Thoughts on Hobbies, Storage and Gratitude for our Things

I have two good friends who moved last week, both downsizing.  It's got me thinking.

This afternoon, Scott and I were hanging out with Tim and Aaron and I started thinking about 

.....how we could par down on all our stuff.  

.....how we could add storage creatively to the house.

....how come this house that felt so big 6 years ago feels so hard to keep tidy and organized.

We lived in apartments for 12 years and didn't have a garage or much room for storage, and we always had a pending move, so we tried not to invest in much that couldn't be gifted in a year or two.

Now, we've been in our first house 6 years.  It's 2000 square ft. with a 2 car garage, which was everything we hoped for.  It checked all our boxes for what our family needed.  When we bought the home, right after an international move, and living in an 800 sq. ft apartment for a year, we had parred down to very little.  The house easily accommodated all our things.   

It's tight compared to when we moved in with only 5 of us, the 6th arriving soon.  Now, we have to constantly rearrange things to keep things tidy.  Anytime Ollie gets legos & toys out, they are in the way.  It's hard to find space for everybody's activities.   

"Man, you guys!  We have a lot of stuff. You know what our problem is?" I said.  "We have a LOT of hobbies! What if we each just pick ONE very favorite hobby to keep, get rid of all the rest, and have less stuff?"

So, we started listing off all the hobbies we have that require equipment and space in the garage, shed, and house to evaluate what could be done away.

Aaron said he'd choose ping pong, Dad would choose mountain biking, Tim would choose Magic the Gathering and Ollie would choose Legos.  However, we found that we didn't WANT to give up our hobbies!

So, what STUFF brings value to our family life?  And what can we par down?

First of all, we love the beach.  So, we have a sun shade, boogie boards (just bought! Can't wait to try!), a bochi ball set, floaties, sand pails, chairs, etc. 

(Tim & Aaron played in the Memorial Day marching band)

Next, we love music.  So, we have 2 trombones, a piano, a flute, bells, 3 snare drums, several harmonicas, a homemade ocarina (that Aaron is diggin' right now), and a rented violin (Cora just started)!  Music is such a helpful education for the brain too, so I'm so grateful for the opportunities we have been granted to learn.

Cora in her Spring School Concert singing "We Don't Talk About Bruno"

Ollie on the ebike saying goodbye to Ms. Melissa.  

I loved picking he and Cora up on the bike this year on warm days!

We love sports.  Mountain biking, XC skiing, downhill skiing, ice skating, rollerblading/skating, soccer, basketball, archery, canoeing, kayaking, sledding, snowshoing, an e-bike and e-scooter that we love taking turns with.  We have a row of 6 bike helmets, and a row of 6 ski helmets in the garage.  Sooo much equipment with each interest, but these are activities that I think really add value to our lives and are healthy too!

Aaron is REALLY into ping pong right now. 

We have a blast with pickleball when we set that up!

Rock Climbing has it's own tote.  Harnesses, Ropes, sling

Camping has three totes and half the storage under our King bed.  We even put it on risers and threw away our box springs to make room for more storage underneath.

                    

                                The Dinorobot                                                        Looking at "stuffies" at the mall

We've given up a LOT of toys this year, but the boys can't let go of their robots or legos. No way!  They are awesome! Cora will not part with her favorite stuffed animals.   

The kids all have special blankets made by grandparents, aunties, and friends and we all have some sentimental items that we carefully choose to keep that bring us "joy" as Marie Kondo says.

Yoga is my work, and I love exercise.  So, I have an exercise bike, a weight bench, hand weights, 4 yoga mats, a step bench.  I would not want to give them up!

Scotts work as an engineer, of course, needs office space, and using his 3D printer has been a major hobby the last 2 years.  

He also is a fixer and does 98% of all repairs, yard work and maintenance on the house.  So, he needs a work bench, space for all kinds of tools and nick-nacks, space for wood, and a shed for garden tools and the snow blower and shovels.

As members of the church of Jesus Christ, we value scripture study, family history, emergency preparedness, the temple, journaling..... those all require room (books, keepsakes and other necessities.)

We really don't have many clothes (I do not like to shop for clothes!), but we definitely like to be prepared for the seasons, so we have lots and lots of winter gear (coats, jackets, snowpants, hats, gloves, etc.) and shoes for every occasion (sandals, winter boots, church shoes, everyday shoes, hiking boots......times that by 6 and you have a lot of shoes!)

With 4 small storage closets in the house we are a bit pressed for storage.  

Scott made a great move a couple of years ago and made waterproofed storage under our shed for bikes!  He also rigged a way to hook our canoes under the deck outcropping.  Game changer!

I've purchased cupboards, and got a used free shed (woot!) and that has made everything soooo much easier.  My "she shed" is full of all our toys!  Sleds, snowshoes, skis, poles, boots, outdoor games, etc.  Everything is so accessible there! Loving it!

Scott finishing the basement.  It was so so necessary.  (Thank you again to Tim for helping get him past the trickiest parts!)  I can't imagine living in the home without that extra finished space. It's not a big room as basements go, but it's brand new, it's beautiful, it's super-used, kid-friendly space.  It has added so much to our home!

We are constantly rearranging the basement to make room for our hobbies like hosting "Magic the Gathering" meetups, ping pong, yoga room, birthday parties, etc.  

Recently, we committed to using it as a TV room more exclusively by taking some nice sofas from our friends who were moving.  It's improved the comfort of TV watching 1,000%.  We aren't that versatile with the space anymore though.  No more ping pong in there. 

For now, there's a lot more TV watching going on than exercising and we have a "bachelor pad stadium seating" thing going on with our sofas.  Haha

So....we've made lots of improvements, but we keep getting more stuff!

I don't usually buy much stuff, by the way.  I usually check "Buy Nothing" on Facebook, pick up books at the lending library, have things offered me, etc.  In the Northeast, people leave free stuff in front of the house with a sign frequently.  I've picked up all our ice skates, hockey sticks, tons of wood furniture, toys etc. this way.  I'm so grateful for getting many many nice things that have been very useful to us this way! 

See: www.buynothingproject.org

Storage and space and keeping only what we are really using is a big limiting factor in the house.  And when we are done with things, I have no problem passing them on to others via the same avenues, but it takes time to stay on top of that! :)

So.....where else to cut back and throw away inside the house???

My goal this week is to go through ALL the books.  

One garage shelf has yet to be scoured and re-organized.  

The kitchen needs a combing to edit supplies there. 

Scott is planning to build cupboards around the TV (to replace our current shelves) in the basement to make storage for journals, photo albums, and legos.

It's amazing to me how much "stuff" (that we didn't have for 9 years) is so "necessary" now.  

We are so grateful that we have the means to store and use items that open up doors for us to play, to enjoy nature, to learn skills and do things we love.  We are so grateful to be in our home.  The absolute freedom of owning a slice of heaven and space to exist and raise our family is something I am amazed at still after these 6 years.  I thank God for our home in nearly every prayer.  The reality of the privilege of our situation is not lost on me.

Especially during COVID lockdown times, we enjoyed the house more than any other time.  We got to cherish every board game, every sport, every toy, etc. 

It's been a constant challenge to improve & manage the home and keep things tidy the last 5 years, since Ollie was born, but it's getting better and better, and I'm hopeful to have things even more organized and "at the ready" for cooking, learning, & playing very soon.

I hope that we'll keep our home tidy and special and make it even more functional as time goes on.  The kids are getting more helpful and mature in helping and cleaning up.

Home is the best!  Not because of the stuff, but because of the people in it.  But I'm also so grateful that we live comfortably and for the things we are able to do together because we have this space. 

Come visit anytime!  It's not fancy or perfect, but it's us!

What stuff do you think brings value to your life and family?   What purging do you find most beneficial?