Clutter Bug...

Today after stumbling over the millionth toy, book, puzzle piece, and tool…I had it! I’m constantly after Aiden to pickup one set of toys before moving onto another or play in his room (see unrealistic expectations below).  And up until recently he’d been good about it.  But now…he doesn’t even make the attempt, so I clean up his toys as he MAYBE chucks one lego into the basket.  No kid wants to spend his time cleaning up…but no Mom wants to spend the rest of her life picking up after her kids.  Frustrated and tired of the battle, the only conclusion I could come to was to eliminate the clutter/toys.  So I decided to pack up all his toys and store them in the garage.  I figured this announcement would send Aiden into a tantrum or at least have him running to gather his toys up.  But…none of that happened.  The only time he got upset was when I took his green turtle that he’d been hoarding in his bed.  I left out most of his books and a few puzzles, mostly for my sanity.  This whole process didn’t seem to faze him in the least.  He seemed…excited.  It was like now that the clutter was gone he could see every book and puzzle as a bright new toy.  He was so excited when he sorted through his books and sat down to “read” them.  I’ve been teaching him shapes for around six months now but he never seems to focus or be interested in actually learning them, just flipping open the shapes.  Today after removing the entire clutter we sat down and read the shapes book…he named every single shape on the first try…a first.  I was amazed…how instant a change it was in his focus and attention span.  It made me think of how much clutter I have in my life…not just in material items but expectations, frivolous priorities, and hate to admit it, greed (bigger house please!).  It’s a hard thing for me to see past the clutter…but I’m so lucky to have my kids giving me a new (less cluttered) outlook on life!