Springtime allergy season is upon us, and one of my twins woke up yesterday with itchy, puffy eyes. Figuring that dust doesn’t help matters, I walked into my twin sons’ shared bedroom to strip their beds for laundering (unfortunately I need such motivators to clean), and took pause at the sight of their cluttered, beloved shelf space for their precious things. They each have dedicated shelves to call their own, but suffice it to say that kindergarteners’ standards of what objects are worth saving are quite different from mine! Later on in the day, when we had time, the three of us cleared out the shelves so that they could be properly dusted, while taking stock of the items, thinning them out, and unearthing missing items buried under other things (missing library book, anyone?) Some of our favorite books were hiding in there, and the boys exclaimed with delight at all the “new” titles! Instead of putting the books back on a shelf, I purposely left them out in a pile, and soon had a room of kids (their little sister had wandered in) each with a nose in a book– what a beautiful sight!
Even as adults, our eyes tend to tire of things sitting in front of us every day– our kids are no different. Mix up your book collection periodically to continually stoke your kids’ interest in reading. Ever notice how public libraries put up seasonal or monthly displays of rotating titles? You can use this same idea in your home to keep things fresh. The idea works for toys as well. You can save money in the long run by periodically performing a run-through of your home, storing the lesser-used toys out of sight. Two months later you can reintroduce the hidden toys, which will have a newfound “it” status– no need to buy new toys.
(Please note: the above photo is the "after" picture!)
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