Marie Kondo-ing the toybox and the BIG IDEA!
Lately the kids have been acting strangely about their toys. Not wanting to pickup, only wanting to dump them all out and smack each other with the fabric bins. 😑
Yesterday we went through all the toys in the house and they got rid of what you see in the pic... it's a lot. And yet, still they have sooooo much more.
Today, same behavior with the toys. So we sat down and talked about it and decided there were still too many.
I could tell yesterday that simon doesn't really care about any of the toys except his favorites, the cars and trucks. River however, has a ton of dolls and clothes and knickknacks that is just overwhelming her poor little self.
She told me she'd be fine with just a few favorite toys. 😁
So now I was thinking of a plan. How can I use this to help our family and others?
And it's an idea I've had for a while, but just never thought I could actually do it.
Little Free Toy Library
We love the little free libraries in our town, but no where is there one for toys.
I'm thinking we put something like a small shed in the front yard and put all the toys in it. I probably wouldn't advertise it all except word of mouth in our neighborhood at first. I foresee getting more donations than stuff going out to be honest...
There needs to be a culture change and it won't happen unless we take the action necessary. I have no idea what kind of opposition I might face from our city hall pertaining to the building codes and bs laws, but we're doing this. One way or another, cuz it's necessary. We give our kids way too much stuff and don't even notice it most if the time.
I'm trying to be a more mindful parent and I don't think i'm in the minority on that anymore. I'm ready to work on a project that i'm passionate about and that helps our community. 🙌
I'll keep updating my progress here as we go, I have a feeling this is going to be fun. 😍
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YEAH I love it, this is awesome! I've seen little free book libraries and pantries, but not toys! GREAT idea.
A lot of times, people think donating to charities means their stuff goes to people in need, but generally it's sold, not given. There ARE clothing banks too, but generally you have to know about them and maybe even qualify somehow to benefit from them (like, maybe you have to belong to that church or that school, or be homeless, or whatever), and you certainly wouldn't stumble across them as you walked down the street. And some people are too proud to go to a place where they would have to ask for help. And some people are too proud to go somewhere they'd have to ASK or even just be seen receiving help.
The book purging that I've been leaving in LFLs across town has all been taken pretty quickly, so there IS demand for goods without a price tag or stipulations. I hope your toy library works out the same! I bet it will, because not only are there people who have lost everything because of some tragedy or are just really impoverished, but kids stuff is grown out of SO QUICKLY. It used to be that neighborhoods were real communities and families could pass things between each other, but we're so isolated now, people just take it to the Goodwill rather than to the family down the street who they know has kids two years younger and are growing out of their clothes and toys, too. Like when I was a kid, some of the neighbor kids I played with, one was older and two were younger, plus the mom had an in-home daycare. I was surprised to find some of my old toys in the playroom there one day. I had long outgrown them, but the youngest brother and the daycare kids hadn't. I had already been having hoarding tendencies as a child, but I was OK with that because it was easier: I could see them being loved and played with for myself. It would have been harder to see my mom throw it in a dumpster at the Goodwill. So I bet this will be easier even for the hoarders and packrats.
I'm so excited to make this happen. Not only will it make my life easier, I think the kids will be happier. Plus, all those toys can be used again, they're perfectly good! I still have dolls from my childhood that river plays with. I'm not sure why we thought we even needed new ones. 😑 Lol.
Honestly, if the city didn't have so many rules and laws about what you can and can't do in your own front yard, it wouldn't be that far off base to expect that many neighborhoods could set up trading posts like this pretty easily. One house does little free library, one does toys, one does clothing, another does extra food from gardens, another tools etc...
I think we'd find we all have more than enough to last us a lifetime between everyone.
Exactly this. I think all the regulations are just power and money grabs, tbh. If people can't rely on each other, they rely on paid services or the state. If people have to ask permission for every damn thing (like building a shed on your own property), they feel disempowered to do anything about anything and look to official organizations, companies, the state, whatever to fix everything instead. And if people's rights are taken away regarding their own property, not only in the "you need permits" or "you can't build an accessory dwelling for your poor artist friend to live in or your disabled in-law" sense, but in the you-don't-own-mineral-and-water-rights sense, allowing corporations to just come in and poison your land and air and water table ...well, people feel powerless. I understand it but don't think the more individualist self-sustaining movement is going to change this; no one and no family, even, is an island; I think it needs to be about community again, or we're all fucked.
This is interesting 😊. I have thinking about doing a LFL and a plant swap at the entry to our drive. There is a little space there where we could have small kiosks or cupboards. I worry, though, about stuff being dumped or vandalised or taken and discarded a few houses down. I have suggested in discussions about our neighbourhood plan about having pop-up kiosks and seating areas on the some of the very wide verges on the main road. I guess I need to push the community aspect a little more 😊
Good luck with your venture, it sounds great!
Oooh! A plant swap! That's a good one!
Small stuff like that, you could easily get a little wagon or something and bring in your books and plants at night, if you're worried about vandalism. 😊
We need more of this in plain sight so people won't be confused by it and want to vandalize. Baby steps. 💗
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That's such a great idea !tip
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