Goodbye, Mr. Potato Head

The moderately minimalist family said goodbye to Mr. Potato Head this past weekend. Why does Mr. Potato Head make me feel nostalgic? I look at him and I feel all warm and fuzzy. Thanks to Toy Story, I feel a little deeper than I should about some of our toys.

This particular Mr. Potato Head has lived through both of my boys' childhood. He has spent hundreds of nights on our shelf. He has been to VBS 2014. He helped teach both of our boys where eyes are. Where do ears go? What is that thing in the middle of your face that enables you to smell?

Now it is time for our family to pass it on to someone else. As hard as donating it is, I know it is time. It just sits on the shelf now. Nobody plays with him. I checked one last time to make sure my 3 year old had mastered the skill. I handed it to him and asked him to put it together. He gave me a weird look. Put everything where it went. Handed it back to me. Then went back to what he was doing. Yes, time to go.

Letting go of this toy is harder for the mama than the child. Why? It represents the littleness is going away. They are getting older. My 3 year old turns 4 years old in 2 days. My 10 year old is now embarrassed to hug me at the bus stop.

Every toy that they outgrow is a reminder that they won't be little or living with me forever. But hanging onto that toy isn't going to change that. Hanging onto that toy is only going to make it harder to find space for the toys they do play with. Holding onto that toy makes one more thing to pick up when the neighbors come over and dump all the toys on the floor. So out the door he went! Goodbye, Mr. Potato Head!

Weekend Happenings

What is the moderately minimalist family doing this weekend? I will give you a hint. We are from Indiana. I will give you another hint. People from Indiana love two things, corn and basketball. Still need another hint? The NCAA is on. For those of you that don't know, that is the college basketball tournament. My bracket blew up when Villanova lost, when Iowa lost, and when Notre Dame won. But I love watching anyway.

Before we watch the games, we have a little business to take care of. I keep brown grocery bags in a corner of my bedroom. As I see things that have outlived their usefulness, (we don't need them or love them anymore) I toss them in the brown bags. There are now three brown bags. This is a result of a recent consignment sale where all of my stuff did not sell. It is also a result of a certain 3 year old having a birthday soon. I know some friends and family will buy him things. I have chosen some stuff that he no longer plays with to prepare for the new things he may get for his birthday. I will tell you more about what birthdays are like around here in a few days as his birthday party is in just 4 days. Back to the brown bags, it is time for them to go to the donation center. We have a donation center only 10 minutes from our home. We will drop off the bags before the basketball begins.

We live in the south. The weather has been beautiful here. We will also spend sometime at the park across the street. Tomorrow we have been invited to a picnic at a friend's house.

I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Friends Visit

We had two friends come to play today. Some would call that a playdate. Where did that word come from? I don't recall that word from my childhood. I would just run across the alley to my friend Val's house, or she would run across the alley to me. We would play on the swing set, or play the game, "SPUD" with a playground ball.

Today we had two friends come to visit my 3 year old. It was not complicated. It required no prep work. It cost no money. It looked a lot like my childhood when a friend came over. We grabbed paper bags and went outside. They found pinecones, pine needles, leaves, sticks and rocks. One of the boys called them "treasures". They played hide and seek, tag, and kick the pine cone.

When we came inside we made sugar cookies and frosted them. Who doesn't love that? They weren't distracted by screens. They weren't looking at characters made up by someone else. They were being themselves. It was all they needed. And really, all they wanted.

It all sounds so wonderful doesn't it? You would think this happens here everyday.... No. This has been the hardest lesson for me to learn. My kids have superheroes hanging on their walls. My son is wearing a Star Wars shirt. And really I suppose I think there is a small place for that. This is why I am a moderate minimalist. But I admit it creeps into our life far more than I hope it would. Days like today show me that children don't need piles of toys. So why is it so hard for me to resist buying the latest action figure? I guess old habits die hard. But today I came one day closer to living the kind of life I want is to live everyday.

Spring Cleaning

I began my spring cleaning on the first day of spring. Spring cleaning takes longer for some people than others. Mine takes longer than it needs to because I have a 3 year old "helping". These are the days when I am thankful I have chosen a moderately minimalist life.

My spring cleaning list is pretty ordinary. Washing trash cans, as you can see. Washing cabinet fronts. Vacuuming behind furniture. Washing baseboards. Cleaning the oven. Washing the windows.

This list of tasks would take some people weeks. These tasks are so much simpler with fewer things. Yesterday I pulled everything off my bookcase to vacuum behind it. Removing everything didn't take long. The entire task of removing everything, moving the bookcase, vacuuming and putting it all back took less than 15 minutes. I was also glad at that moment that I only has as many bookcases as I need.

This is one reason I enjoy my moderately minimalist life. Over the course of time, I hope to share with you many reasons I love my moderately minimalist life.