I find it rather fitting that the last post I did was about mothering since the nature of that very job is the reason it has been so very long since I have blogged (FYI, having a third child rocks my world. Who would have thunk it).
I’m back at the keyboard because I am feeling emotional and when my emotions go into overdrive nap time becomes blogging time. I’ve been going throughout our house and purging. I mean really truly purging. Every other season I go through clothes and toys and get rid of the excess but this time I am getting down to the nitty gritty- those hard to get rid of memorabilia of the past and the boxes of “someday, maybe I’ll use this for something”.
My heart was aching last night as I went through boxes, pulling out the old stuffies I have held on to: the duck my aunt and uncle gave me after I had surgery, the mama bunny and baby monkey I dragged around as a child, the Winnie the Pooh my brother spent our whole trip to Disney Land finding creative ways to “kill”. Let’s be honest though, they are old, a bit dirty, and my children certainly don’t need any more stuffies. I took the advice of my storage and organization teacher and took a picture to remember them by then shoved them into a bag along with other pretty trinkets I’ve kept in boxes for years.
I often hold onto objects, stuffed in boxes, because they hold memories for me but when I think about it, it is more honoring to those memories to take a picture and pass on the objects to someone else who can enjoy them. True confession: I couldn’t put my stuffies in the trash, I sent them to Value Village along with the nicer stuff and if they don’t want them they can do the dirty work. My sentimental heart can only handle so much!
I also have a good fill of space taken up with “someday, maybe” objects. My old martial arts equipment: “well, maybe I’ll join up again someday”. Half finished crochet projects: “I’m sure I could figure out where I left off”. Pieces of extra fabric: “maybe I could make Sofia a costume from this someday”. Clearly I need a verbal spanking. Here it is self: “martial arts killed your back, you’ll never be able to figure out what stitch you left off at and you’re too flipping busy to craft a custom Halloween costume. This is how people become hoarders so get it gone!”
Clearly I digress…but the fact is that just because I have a large garage doesn’t mean I should fill it with boxes of stuff. As I purge my memorabilia I am also encouraged by the idea of clearing out our garage to the point that we can make it into a functional crafting/reading space. Since I have finished decorating the rest of our house you know how exciting it would be to have a new space to decorate in my home!
What about you. Can you relate to the need to purge and the misspent heartache of doing so? Why not join me in this cleansing process? Take a picture and move on friend!