Practicing Gratitude

I was grateful for bedtime, even if I had to take my struggling cherubs to bed with me.

 I was grateful my kids got some nature therapy.

I am grateful for a cleaned out room.

The hardest part of being a minimalist for me is having kids. There's a huge turnover of stuff every year, whether it's clothes, bikes, or ice skates they've outgrown. There's also a lot of experimentation with different activities and some gear goes with each one. I consider these unavoidable and worthwhile, but there's another category that's downright nasty. 

The junk. The freebies. The papers, the business cards, the Lego magazines, the football rings off the Superbowl cupcakes. "Why can't I keep it?!" People look at you like you're cruel if you aren't thrilled when they gift your child with a Nerf pear, complete with their logo on its side. Well, I'm not thrilled because this will go in with the Nerf flip-flop and the Nerf football and all the lost golf balls my kids have found. Will they play with them? No. Will they want me to give them away? No. Will they make a mess that drives me crazy? Yes. So no, I'm not thrilled. Or how about the bpa ridden water bottles places STILL give away. I don't hand wash things, so I break my child's heart when I explain we won't keep it. Then they ask, "Why do they MAKE water bottles with bad chemicals?!" Good question. 

I went into Cadence's room a while ago and took out a tote and a half of stuff I didn't think she used. I didn't organize it - just threw it in. We'll deal with it later. I reassured her I wasn't getting rid of anything. Today was Chandler's room. I'm extra grateful to have accomplished this because I was shaky today.

I've involved them in the process before, but this time I just didn't have the energy. Honestly, they don't even have enough time at home to go through everything at the pace it would take if they were making the calls. Doesn't that seem like a clear sign our kids have too much stuff coming in? If we'll never find enough time to process it all at their speed? 

Anyway, I decided a magical mommy clean sweep was okay this time. I hope they still learn how much easier life is with less stuff to look through and clean up. 

Fingers crossed. 

All I know is I can walk from their door to their bed to say goodnight without a lot of strategic stepping. 

Tonight, that's enough for me.