Today I de-cluttered our home of VHS tapes, a couple things that needed to be thrown in the trash, and a pair of shoes that no longer fit my baby girl.
Sniff.
I have a confession to make.
It’s a miracle that I’m donating Elisabeth’s baby shoes. I’m the type of mom that used to keep every piece of baby clothing, shoes, bibs, blankets, pretty much everything, just in case we had another baby.
And we did keep having babies, so the things that I kept came in handy and saved us money. But now that we’re pretty sure Elisabeth is going to be our fifth and final baby, I’ve gone a little crazy let go and stopped keeping EVERYTHING.
The tipping point was when we lived in Georgia and discovered that we had tons and tons of old kid’s clothes packed in boxes and tubs that we’d brought with us from Illinois. We had brought that stuff with us and ended up having to leave behind useful things that we actually wanted, like computer chairs, desks, and a whole lot of other stuff that we had to put at the curb with a big sign that read, “FREE.”
Letting Go
I ended up donating most of those clothes in Georgia. Ruben made countless trips to drop off bags of stuff, and I learned a lesson. I now only hang onto items Elisabeth has worn over and over and that I want to keep as a memory of when she was a baby.
It’s progress. π
Are you joining in this challenge? Is there clutter in your home that you could get rid of today?
I am the same way…and it drives my husband crazy! lol I was able to pare it down to just one big box for each child, which we keep up at the top of their closets. If I can’t fit it in the box, it has to go.
I also used to keep each and every picture or worksheet that my daughter made in school, but after Kindergarten, we just had so much paper that we ran out of room to store it. I had to go through and just keep the most important papers.
That’s a good idea – one big box per kid. That definitely works toward over-keeping clothes and things that no longer fit.
We STILL have boxes full of old papers for the kids. π I don’t see myself going through them anytime soon, but as long as they’re able to stay in the garage and not be in the way…I’m just going to keep them all for now.
I am dreading going through our loft and sorting out the junk up there. We are moving soon and it is going to be a monumental task. I bet it felt good afterwards though.
Hi Katie, it does feel good to get rid of clutter little by little. I like the extra push this challenge gives me, too.
I hope your move goes well! π
My mom was the exact same way. When we moved from Louisville to Seattle about 15 years ago, going through things in the garage we found all the old baby clothes and even TWO huge dish-pack boxes full of lengths of polyester fabric. After much discussion, I convinced her to donate the polyester as none of us kids would ever have worn it and we’d already moved it 3 times back and forth across the country!
Lol, Alison! That is too funny! π It’s funny how when things are packed up in boxes, they can be easily forgotten. Out of sight, out of mind.
My husband and myself don’t keep much. My husband grew up with a dad who keeps lots of stuff. Which drives him crazy. So he isn’t a pack rat type person at all. I used to be more of a pack rat. But I grew up in one house and I have only moved twice in my adult life. So I haven’t had to move my stuff very often.
I am glad to be going through our stuff and clearing out the clutter. After 15 years in one house things can get put away and forgotten about.
That’s amazing, Shelly. You’ve only moved twice in your adult life. Wow! I’m moved about 10 times in my marriage…not because we’re on the run, either. π
You crack me up Sandra!
Those shoes are darling… you should feel really good that some other little girl will be getting a chance to enjoy them!
That’s a very good point, Denise. π Thank you for mentioning it. I’m thrilled that another little girl will get to enjoy those shoes.