Late Spring Cleaning

I'm taking a break from the toy room. I'm determined to bring some order and peace to our home this summer. I'm sorting every cabinet, every closet, every space and getting RID of things. So far I've filled two tall garbage bags with trash from the toy room, another to donate to Good Will, another for the Salvation Army and one to go in the attic for our yard sale. I still have lots more to accomplish, but the floor is totally cleaned off as are the wire mesh shelves. I've started going through all the bins and am cleaning them out, but don't think I'll finish it all today. I've decided that if I get rid of even 1/3 of their toys now, I can go back through a stream-lined version after school starts and get rid of more. By then, I'll have a good idea what of the items left the children really play with.

Truth is, there's plenty of things they won't play with that I can't bring myself to get rid of. Either they're toys that they've spent many hours with in the past or they're items like Geomags that I invested lots of money in and want the children to get interested in, even if they aren't just yet. I'm hoping that if I get the room sufficiently neatened, there will be space in there for the children to play with the toys they have. I talked with Dane today about getting rid of his train set and train table (which he never even touches). He said he'd like to hang onto the table so he can use it to do puzzles and play games on. Makes good sense to me. We'll see if it actually happens.

At this point in Dane and Deanna's life, they never really play with toys. Dane does like puzzles, so I'm keeping those, but the majority of the toys I'm keeping for Daelyn's benefit. And how many things can one little 4-yr. old play with at one time?

It felt great today to throw away a big bag of toys that were broken or cheap. It'll feel even better to drop off several big bags at the Salvation Army.

Once I finish the toy room, I have to tackle the clothes the children have outgrown that are accumulating on the counter in the laundry room. Order. Peace. Simplicity. Hope. The stuff of dreams!