DeCarlo News: Toy Swap

A couple of years ago I had one of those frustrating moments that maybe only I have where something in my house is kind of bothering me, and then it nudges a little more, and then finally I cannot take it any more and I must do something about it now. I usually pertains to cleaning or organizing. I have been known to organize so well that I cannot find things. It's in the perfect spot, I know, I just cannot remember where that spot is! (Believe me, there are plenty of things that probably bother other people about my house, but they haven't even entered my radar yet!)

So this time, it was about toys. I struggle big time with toys. Like most families, we have way more than we could ever play with. But I hate to discard and pass on when the kids really do play with them. We are attempting to limit the introduction of toys into our home, but that's another story. So when the big huge mammoth armoire entered our living room, a light bulb went on in my head and toy swap began. I bought some bins and separated out the toys into two piles and stored one in the armoire and the other went neatly on the toy shelves. So now every month I switch toys. Travis loves it and asks if it's time to switch toys. (I also take the opportunity to switch CDs in the car so we get some variety there too.) I had another light bulb moment last month and I made Travis help me gather all the toys in the living room so I could do the swap. He hauled all the buckets and toys from the play room into the living room in front of the armoire. It made it go so much faster! And then this month I tried something else. I used to do the swap after the kids went to bed, but instead I tried to do it with their help. I knew it would take a little longer, but I thought it might work anyway. It did! The kids were very helpful (Okay, Travis was very helpful, Justin needed a little more direction!)

The scope of swap has expanded since its inception. At first it was only the smaller toys and a few other things. Now I even take the play tent down every other month. A few of the larger things sit in the corner of Justin's room (the basketball hoop, the larger trucks) because the boys don't play in there. And the games switch out too. The other day when the kids had their play date and one of the boys ventured into Justin's room and started playing with something, Travis even told him that he couldn't play with that until next month!

We are reading and discussing the book Radical by David Platt in our Bible class. It's a great book, if for no other reason that it makes you think about what's truly important in life. How much is too much? What kind of life does Jesus want for his followers? It's really causing me to take a serious look at our lives and our "stuff". Is it about what makes me comfortable? It's difficult to teach the children about serving others and sacrificing when our closets are overflowing and there is no need left unmet. Toys are my biggest struggle (there are others too...one is our pantry) and I am at a loss as to how to handle, control, deal with the mountain that is toys. If you have any thoughts or great ideas I would love to hear them.