Being Happy With Less

100 Days of Happiness - Day 20

Today I spend 2 hours cleaning out the kids toy corner. They have a 50L green bin with a lid to keep most of their toys in. My rule is once the lid can no longer fit on the bin then it's time to clean it out. Auron helped me tip the bin out and we went through it's contents. I doubt the toys at the bottom had seen the light of day for a few months now. I had Auron find all his cars and put them in a container. I tried to get Lili to find all the blocks but she was more interested in throwing them around the room....sigh, guess I can't expect too much of a 1 year old. About a third of the toys had lived out their days and were thrown in the trash, another third went to live in their proper homes...the bathroom, kitchen, bedrooms etc. That left about a third of the toys in the green bin. The lid closed perfectly with enough room for future toys.

There was a time that I worried and felt like a bad mum because my kids didn't and probably never would have a lot of toys.We have all been to, or seen houses where the kids have a whole room full of toys. I used to be jealous of those people and think how lucky those kids must be. I would feel a sudden rush of anxiety if they were going to visit my house and see the "lack" of stuff my children had. Would they think I was a bad mother? or feel sorry for my children? Think that they were deprived? It took a lot of self examination and prayer to become comfortable with "not caring what others thought"

I think so often we worry about what others think of us when in reality they probably don't care or notice as much as we think they do. My children don't have boundless amounts of toys because I don't think they need them. I know what they enjoy and what helps nurture their creativity and imagination and I will purchase toys or activities with that in mind. I don't buy toys for the sake of buying them. It's a waste of money.

So after we had finished cleaning out the toys I didn't feel a twinge of guilt as I looked at the 'minimal' amount of toys that remained like I have in the past. I know that they are toys that my kids love and play with. Yep that was my happy moment for today.

Auron and a few of his favourite toys today....all McDonalds toys, go figure.