Spring Cleaning? Spring Purging!!
Posted on April 6, 2010 by FoBaM-Jamie
Kids come complete with their own clutter. From day one, the paraphernalia accumulates at an exponential rate that has more in common with the way gossip and viruses spread than the properties you would typically apply to “stuff.”
I’m currently experiencing an acute case of clutter-itis. I moved last Thursday and had to pack up every single piece of flotsam and jetsam and truck it seven miles to our new house. I started the process with the best intentions to toss more than I packed, but – in the end – time slipped away from me and I wound up frantically tossing everything (from scraps of my daughter’s Kindergarten homework to shoes that haven’t fit her in two seasons) into large cardboard boxes that were then labeled, unhelpfully, “Misc.”
Though the piles of crap sometimes bring on mild panic attacks, I have more or less resigned myself to this life of chaos. I carve out living spaces that are free of junk and turn a blind eye on the rest of the house. My home office, for instance, is currently buried under a half dozen plastic file boxes full of magazine clippings that are nearly three times older than my daughter, an amazingly robust collection of once-used gift bags (I just can’t bring myself to toss them … there’s nothing wrong with them!), several pieces of flea market furniture, a film camera that I haven’t used in over a decade, and other similarly useless items.
A friend of mine recently had a major flood in the basement. She cheerfully informed me this morning that she’s getting a dumpster for all the stuff that got damaged. She’s not even going to open the boxes. I wish I had that kind of will power … and a dumpster. Though a move is a perfect excuse opportunity to toss out or donate large quantities of clutter, the probability is high that I’ll stash this latest collection in closets and under beds and wind up moving it again in a few years.
How’s your clutter? Any tips on how to dump the excess baggage? Any success stories from moms who have found a new, much lighter lease on life by letting go of all the stuff?
Out of the way! Mommy’s Organizing!
Posted on January 12, 2010 by FoBaM-Jamie
A place for everything and everything in its place … now, where the heck did I put that …
One of pregnancy’s less dramatic side effects is the urge to, as it’s quaintly called, “nest.” I nested right up until my doctor hauled me into the maternity ward. Despite being 4 centimeters dilated (though I didn’t know it at the time), I was happily washing baby clothes, vacuuming, and tidying the nursery (for the 117th time).
But, maybe that’s just me. I know I’m a little (ok, a lot) Type-A when it comes to The Way I Like Things. For instance, I have the urge to tackle “spring” cleaning at least three or four times a year. January is one of those times. The holidays are over, my house is almost back to “normal” (there are always a few errant Christmas knick-knacks that manage to remain outside the cardboard storage boxes), and the air is full of New Year’s intentions and the sharp, tangy smell of fresh starts. I’m ready to sweep away the clutter of the old year and prepare myself for the new one. Read More…
