Quick DIY furniture makeover...and some thoughts about how less is more!

Very often, I stop in my tracks and consider whether that trip to the mall is actually the best or smartest move.
Very often I end up using leftovers, or whipping up a quick DIY project, and this leaves me a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment.
Let's be clear, I'm a girl and I love the occasional trip to shopping places.
But for a few years now, precisely after an emotional shock (the loss of my dad) and later a shift to a new condition/status (parental leave), I started pruning, decluttering,stashing away, while intentionally keeping the most precious and meaningful. And I haven't stopped loving it.
Decluttering actually seems to automatically open new spaces in my mind. It freshens up my brain while freshening up the space I live in.
This week I stopped again in my tracks. I gave up grocery/errands shopping; instead I cooked pasta and spotted a set of shelves abandonned in a corner of the attic.

I also decided to give up my tendency to wait for the best material/best moment/best fit. Better done now than possibly perfect in an indefinite future!
These shelves didn't have a particular style. They had protruding elements on the top (to allow for the addition another shelf).

I then moved to my little boy's collection of Legos. Although he loves them, he didn't play too often with them. Mainly because they were heaped in a box, where it was hard to sort them out, where they were an indefinite mass of items. Kids need to have easy access to their toys. They need to be able to go through them without drowning in a pile of objects. They need a place to play with them. Sometimes just a little teeny tiny spark to set new games in motion. They need to be able to see what they have. Not to invest time in choosing and sorting through more toys than they can deal with. Excess induces stress not only with adults. Kids too, need space to breathe and relax, feeling free for creativity and imagination. And fun. And dreams.

So I took out all my boys' Lego blocks. Simply hot-glued a selection of them on the higher shelf (one layer), along the whole perimeter, and on one fourth of the bottom shelf (following my boy's instructions, as he wanted a small garage). This reduced noticeably the number of Lego blocks and allowed new playing space to play with the remaining mobile Legos.
It was also the occasion to set aside a few toys that were broken or outgrown.
In addition to that, it allowed me to finally create a kind of Lego table. I had seen some of those for sale, at a very high price. This one didn't cost me anything!

It was also fun to make, and all my kids engaged in the process, some simply watching, some selecting the Legos to glue, and some giving directions! ;)
But the best part is that since this quick DIY furniture makeover, they have spent hours playing with my boy's Lego blocks. The little cars have found their place on the middle shelf, and I have customized the blue container that is now officially and obviously the box for Lego toys!

Too much of everything...

For years I have been decluttering, giving away,
Pruning, selecting, dumping, and yet
Everywhere I look, I see
Too much of everything.

Maybe it is time that passes,
Maybe it is a small personal crisis,
Maybe it is, too, that craving
For a fresh start...

I love objects, I love presents, I am not denying
All the beauties and comfort of the times
I live in. No, I am not an extremist,
I shun extremes as they don't usually
Avail too much good.

But when it comes to stuff, I think
We have too much, far too much
Of everything. Sometimes my heart
Skips a little beat, when I read things
Like this...and that...or this..

Do you feel this, too? Do you feel you have
Too much? In a way that stuff hides stuff,
Objects are buried beneath objects,
Clothes beneath clothes. As I look around,
I see too many beauty products in my bathroom,
Too many clothes in the closet,
Too many papers in my desk drawers,
Too many toys in my kids' room.
I don't want my house to be a desert,
A barren land following strict rules,
I don't want to lack in anything, but...

What do these objects represent, once there are
Too many of them: easily thrown away, piled or
Forgotten? Easily lost? Not to mention all the work,
Cost and waste they might entail...

When I have less things, I find my way
More easily, my mind is more at rest,
My kids find again toys they had tucked away,
My daughters enjoying wearing again that jumper
That had been stashed under a shelf.
The house breathes, and each object we have
Recovers its deserved value: emotional,
Sentimental, possibly financial.
Every object finds again the place
It owns in our home. None is hidden,
Neglected, forlorn.

Maybe I am drifting more and more
To a zen-aspiring place, in my mind,
In my home. I realize tons of money
Are spent on useless stuff, tons of
Time are wasted on meaningless stuff.
While our real riches are our time,
And the way we spend it. And how can
Our kids grow up in a balanced way, in a world
Dominated by consumption, advertising, competition?
There is not only working to make money,
There is also a whole world of appreciating
Really, deeply, the things we have. Giving them
Real value, consideration.

It's like, you know, the tree that hides
The forest...We lose track of things.
Do you also feel, that you have too much
Of everything?

This is a picture of the dojo where I take two of my kids.

It has brought us lots of happiness over the last few months. 
See...an empty space, but vibrant and alive with many, many laughters and memories.