Lately I’ve been trying to make our house a home. We’ve lived here two years and while all (but one) room is completely painted in colors I love, the only room that is really completely put together is Blake’s room. I have to really think about things. Where to hang pictures, how many, what kind of frames, what curtains, etc. People have made comments when they are here and I used to get anxious and feel like I needed to “finish” things. That just led to me rushing to find the wrong things and hating them. AKA...me spending money on things that will sit in my attic. Like my couch pillows. Impulse buys. Felt like I needed something and hate them. I don’t care how many empty walls I have. They will sit that way until I find the perfect frames. And people can continue to look in my kitchen windows all day. I haven’t found curtains I like. It’s a process. But I did get dining room frames! Ignore the glare...
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but I hate toy clutter. I was keeping it fairly under control until Christmas hit. Commence downward spiral. And if you know me, you know how much I love other people telling me how I should feel, so I loved everyone telling me I had to get over it because I “DO have a kid and he DOES have toys.” Thanks, but no. I can’t just get over it.
I was going a little crazy but I wasn’t sure what to do about it. Then I was off work for a week and it was driving me even crazier because I was home all day to see the mess. Blake has our entire living room as a play area. It’s kind of an awkward space. You walk straight into it from the outside and it’s the only pass through from the family room to the kitchen, the stairs, the dining room...everything. We decided a while back that it would be Blake’s playroom, (partially because I can’t decide where furniture would go in there anyway) allowing us to keep our family room intact. Then after Christmas, Blake started to take over the family room too. Except everything was just piled in the corner. Total disaster. I couldn’t think of anything to put there that would organize his toys but still go with our decor. Finally I decided to grab some wooden crates and hang them on the wall for Blake’s trucks. I got 4 for probably about $40, I grabbed this rug at IKEA for $14.99, I called my dad to hang the crates, and BOOM--here it is!
I’m kind of obsessed with his little corner. It was wasted space for us anyway and Blake loves his little rug. Here’s the before and after. I’m going to add one more crate. Also the before is actually neater than it usually was. Which is scary. Because we are all understanding this is just ONE CORNER right!?!?
If you can tell from the photo (and you know kids toys) I love Green Toys. They are made from recycled plastic and they are super cute. Of course, the best part about them is that they don’t make noise. Which is amazing. Seriously, kids toys are made with the most annoying sounds ever. It’s ok until you’re on the fourth hour of hearing it and you’re ready to pull your hair out. Or you walk by late at night and nudge it in the dark and almost pee your pants. Also, just saying, I’m all about Blake using his imagination and he loves to make noises for his cars and trucks on his own. These toys allow him to do that without competing with annoying songs.
It’s amazing how one little thing makes such a big difference. I’m sitting here right now writing while randomly glancing at the corner and it makes me SO happy. I’m so much more relaxed knowing that it’s organized and Blake totally loves playing there.
Then I got this brilliant idea to take down a hand me down train table from the attic because Blake would love it and add it to the chaos (that I had just gotten under control). I didn’t want it. I still don’t want it. It takes up a stupid amount of space and makes me angry just looking at it. But this is how much I love Blake. He loves trains. He will love playing with these trains. (Bonus: it’s a win-win...he either loves them and it makes my heart happy to watch him play and I can overlook the eyesore, or he never plays with them and then I can get rid of it). Ok ok ok I want him to love it and be happy. I’ll just keep staring into my peaceful, organized, beautiful corner…
This kid has it good. He also needs nothing, so the thought of his birthday coming up in a couple months is terrifying. If you’re reading this, and you’re going to be getting Blake a gift, please consider a non-toy gift. He has more than he will ever need and he loves experiences, too. At some point, unfortunately, it all ends up piled somewhere. I was raised to appreciate experiences more than possessions and it’s important to me to instill that in my son. I don’t remember what I got for Christmas or my birthday, but I remember everywhere my parents brought me and the experiences we shared together.
No comments:
Post a Comment