Stuff takes time

The other day I spent a while just filtering and incorporating Easter gifts.

This is not a complaint, actually. I was grateful for the gifts that we received.

Best of all, my sister-in-law gave me a bouquet of tulips. Which I love. Which remind me of my mother. Thank you for these! Yes, they took a little bit of my time -- far less than the time she spent picking them up, I'm sure. I retrieved a vase from the basement; I chopped off the bottoms and arranged them and threw out the debris; I picked up the petals that fell off each day; and when they died I threw them out and hand-washed the vase; which I will take back to the basement. I don't have to store the flowers forever; I wish they'd lasted longer! In the process, I noticed that I have several other vases that I never use and was motivated to ditch those ones.

My parents-in-law listened to us and gave our son things he will use -- Play Doh and sidewalk chalk. Thank you. Two packages of each, though... unless he decides to colour our entire patio, he'll be using this up for years to come. They're grandparents; they're enthusiastic; how will they know it's too much if I don't tell them? 

My sisters-in-law gave him games. Games are good.

I even succumbed to the family's Easter gift tradition and bought J some paints and two paint-brushes (his first).

So I had to find places for all of this stuff. Note to self: allow room for expansion when setting up a storage system. Sure, in theory, toss an old toy to make way for a new toy. But in reality, the day we receive something is not necessarily the day we have time to purge. And a bag full of gifts with nowhere to go is annoying.

As I said, this is not a complaint -- J received thoughtful, useful gifts; I really enjoyed the tulips.

This is a recognition that stuff takes time; less stuff takes less time. Having a place to put it saves some of that time.