31 Days to a Minimalist Lifestyle Day 15

I am writing every day in October--taking on the challenge set forth by The Nester for bloggers to write a "31 Days to..." blog series. I'm tackling Minimalist Living and you can click here to read Day 14's post.

We live in the suburbs and are blessed with a really good sized yard. Our kids have not lacked for things to climb on, swing on, swim in, dig in, etc. We've kind of spoiled them, I have to admit. I think all kids need swings or a sandbox or something outside, but we went a little crazy with how much stuff we had accumulated over the years. Having 3 kids each 5 years apart meant that we just had too much stuff out back. 

I also realized that like in their playroom and their bedrooms, if they have too many toys, they tend to dump them all and not play effectively with them. So I started purging from the backyard. I sold or gave away multiple ride on toys, multiple shovels, buckets, balls, bats, trucks, climbers, and pool toys. 

(if you're reading this and are thinking, "But I don't have little kids or toys in my backyard!" Hang in there with me, I have some suggestions for you, too.)

Here's a look a before shot from a couple of years ago. What you can't see is the toys strewn all over the yard! I hated having to be on the kids all.the.time to pick up everything out there. Not a huge problem but our next door neighbor is a lovely retired lady who keeps her yard neat and as much as she likes to sit on her deck and watch the kids play, I think we drive her a little crazy that the yard is always a mess. 

Who am I kidding--it drives ME crazy that our backyard was always a mess!

Here's the "after" shot:

In the "after" shot, the swingset  and the veggie garden bed (that's asparagus growing in there!) are in the same location as they are in the before shot (taken 3 years ago!) Every outdoor toy we own is visible in this photo-they are all in & around the sandbox or on the deck of the playhouse. I got rid of a LOT of toys!

We got rid of that large climber with the 2 pink slides, slid the playhouse & deck over, and then the area that the sandbox & playhouse are in now has a nice landscape timber border with wood chips inside. I put a tarp down under the woodchips as a weed barrier (minimalist because it was a tarp we already had!). The woodchips were minimalist because they come from a tree trimming company for FREE. Saves our pocketbook and saves the chips being tossed into a landfill.

The kids have HONESTLY not missed having all those other toys. They really haven't. Their play is more creative because they have less stuff to toss around. The deck for the playhouse becomes a stage for performances, the sandbox is more used now, and having the area delineated by the landscape timbers keeps it neater looking in general.

If you don't have small children & loads of outdoor plastic toys, there are still things you could remove from your yard or deck or patio to streamline things. How about pots? I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but you might have too many pots crammed onto your deck or patio or balcony. Or things to stick pots on? Deck chairs & patio furniture-do you use it all? Do you have too many tools for your grill? What about stuff in your flower beds? Take a good look at your outdoor living space and see what you could minimize to free up some space.

Day 1 email

Day 2 magazines

Day 3 kitchen tools 

Day 4 junk drawer

Day 5 bathroom counter

Day 6 first aid & medicines

Day 7 kitchen sink

Day 8 plastic containers

Day 10 spices

Day 11 mail

Day 12 linen closet part 1

Day 13 linen closet part 2

Day 14 donate!!!