Are you already feeling the dread? You love Christmas, but is every crevice of your home already filled to the brim with toys? Do you have one of those cartoon closets where, when you open it all the world comes flying out to bury you? Ya, me too.
Today we’re asking you to do a preparatory purge, so when Santa comes it doesn’t send you into a fear spiral.
How to Do It
- First, take your child’s hand and invite them along for the ride.
Pick a room
- Start with ONE space within that room. A closet? A dresser? A toy chest?
- Empty out all within and take stock of what you’ve got.
Make three piles
- One: the keepers
- Two: the maybes
- Three: the goodbyes
Talk with your child about what to do next
- What do they still play with?
- What can they certainly part with?
If they're struggling, try to remind them...
- Is it important to keep something you only kind of like?
- Or is it more important to share it with a younger kid who would get SO much joy from it? Mention a specific kid in your life. For us **Shout out to Baby Julia!**
Pro Tip: Occasionally I've found this works but certainly not always. So just have that expectation going in!
Then
- Go around that room and repeat with other areas as needed.
Now
You might not change the tone of your entire home in one go, but it’s a start.
Extra Tip:
Got some extra donation pep left in your step? Consider purchasing and donating some new mittens to Mittens for Detroit! You can visit one of their local donation boxes or mail them to the address below. This year their goal is to collect “345,000 new pairs – that’s more than one-quarter million pairs of hands that you have warmed!!”
Mittens for Detroit
Attn: W. Shepherd
2886 12 Mile Road, Box 721427, Berkley, MI 48072-0717
♥️,
Lauren & the Metro Parent team
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