How many times have you said that "if they have too many things", "you can't even walk here"? And when there are children at home, maintaining a certain order is an impossible mission. Or maybe not, and we can do something to keep the chaos away from our home.
Why not put some order at home? Why not eliminate much of the paraphernalia we have in between? Is minimalism possible with children? Well yes, and very healthy.
The changes
Most of us, before becoming parents, have gone through what we might call, allowing myself the expression, a "head furniture." It is not something that is fulfilled in all cases, but the one that suffers the least or the one that undergoes a process of change, much more pronounced even if you live as a couple, since it implies a mutual adaptation that is never a simple task.
It is amazing how much we like to complicate our lives, because we stabilize our relationship to bring back chaos, disorder, screams, cries, laughter, hope, a new love that is worth any change.
Well, any change, even if it is worth it, is not necessary either. Because, half of the things we buy for the baby are really so necessary? Is it so basic to have a crib, hammock and bassinet, three different types of bottles, a sterilizer, gym, etc?
We had a minimalist floor until the first child arrived
There are inevitable things, we knew that and we knew there were things we had to change. We went from having a house with minimal furniture, even perhaps some less than I would like, to fill spaces with "things" for the baby.
We bought the basics, a changing table, a cart, a car seat, a crib (I remember the rush and nerves because the crib did not arrive in time to finally take weeks to put the child inside). So we were getting ready, until the baby was growing up and his birthday arrived, Christmas and more and more toys appeared. And then the little one arrived and with it came even more toys. And order and balance at home are over until there is a point where our house looked more like a nursery school than a home.
What our children need most is us, the rest is secondary
We cannot expect from a child and it is out of the question that we expect it from a baby, to tell us what he wants and what he does not, especially if it is toys, books or any object. For a child a new object means a new experience, he will want to touch it, suck it and play with it and if he is older, he will simply want it. That does not indicate that you need it, as you sure have checked on more than one occasion, the case that you receive a toy is sometimes just ten minutes. He sees it, plays for a while and once he has squeezed it, he will move on to the next stimulus.
Therefore we should avoid filling your room and of course the house, with toys. I do not say that a child does not have anything to play with, much less, but has a number of toys appropriate to the space where he can play with them. It does not make much sense and above all it is not practical, to have a plush meter and a half high in a house of 60 square meters or in a room where a crib and a carpet of 1x1.5 meters fits.
For our children the best toy and not only when they are babies, we are. A game in which several players participate will be more fun and interesting than the one in which only he plays, for a simple and simple reason, with the first one there are more possibilities for his parents, brothers and friends to play with him. But of course, that implies time, and unfortunately it is not a currency that we have over these days.
Pick up and order
The important thing in a house is that everything has its space and that our children can play in a wide area, within our possibilities. For that it is essential that we teach them to collect those toys with which they have already finished playing and that certain games or toys cannot leave the areas enabled for them.
I remember that my children went through a phase where they just got home, entered their room and emptied all the baskets where they kept toys. Within 15 minutes of starting to play, not a centimeter of soil could be distinguished, everything was covered by toys or pieces of various shapes and sizes. That way they could spend the entire afternoon, even the little one who had just recently learned to walk, was able to move through that tide of toys. The truth is that I was curious that they only paid attention to the toy he played at that time and the rest simply disappeared (even if they were sitting on top of it).
At the end of the afternoon we were picking up a good time ending up arguing or angry to finish and give time to bathe before dinner. The fault was not theirs, they were simply too many toys to pick up, in the end they got tired of doing something that from the beginning for them was nothing fun, so we decided that nothing to empty the drawers like that without more. They could empty one, but before playing with another they had to pick up what they had taken out.
They still had too many toys and that is what we have been reducing as they have grown. We remove many of them to get one or two new ones at a time. This way they will have new toys to play with and not all at once.
What we also avoid is that they will play around the house with their toys. There were things they could play with, of course picking them up once they finished and others that couldn't leave the room.
You cannot put at home what you see in the catalog
Most of our homes have "real" measures and our children's room is not the basketball court that appears in children's decoration magazines. Therefore, let's not expect the same thing we see, because we are going to have to choose between putting the furniture inside the room or our son.
Advantages
We teach them to value what they have, namely that the material is important but not essential.
Imagination Development: A car is used for running, but a set of blocks can be a car, a plane, a house, bowling, etc.
The fewer things, the less likely they are to break something: we have been lucky that our children were never excessively abusive to our things, they could dislodge them, but I don't remember that many things were broken. Perhaps because there was not much to break either and what was fragile or dangerous was always out of reach.
A blow against the wall is less dangerous than against the corner of a piece of furniture: a child, when he begins to walk, he needs the least possible obstacles and above all that what is in his path is safe and can be, that is anchored to the ground.
An open space inspires tranquility: something we all need for sure.
Drawbacks
It requires discipline and effort that it is not always easy to get and it can cause that in the end we leave it and we end up getting used to seeing toys everywhere, to have our books anywhere and cabinets that are very likely we have to call the GEOS the next time we We want to open. Believe me that it is easy to get used to everyday life, but strive because your mental health will thank you.
We must deal with the constant flow of crafts that our children bring us and that in about four years they will cover the entire house. But here we give you some tricks.
Also our friends of Decosfera can help you with some tricks to get spaces that give a greater sense of spaciousness and great ideas to decorate the game room.
