My mom saves less than my grandma, but still quite a bit more than I do. She’s been known to save buttons, glass jars, scraps of material and plastic containers with abandon.

I seem to have picked up a little of that mentality too, though my mom has looked at me with something like disbelief/disapproval as I’ve pitched certain things. I freely toss plastic bags, aluminum foil and even, gasp, glass jars. I have a hard time not saving certain things though, “just in case.” It seems like I’ll get tired of something or it’ll not work quite right, so I’ll put it in the attic and then a few years later, I’ll need or want it again. Or I’ll save a cool-looking bottle or jar, thinking that I might want to use it someday.

Right. Decisions like that usually cost me a lot of storage space and cleaning time, particularly since I don’t even remember what I’ve saved.

My kids think just about everything is disposable, and totally replaceable, just because so many household items are today. We have disposable containers, disposable plates, batteries, you name it. That’s what the kids see, so when something happens to an expensive item, they say, “Well, we can just get a new one.” Uh, no. They, particularly the younger ones, don’t have a clue how to put a value on their belongings.

The boys each got a Leapster for Christmas. Cody has that GameBoy obsession I referred to in my post, The GameBoy Addiction, so I thought a Leapster might be a good gift for him since it’s supposed to be educational. Sure enough, like many toys before them, both Leapsters have already started acting funny, most likely because they have been dropped on the floor more than once. <<gritting teeth>>

When I said that the Leapster just probably isn’t working right anymore, Cody nonchalantly said he’d just get a new one. I tried to explain that Leapsters are not cheap and that once it breaks, that’s it, so he better learn to take care of it. He just looked at me with a blank expression, clearly not understanding why this wasn’t as replaceable as a roll of toilet paper.

I’m sure it’s hard for little kids in this century to grasp which things are disposable and which are not (can you say “dollar store?”), but I think it’s important to teach them to respect and take care of their belongings anyway.

Some day we might not have the luxury of throwing things away so easily.

What do you think about the disposable mentality and its effect on kids?

Keeping in the same vein as my last post, this is one of my recent discoveries to help keep clutter at bay. I just wish I would have thought of it sooner!

For Logan’s fourth birthday in March, I asked the family to give him disposable items, such as helium balloons, party hats or bubbles. It was perfect for everyone — no one had to spend much money, Logan was thrilled with his gifts and I was relieved that I didn’t have to add anything to the overstuffed toy box. I hadn’t ever done this before, but it turned out so well, I think I’ll make it routine. Just disposable/throw-away gifts or books from now on. My kids have shelves of books, but those, I won’t give away.

A big gift that a child really wants, given by parents and/or grandparents, along with the aforementioned disposable gifts, seems to be the best way to inspire gratitude and keep overspending and overspoiling at a minimum. I’m tired of feeling guilty about the number of toys we have accumulated. It seems so wasteful when there are millions of people in the world without food, clean water or decent health care.

The girls’ tenth birthday is coming up in June. We’ll probably get them new bikes, since they’ve outgrown their old ones, and other relatives can give them gum, bubbles, books and maybe games for their Game Boys or batteries for their digital camera.

I want to do a better job of passing on a sense of frugality and simplicity to my kids. They have so much more than I did as a child, mostly because many things are a lot more inexpensive now than they were back in my day. Yet since they don’t know any differently, they take all their ”stuff” for granted. I want them to learn to be grateful for everything they get, rather than expecting it.

What are some ways you’ve found to help fight the war on collecting too much stuff? How about to help your kids be thankful for what they’re given?