Stairs

Anyone who has been to Japan knows that it is a country of stairs. To get to most temples, shrines, parks etc. there are usually a huge number of stairs involved. Because it is a country of lots of people in a small area they also tend to have 2 storied houses rather than the one storied houses that are the normal in New Zealand. Even here in the countryside they generally have 2 storied houses. Unfortunately the builders haven't worked out that it is better to have wider and less steep stairs if you are going to actually use the stairs.... especially if you main storage area of all the seasonal essentials in Japan is upstairs!
Today I decided that I just couldn't face carting the big boxes of Hina dolls upstairs so I decided to reclaim the cupboard in our tatami room that had been turned into a toy cupboard. It took me all morning, but I pulled everything out and everything that wouldn't fit into the smaller hall cupboard was put in a huge pile for the kids to go through when they got home. I have trouble throwing away toys etc., but they play with them so little now that it is really not worth keeping them all. The new rule is that anything that doesn't fit into the toy cupboard that they want must be kept in their bedrooms. The result... a more orderly toy cupboard, a cupboard to store all our cushions, seasonal dolls etc. and a pile of toys which will sit in the corner for 2 weeks and if not claimed by any visitors will be dealt with as seen fit at that time... and when the kids aren't watching! Katy - we will probably be home by 1:30pm on Sunday if you are needing an outing and a few extra bribes to keep the kids in order for the next few weeks!