Simplifying Thanksgiving and Learning to Give~ #Projectgratitude #10

Today we welcome Beatrice from Thread and Ladle. I just love her blog and artistic outlook on life. She lives in an amazing place and she is a great photographer (as seen here). You’ll love reading her blog as much as you’ll love her pictures.

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We’ve been working on simplifying things in our home; getting rid of possessions, and lots of them. It’s freeing, but hard work to cull it all down! Among the top of the list of things we have too many of is toys. And we know that there will be more coming in from family and friends this Christmas. My son is young, but I imagine this will be the case every year: more things coming in while we’re doing our best to send them out.

My solution is to take a few gently used toys (not just the broken or busted) and to donate them. For now my son is really too young to participate or understand, but in the future my hope is that this can be a way for my children to reflect on all they have and need. I hope that by asking them to choose a few toys to give away (in good condition) they’ll begin to understand what the true gifts are in our lives. Not the toys or books, but each other, food in our bellies and a warm winter jacket. That there are others out there who don’t have even these basic needs met, and who will be utterly grateful for the gift of this gently used toy.

Perhaps, as they get older, they can participate more by helping draft an email to a family shelter or community organization where we’ll send these things. For now though, it’s just Mama. Just me culling the toys in preparation for an influx of more.

Should you choose to do this with your older children, I’d be very interested in hearing how it goes! Perhaps it will help prepare me for future years!

Meet Beatrice:

Art school alum, impassioned farm educator, mama, wife, artist, crafter, knitter, home chef and gardener. My husband, one year old son,city chickens & I live in an old, quirky (slightly funky) house in Maine. Though I dream of farm houses with ancient apple trees, wide open pastures, lovely old barns and roaming sheep, I do love our little urban homestead and am quite happy in our little city, for now.

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