I do have a weakness for brands with four-letter names, especially European ones: IKEA, ALDI, and LEGO for example. Each of them deserves its own post, but today’s text is dedicated to Lego. I love it… and I hate it.
Despite having grown up in East Germany, I did have some real Lego to play with. It was a hand-me-down set from our West German relatives. I am pretty sure it must have been 6365: Summer Cottage. Of course I didn’t have the box, nor the instructions, but I vividly remember the roof bricks, the little yellow mug, the figure, which was surprisingly androgynous for its time, and of course the windows, the stove, the pine tree, and the flowers.
When my son was a toddler, I came across some Duplo Lego at our amazing consignment store (Mama Goose) and remembered that I had a few of those pieces as a kid as well. They are perfect for toddlers. It’s all plastic, sure, but they are indestructible and don’t bear any choking hazards. So I bought some. Needless to say, my son loved it. He built towers taller than him, and when his little sister came along, I didn’t have to worry about her getting a hold of it. Even though my son did worry quite a lot.
I started to buy more using up my store credit. Then I discovered the Lego website and was drawn into it. I am now a VIP customer and received some sets for free and accumulated a few points – of course. I even involved my mom, because filling the Christmas calendars with Lego Duplo bricks instead of chocolate is a lot healthier. Then each of my children got nice new sets for their birthdays which matched their personalities. I had to buy a bigger and bigger container, and suddenly Lego wasn’t all that popular anymore. I realized it became harder for my kids to find the pieces they were looking for, and my decluttering instinct suddenly clicked into place. We (my kids and I), decluttered their Lego and sold at least half of it.
Now, it is one of the most played toys inside the house. It’s perfect because it enables both of my children to play together so well. My daughter will play construction workers with my son, and he will make her animals talk, or let „Frau Doctor“ treat some sick worker men. The Duplo train set also helped them learn the numbers.
During all those past years I was not just infected with the Duplo strain of the Lego virus, but also the „real“ Lego virus. Whenever I saw a box or tub of regular Lego at Mama Goose, I would buy it. My children knew about it, and we call it „school-kids-Lego“. I had it stored away in a giant Ikea (!) storage tube that was, unfortunately, transparent.
Getting very close to the core of my decluttering onion, I kept thinking about this enormous amount of Lego, and it gave me anxiety out of two reasons:
One, it was way too much. I overdid it. Most of it was acquired through emotional impulse buys.
Second, Santa Clause wants to bring it, because it should belong to both kids. But they already saw it and knew about it.
Luckily, the universe (or who-/whatever you believe in) offered a solution: A neighbor was looking for Lego donations for a youth program involving 4th and 5th graders. Perfect! We convinced and involved our children in sorting out the school-Lego and giving it away. We made two piles, one of the Lego they liked and wanted to get from Santa for Christmas, and another pile just for the other kids. We took a picture of the Lego they wanted from Santa, so he can make the exact same and bring it at Christmas. Then we gave it all away. (Of course, the „keep“ pile went to Santa’s elves for storage.) I was so relieved. Problem solved!
Then, I saw that IKEA now sells Lego. A match made in heaven, with the perfect boxes only IKEA would sell. I did some research and even adult Lego fans are raving about them. So of course I bought a set as the very first „school-Lego“ my son will get for his birthday. (He has already exclaimed that he will then sell his Duplo Lego.)
Today, I checked ALDI’s (oh those four-letter words) website for their weekly deals. And guess what I saw? Lego sets! It led me to waste a substantial amount of time looking at Lego online. And when I had to stop at Target to fetch just one thing (dark chocolate of course), I coincidentally had to walk past the Lego aisle on the way back to the cash register. It took me all my strength, and more, to not buy any of it. Because at the end of the day, it is all designed and marketed to make us want more, even collect it. Pushing all our buttons, and flipping all our triggers.
I love Scandinavia. At least the style and idea of it. Trying to become a minimalist, how can you not? After watching Lego House: Home of the Brick on Netflix, I was in love. I live for the concept of creating many different things out of just a few pieces. I believe Alma Siedhoff-Buscher from Bauhaus was one of the first ones to create such a toy. Her set has only 22 pieces! Watching my children play with their Lego now, I am convinced the saying is true: Less is more. Please, don’t listen to the manufacturers, not even the Scandinavian ones.