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Episode 2373:
Rose Lounsbury shares her journey into minimalism by rethinking the need for a toy room, suggesting that children's play should seamlessly integrate into family life rather than be isolated. She explains how decluttering her home created a more peaceful space and emphasizes the importance of shared family environments over dedicating rooms solely to toys.
Read along with the original article(s) here: https://roselounsbury.com/dont-need-toy-room/
Quotes to ponder:
"It feels so much bigger in here!"
"Children’s play should co-exist within the hubbub of family life."
"Your children want to be with you more than they want to be with their toys!"
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[00:00:30] This is Optimal Relationships Daily. Why You Don't Need a Toy Room by Rose Lounsbury of roselounsbury.com
[00:00:40] About a year after I adopted Minimalism, my friend Becky came to visit. It was 2013, and I'd worked steadily the previous 12 months to rid my house of excess clutter.
[00:00:51] Where are all your toys? She asked, a bit shocked.
[00:00:55] Becky hadn't seen my home since the kids were babies, at the height of kid clutter, when every visible surface was filled with baby swings, bouncy chairs, and the like.
[00:01:05] It feels so much bigger in here, she exclaimed. Funny, I'd kind of gotten used to it.
[00:01:10] I'd reached my first minimalist plateau and felt, for the first time since my kids were born, very comfortable in my house.
[00:01:18] My main living area was no longer a minefield of colored plastic ready to explode.
[00:01:23] I could finally sit in my living room without feeling cramped and anxious about the clutter.
[00:01:28] Let me give you a brief tour of my house.
[00:01:31] We live in a cute little story and a half, Cape Cod.
[00:01:34] When you walk in the front door, you step immediately into the main living area, a combo living slash dining room, which also serves as my home office.
[00:01:43] Past that is the kitchen.
[00:01:44] In a hallway, off to your left, are two bedrooms and a bathroom.
[00:01:48] We have a partially finished basement, and the upstairs half story is a master suite that, at the time, housed our live-in nanny.
[00:01:56] Before you judge, let me tell you that when you need full-time child care for three toddlers, a live-in nanny is much more affordable than daycare.
[00:02:04] It is now our master bedroom.
[00:02:06] The entire space is roughly 1,500 square feet.
[00:02:09] You may have noticed that I don't have a toy room, a space I use to consider a necessity of the modern family.
[00:02:16] I remember visiting friends' homes for playdates and being ushered into rooms filled with bin after bin of toys.
[00:02:23] I always left feeling cheated and returned to my cramped abode ever more frustrated at the kid clutter breeding in my living room.
[00:02:30] But since embracing minimalism, I've come to question the toy room trend.
[00:02:36] My house was built in the 1930s, a time when most people didn't even consider building rooms for their kids' toys.
[00:02:44] Historians believe they may have called the toy housing facilities bedrooms.
[00:02:49] Further research is needed.
[00:02:51] Think about it.
[00:02:52] Having a toy room is roughly the equivalent of having a room to accommodate the hobbies of each individual family member,
[00:02:59] in which case I should have both a reading room and an exercise room,
[00:03:03] and my husband should happily kick back in his video game room.
[00:03:07] Unless we strike it rich and simultaneously abandon our minimalist ideals,
[00:03:12] these types of rooms are mere fantasy.
[00:03:14] So why do many of us reserve rooms simply to house our children's toys?
[00:03:21] Hint, most of our kids have too many toys.
[00:03:24] A home is a place for a family, and shared living spaces should be just that, shared.
[00:03:30] My living room should accommodate my kids' developmental need to play,
[00:03:35] as well as my need to relax with a magazine and a coffee.
[00:03:39] Partitioning my kids off into a separate room to play would not only not work,
[00:03:44] even at nine years old, they still prefer to hang out with their parents,
[00:03:47] and believe me, I'm milking that for as long as I can,
[00:03:50] but it also sends the message that their play is not a vital part of our family,
[00:03:55] that it is something to be done separately from the business of living and sharing together,
[00:04:00] which is untrue.
[00:04:02] Children's play should coexist within the hubbub of family life.
[00:04:06] Now, I'm not against rooms for recreation,
[00:04:09] but I'd urge families to make these rooms accommodate the rec needs of the entire family,
[00:04:15] including activities for adults and older kids, like exercise equipment or board games.
[00:04:20] I don't think anyone would find it shocking that families spend less time together these days.
[00:04:25] Perhaps our oversized, over-divided homes are partially to blame.
[00:04:30] Remember how I said that the first room of my house is the living-slash-dining room?
[00:04:35] This is the main living-slash-playing-slash-eating-slash-working area of the home,
[00:04:40] and it is one room.
[00:04:42] It used to be the disaster area.
[00:04:44] Now, it's my zen space.
[00:04:47] In case you're wondering, my kids do have more toys in their bedrooms,
[00:04:51] which include Legos, Nerf guns, and stuffed animals, and books,
[00:04:54] but this is the majority of toys they play with.
[00:04:57] In closing, toy clutter is manageable.
[00:05:01] I hope I've inspired you to minimize the toys in your home and incorporate them into the stream of family life.
[00:05:07] Because remember, your children want to be with you more than they want to be with their toys.
[00:05:16] You just listened to the post titled,
[00:05:18] Why You Don't Need a Toy Room, by Rose Lounsbury of roselounsbury.com
[00:05:25] And thank you, Rose, for a great post.
[00:05:28] Come by her site at roselounsbury.com
[00:05:31] for more minimalism inspiration, like what she shared with us today,
[00:05:34] about how minimalism in many fashions
[00:05:36] actually stands to strengthen the relationships we have with our family members.
[00:05:40] We're going to end it today, though, folks.
[00:05:42] I will see you tomorrow with another post about how to bring the family together.
[00:05:46] I'll see you there, where your optimal life awaits.
[00:05:50] I'll see you there, where your optimal life awaits.