The VanderLinden's Downsize...... And A Simple Request For Family And Friends

So, here's the deal family/friends. Our family is on a little quest as of the last few months. We are trying to downsize. Everything, really. But most notably, our belongings. A few years ago on my old health blog I talked about how we really wanted to simplify and only have things in our house that we found useful or beautiful. But only as of the last few months have we really taken that idea and run with it. Mostly, it was inspired by this videos like these (If you're interested):

We are on a mission to be as minimalist as feels comfortable for us. Minimalist-ish. We don't want a sterile, empty home. We still want our home to feel warm and cozy and be a fun place for people to hang out. But.... we only want things on the wall that we think are REALLY beautiful (Art that makes us happy, pictures of our kids, homemade pictures by our kids). We only want furniture that is REALLY being used, nothing extra. We only want toys that the kids REALLY play with. We only want to keep the kitchen gadgets that we regularly use. We only want to keep shoes and clothes that we will regularly use, and are well made and nice looking (This is unusually easy for us because neither of us are really fashionistas, thankfully).  Get it?

So here's the real point of this post, family/friends. Lots and lots of you buy our kids stuff. Wonderful, fun stuff. And they love it, they really do. But the truth is, they really don't need any more STUFF. They have enough toys. They have enough clothes. Enough stuff all together. So do Josh and I for a matter of fact. We are so grateful for your generosity, and we know that for some of you its really important to send them gifts, because you can't be around them very much. But we really, truly don't want them to have any more toys. We have really been making an honest effort to downsize all of their toys, clothes, and art supplies to only the things that they really use. Because of this, folks, any toys accidentally gifted will be promptly given to goodwill. Sorry.

But, may we list some suggestions for presents for birthdays and Christmas?--

1. Local memberships to: The zoo, aquarium, local theme parks or water parks, or fun museums. We love going on field trips!

2. Gift card for: The movie theater, mini golf, go carts, the kid's favorite restaurant at the time, barnes and noble, a treat/ice cream shop, etc.

3. Books (This is one thing we only hope to ACCUMULATE, haha)

4. Books on tape (The kids LOVE to listen to stories in the car)
5. Money

6. Coupons for trips out with YOU :)

Thanks, everybody, for reading this post. We love and appreciate you all.

The VanderLindens