Yard Sale

My neighbor is organizing a multi-family yard sale and I said we would participate. Suddenly, I want to sell everything. As I walk through the house, I am surprised by how much stuff we have. Six years ago we were living in a one bedroom apartment. No basement. No attic. No garage. Now we have a basement, a garage, and a 3 bedroom house FULL. How did we acquire this much in such a short amount of time? Now we did add 3 little people and all their gear, but this is too much.

Toys. We don't buy our kids much, it seems everyone else does. And I wonder, do they appreciate all they have? Will they ever have anything to cherish or value when they are handed so much, never longing for anything? Take for instance... Hannah has two American Girl dolls (that's my fault). And what does she want? Another one! What about Molly and Emily? Enjoy them! Please, please CHERISH your $87 doll! It is hard to be excited about a giving a gift at Christmas/Birthdays knowing they will get piles of stuff from others and my very thoughtful gift will sit among many. And really what do they need? Nothing. Thankfully, my children are blissfully unaware of all that is out there for them to want. (Though Kindergarten has opened up a new world for Hannah..."Everyone has a Webkin, Mom!")


Several weeks ago I took almost all of the toys out of the family room and hid them in the basement. Nobody noticed! I have found that keeping things organized and offering a few good options is sufficient. So, I have most toys on rotation in our family room - coming up from the basement every so often... lincoln logs, tinker toys, playmobil, trains, blocks, little people, trucks, legos. And the picnic basket of things that don't fit in a broader category. And all those things that don't fit in a neat category (or the random basket) may find their way into my front yard next Saturday. I will have to set up a diversion for the kids in the backyard. : )