victory

I have reclaimed my living room. For the past four years, my living room has been filled with toys. It started out with just a few baby toys; the playmat for Jem to roll around on, some squishy blocks, a few books. And then the baby toys became toddler toys and preschooler toys and they slowly started to take over. In the war of living space, I was the big loser. I had been defeated and a prime piece of my land had been taken over by the little ones. My living room, with the brick fireplace, the cafe au lait walls, the comfy couch, was now adrift in a sea of toys. And it didn’t seem to matter how often I picked them up or had the boys put them away, they just came back.

But on Monday I decided to take back my living room. I moved all of the toys into our barely used sunroom. I told the boys it was a new playroom for them and had them help me move the bins and the boxes. (I also took the opportunity to get rid of another bag of toys but I didn’t tell them that.) And now the mess is confined to that room. Yes, it still leaks out into the rest of the house. I will still step over a firetruck that was left in front of the fridge and I will probably sit on a book when I sit down on the couch. But, for the most part, the living room is mine again. An adult space that can be enjoyed by all and ruled by one, me.