The Toy Box
Suddenly what's old is new again.
This is a story about choices.
From my point of view the overstuffed toy box was a disaster in a box. There were broken crayons and puzzle pieces and sets that were no longer toy sets and OMG so much junk. So much junk.
From her point of view, I think it was the same. There was so much junk in there that she has completely ignored the contents for a good month at least - rarely opening it and then closing it because there was so much stuff.
Today was the day. Today, I tackled the toy box.
We’re on the precipice of toys, I think. They’re still used, but they are usually used in more creative ways 1 than their intended use. Crafts and paper and writing for the most part seem to get used a lot more. If I had to guess, we have one more year of the toy box and matching kitchen set2
So…ya. The toy box was a mess.
How messy? Glad you asked…
I tossed a lot of stuff out because a lot of it gave nobody joy but once I got the box emptied and the broken/old/missing toys in the black garbage bag I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I found: LOTS of stuff for her kitchen. Pots, food, toast - even a latte machine in there. It took a while, but I managed to get it all sorted out and put back a bit better than buried at the bottom of a toy box.
The rest got put into little storage bags or their specific spots
Play-Doh
Little ponies
Crayons and art supplies
Magnetic tiles
Veterinary play set
Diner play set
The result was a toy box that looks completely empty compared to when it was started. We had our fun but we no longer have use for a purple wig and other such items so they were either tossed or donated.
What’s funny is that when she got home I showed her and instead of being “bored” she got right to playing with her new old toys- now that she could get at and see the toys she took no time to get into veterinarian mode and take care of her little puppy:
Later after dinner we played restaurant - again because she could find the stuff she could easily get to it and play with it.
For those curious, I had the fish and french fries and BW had the steak and a tomato because that’s what the restaurant had. Also, this was not a cheap meal. With tariffs, this cost us a million dollars. It’s a good thing I know the chef and we got a discount.
The toy box was overwhelming to all of us for different reasons but now we’ve got things under control and toys are easily found
The best part? Toys are now easy to put away because dear old Dad organized everything.
I’m not sure how long this Zen toy box will continue but for now it’s a great thing for both of us.
Want to know what’s not great? My back after leaning over this thing for over an hour digging and sorting it all out.
Send Tylenol.
TH and Co.
today I was handed a rock in a purse and told it was a billion dollars.
a story: we ended up getting this $200 kitchen set for her for free because it was Christmas Eve and I was missing a part and the manufacturer didn’t have any in stock so they refunded us the entire price. The piece wasn’t really essential and we’ve been using it for years without the piece just fine.