Changing rooms

It all started out with my DD moving into her very first flat and de-cluttering her home. In the city it is often difficult to get rid of accumulated stuff, and with no car it almost seems impossible to deal with things on a timeline. We took the stuff home, and found some other homes for things, some things we adopted and others we did not but all in all it was interesting to see the next step. My boys decided they too would move, not house, but would de-clutter their stuff ( does this ever end, we have been downsizing stuff for 12 months now!). They will be changing rooms, sharing with a different brother which means that stuff needs sorting, recycling, selling, free-cycling etc. I wonder where they get their ideas from, might it be that our downsizing efforts and tactics are filtering through. yes, you can live with less stuff. One of the boys bagged up about 15 teddies and soft toys and although a part of him hankers after holding on to some of it, another part of him says it is no longer going to be cool to have that many softies around. Toys they have not played with for years are being rediscovered while they clear stuff. So now, instead of being in front of the play-station, they have turned the lounge into a giant brio trainset with complicated tracks and bridges they have just newly rediscovered. The duplo they gave a miss but trains and cars are hard to part with. The dog was less convinced and caused a major catastrophe by falling onto the bridge ( simply stretching its legs). The dog was given ‘ time out’ and they resumed their game, with trains.
Another interesting development was the asking ‘ can I have an apple’ instead of the usual sweets, crisps etc that were found in the larder. And then there was a strange look when they were banished from the foodfactory back to the railway game. Life certainly has changed. One thing I would like to see them change is the ability to make every room in the house in the flux of change. Their stuff now dons the landing, both rooms, the lounge and even the bathroom. I keep reminding myself its the process that counts, a smaller life, with more space, more fun and community. Ah and the communication for working together also needs a little tweaking. On day one there was a lot of shouting, day two less shouting and stomping off. It feels like bootcamp but I do think they are having fun by the way and it sure beats the cues in airports and the eco costs of holidays. Who would have thought you could have so much adventure in your own backyard. The team have gone to bed in different rooms ( just trying it for size) and I guess some negotiation will continue to happen but thats good, when they are talking to eachother and learning to talk and use eye contact, at least they are not trying to kill someone in a game. I am keeping my fingers crossed, my hopes high and look at the growing that is taking place.