if I have to clean up a mess they choose not to clean, I will throw it in a bag to give away. If they don’t love it enough to take care of it, then it needs to be moved on to where it will get some lovin’. Oh there have been many tears shed when I come in to clean up a room they refuse to clean (after numerous chances), but they need to learn everything has a place, and if they aren’t responsible enough to take care of something, then maybe they shouldn’t have it.
Sometimes when I see their toy messes my inner neat freak freaks out, but when I look closely (and calm myself down), it makes me smile to see their imagination at work. I remember when my parents let me turn the house upside down all for the sake of imagination and play (and I had so much fun doing so), so I try to remember not to quench their imaginative spirits. These messes are what my days are made of, and I’m sure for you mamas out there, it’s what your days are made of too!
ah memories of my mom teaching me to clean/organize…. haha! how many times did she have to tell me to put my shoes where they belong?!?! haha! it’s a great thing! taught me what I needed to learn
Oh, it absolutely has – now when they are 8 and almost 11 the amount of toys actually seem to be shrinking for the first time. They have fewer things they are thrilled with and are a tiny bit better to put them away when they have finished playing, it´s nice to finally have reached to that point. 🙂
i know i will struggle with the “inner neat freak” in me when i have kiddos with toys thrown all over. but i also know, as a teacher, how important this is for the development of their creativity & imagination. and, really, who cares? all the messes can be cleaned up! also, i like your idea about having the children take care of their belongings or sending them to a new home that will take care of them. that’s a great little trick!!
Deer with sunglasses, my fave
thanks for this post. so true. good reminder to let the chaos continue!! and to not let the neat freak in me ruin the moment of fun. some day our kiddos will all be gone explorin the world & I know i will miss the daily upheaval of toys, papers, crayons, books…..
(btw, i ordered the hammock! thanks for the encouragement to splurge! 🙂 waiting patiently for it to arrive….. :))
Hi Jody,
Did you order from Pedro at Almanza Hammocks? He emailed me back once, but now won’t reply, and I’d really like to order one! Just wondering if you have any tips. Thanks! Meg
My house looks like this more often than not I have 7, I need the tough skin you have to throw toys out..thanks fir keeping it real! It’s nice to see others with kids real houses instead of just the perfect clean house every post! I’m too started out buying certain type of toys for my 1st child and now they have all kinds of commercial toys too..
Arrgh! I have to wrestle so much with my ‘inner neat freak’! Sometimes I feel like if my house is totally out of control my life is too. But it’s good to let it go a little that’s for sure, and my kids also never fail to amaze me with the imaginative things they come up with when they play.
Amen to that, i love this post. Makes me feel better about the little messes in my house.
my sis and i shared a room until we were 5 and 6 – it was a converted two-car garage and oh what messes we had in there. my mother would come in every few days with a rake, yes, a rake and would rake up all the toys for us to put away. more often than not, the pile was taller and bigger than our bed but, it did make the clean-up easier since it wasn’t strewn all over – maybe a little less overwhelming.
This can be so tough! We have a very small house, so I often get a little panicky about the toys all over our living space. It’s good for them to be stretching their imagination, and I try to remember that. Taking things away after a stressful clean-up time does work. That’s just the way life is right now!
I agree with you! It’s the season we’re in.
I want that hammock. Inside hammocks are the best.
Oh I would be going crazy, too. I’m practicing taking some breaths, but right now my kids are so little it’s not really imaginative play so much as straight mess. Grrr. Love the dollies in your candles, though.
I love the idea of sending the toys to a new home where they WILL be loved! lol My daughter is only two and she threw a fit yesterday because she saw me taking toys out of her room! I guess she isn’t too young to start asking her to clean them up or “mama will take them away!” 🙂 I am just starting to experience the “inner neat freak” voice thing. I have to tell it to shut up often lol
The cute toys in candles! So adorable!!
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