Kids Make it Hard to Live with Less

Kids make it hard to live with less. Just this week alone I have had two goody bags sent home from school. Party bags that typically hold cheap toys that break quickly or children lose interest in swiftly. I try to throw these bags away almost instantly, especially now in my year of less—as I’ve started calling it in my head. While this solves the clutter problem within my home, it doesn’t solve the waste problem (one I know I can’t solve whether I keep or trash these unasked for items that enter my life, but still a problem that stays with me).

The more I seek out less, the more I see all the excess.

But kids don’t need more. I see this in the request for entertainment and guidance in a room full of overlooked toys. I’ve threatened more times than not to start throwing out toys every time a child comes to me saying they are bored or don’t know what to do. If we are never bored do we never dream? If we avoid the small moments in our days by stuffing more distractions into our lives do we miss the simple beauties? Is my life of abundance a message to my children?

So with less in mind I set off to empty another space of the things that are getting in the way of living lighter, freer, more creatively, more willing to give, more at peace.