Score:
Mommy - 0, Bug- 312
Mommy - 0, Bug- 312
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Let The Day Begin (Credit: Unsplash) |
Isn't that simply how parenthood goes? The mess you endure with a toddler. Maybe it is. Then again, maybe it isn't. I never expected I could dig myself out of the cycle of endless messes, but here I am. I am free of the toy explosion extravaganza lifestyle.
Stop, Rewind, Explain. That's Possible?
Oh, Yea. You Read That Right. Smooth Sailing.
She hadn't played with a vast majority of her toys in so long that she forgot most of them existed. Which, to tell the truth, was what made this such an easy process for us. I was able to purge most of them during her nap. We let her have a say in some of the items we got rid of towards the end, though. I explained to her that we would be keeping some and giving others away. She actually surprised me by giving away a whole trash bag of toys on her own.
How To Decide What To Purge.
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Books are Forever (Credit: Unsplash) |
Benefits Of Purging Toys.
Bye-Bye Mess!
Now You're Done, Right?
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(Credit: Unsplash) |
Not so fast there. Keeping the kid's items to a minimum will be a continuous effort. You'll have toys entering your home faster than you can blink if you're not careful. Just think about it. Birthdays, holidays, kid's meals, random grabs at the store... It can all pile back up so quickly. I recommend letting friends and family know that you're taking a more minimalist approach to toys and kid items. In a world where everyone's pushing you to say "yes" to materialism, it's absolutely okay to say "NO." This isn't to say that you shouldn't buy things for your little one, though. And by that I mean...
Experience Over Materialism.
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Exploring Outside (Image: All Rights Reserved) |
Some Of Our Favorite Activities:
Park Days - Who doesn't love slides and swings on a perfect day?
Foraging - We'll give her a bowl and ask her to go find treasures in the yard. We then spend time talking and learning about what she's discovered.
The Mall - We live in Texas, y'all. It's not always nice outside (The sun is downright hostile) so sometimes we just like to browse around the mall and let her explore different things there.
The Zoo - Because animals are the best ever.
Movie Night - While we're excited for the day we can take Bug to the movies, I'm talking about a movie matinee at home for now. I'm not jazzed about dealing with a two year old in a theater. Pass.
Museums - We lucked out with a kid who loves to learn about literally everything. If it's educational she's all over it like white on rice on a paper plate in a snow storm.
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Bug and Daddy at the Zoo (Image: All Rights Reserved) |
Arts and Craft Day - I've got a few of Bug's paintings hanging around the house. Maybe have a binder where they can save their favorites.
Local Library - Story times and other events that are age appropriate are great and free ways to have some fun.
What are your methods to downsizing kid items? Do you have any good activity recommendations? I'd love to hear about them so I can add them into our rotation!
P.s. Let's keep in contact. Don't forget to comment, subscribe, pin, save, and share!
I LOVE this. I'm not yet a mommy myself, unless you count cats, but we're looking to build our family soon and overwhelming kid-stuff is a huge worry of mine. Not to mention all the stuff our family will contribute.
ReplyDeleteWe're also at the start of our minimalism journey (feel free to checkout my blog, I'll be sharing a lot of the process in the coming months!)
Anyway, thank you! I will be looking to your blog as a resource throughout our transition. 🖤
Cat's totally count! I still call my cats my kids and get weird looks from my husband. Lol
DeleteYes, it can be so overwhelming when just starting out. I wish I had discovered minimalism back then. We drowned in baby things. We're still discovering new ways we can apply our minimalist mindset in our lives so it's only getting better as time passes. I'll check out your blog as well, thank you. :) <3 I hope mine is able to help you in your journey.
Ps, Your daughter is adorable.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Don't let her hear you, though. She already tells me she's amazing and beautiful. Literally. Lol <3
DeleteThat girl's got the confidence I aspire to have.