Today while secretly purging my oldest daughter’s room, I remembered boxing up almost all of their toys, clothes and books three years ago when my husband and I put our former house on the market.   Facing the impossible task of keeping my house in show condition with a 5 year old, 3 year old and 6 month old, I boxed up a majority of our possessions to simplify our lives.  Closets were emptied, cabinets lay bare and toys no longer littered the family room.  It was a glorious few months.  I was able to keep the house picked up and clean with minimal frustration.

In the kid’s rooms, most everything was removed from books, stuffed animals and toys.  With very few toys to play with in the house, the kids surprised me with no complaints.  In no time at all, they adjusted to fewer things and focused on what remained.  Their favorite new thing to play became “Shoe Store” with all the various footwear they could find.

As I stare at my children’s rooms and playroom today, I look around and wonder what would happen if so many of their toys disappeared once again, either into the garage, attic or to the women’s shelter?  If it all disappeared tomorrow, would they miss them or would they react like they did three years ago?