Does this random string bring you joy?
We may all be familiar with Marie Kondo’s famous question- does this bring you joy? But your answer to that question and a kid’s answer to that question can be oceans apart. Organizing with small children can feel impossible. Once you have a handle on the toys you have, something unexpected can become beloved and then it too should have a home.
My daughter can form a bond with a random fancy shopping bag or a ribbon in a blink, and what would have normally been reused or recycled, it now a handbag, a colorful snake pet, or her baby doll’s lovey. I applaud her ingenuity and creativity. I love that she can reimagine an item into a new life.
I am not as quick at reimagining my toy organizational system to incorporate this new item , so I have implemented a few tactics to manage this:
Create small containers for new tchotchkes in a few strategic places in the house- I have one in my daughter’s room and one in the kitchen drawer. Are these little containers beautiful and orderly inside and full of like items? Probably not. But are they contained, controlled, and make random tiny objects easily found- yes! And for the most part, I have chosen containers that are pretty on the outside and make me smile. T
These containers are for my daughter and easily accessible to her. They are not large, and items can be dumped out, combed through, and put back in rather quickly. I have even noticed that the little container has been something she has played with and gone through when she wakes up (instead of coming out of her room at an early hour). Double win!
If these items seem to quickly multiple, put a space limit on them- the containers that I use are small, and therefore if you make a mental agreement with yourself that that these objects go in this container, when the container fills, it is time to sift through and have some forgotten objects leave your home and proceed on their journey.
If I can get ahead of it, I don’t let these items come home- For any goody bags or random items, I do my best to limit what my kids have in their hands are one time. If kids have too many options, sometimes they are so busy jumping from toy to toy, that they don’t spend any time meaningfully engaging with anything. (Side note- I learned a lot about this from the book Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne). So I limit what they see to encourage more meaningful play with what they already have.
Let imaginations run wild- If my kids are using a random object and imagining it to be any number of things and enjoying the creativity, I enjoy it as well. I keep that random gift bag around for a while, as long as it is bringing happiness and creative play. And once it no longer is, refer back to #2 :)
Although this post is about kids, you can also use some of these things for yourself. Pay attention to what you use and what you don’t. Understand that seasons change in life and what was once beloved may now be collecting dust for you and ready to be beloved by someone else. It is a lot easier to see this for someone else and their items, but always good practice to notice it for yourself too.
