Less is More

image from here

It's happening again.  Years of unchecked accumulation have produced a most unpleasant situation.  This time, it's Legos.

We have too many Legos.  Way too many.  Years ago, I went on a minimization kick (driven by desperation and need), and sold a lot of mine, keeping only my favorite sets.  I learned a lot about the value of less, and it reminded me to live simple and check my materialist tendencies. Today, my collection remains suitably sized and contained (one medium box).  My kids are another story.

I've spent the past two months going through my childrens' Legos.  They have seven large bins, gathered from decades (some are my old sets) of collecting and gifts.  It's at the point that they don't even remember what sets they have . . . embarrassing.  And painful- they're often left all over the floor, making our basement a hazard.  So, back in November, I made a pronouncement: they could each have one large bin, and we'd sell the rest.  That was when the fun began.

The kids didn't mind the edict, but the challenge was deciding what to keep, and how to minimize.  For example, do we build the sets we want and get rid of the rest?  Or build the sets we don't want and keep the rest?  Either way is difficult, requiring hours of work.  Ultimately, we decided on the former.  The process is long but I got it down to a science:
- sort legos by color, and keep them in small plastic tupperware containers or ziploc bags
- find the instructions for sets to keep, and turn to the back pages, which list set pieces by color
- use those guides to find all the pieces of a given color
- build the set once you have all (or nearly all) the pieces
- once built, put in a ziploc bag in a separate bin, and check off the list
- if you can't find pieces, record them: color, size, shape, etc.

Once all the sets were built, we kept the remaining pieces sorted (in ziploc bags) and are currently storing them, awaiting sale.  Oi.  The end is in sight.

The whole experience has been a powerful reminder: less is more.  Less is more.  Less is more.  Since completing the project,
- my kids have enjoyed/played with their remaining sets more
- we've had more space in the basement to play with Legos (and all other toys)
- the house has been cleaner and easier to maintain

With multiple children and generous friends/family, it's so easy to accumulate a ridiculous amount of toys as the years pass.  My recent experience has served as another reminder of the need to slow down, buy less, use less, and be more content.  I suspect this will be a lifelong struggle.