Spring hasn’t completely sprung around these parts just yet (and I heard someone say we’re to expect 15 – 20 centimetres of snow on Friday… I will try not to weep, but I can make no promises.) I may not be able to put those snowpants away just yet, but the itch to get the spring sorting and purging underway has been too strong to ignore lately.
One particular area driving me mental is the TV room, where the kids spend the better part of their indoor playtime. The amount of stuff we can accumulate is kind of astounding. From Christmas gifts to birthday gifts, loot bag items and dollar store junk… is that a plastic tomato on a keychain? WHY do we own this?!
Normally, I like to work on these tasks when the children are at school for obvious reasons – it’s the sane way to go, without hearing b-b-but… it’s… my… favourite!? being shrieked at every turn – but over the weekend, I just couldn’t seem to leave it for another day.
First of all, though I’m happy most of the things get stashed inside a closet or an armoire, and I KNOW these areas get haphazardly jammed with stuff, all willy-nilly and whatnot, after some time, these spaces just need a re-set.
Uch… my eyes.
… all the junk…
And what the hell do I do with all this dress-up fondant-y crap?
If I truly tried to live by William Morris’ quote: have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful then believe you me, I would throw away most of this craptastic array… but children love their stuff. It’s part of their joy, I guess.
But the McDonald’s plastic toys, and the broken bits and bobs, and those stray bits of what does this go with? and stuff missing eyes or limbs, and all the cruddy, drying mixed-into-brown playdough… I just get out my trash bag and start filling it up.
And it’s soooo bloody satisfying.
Truthfully, there wasn’t so much I could get rid of completely, but reordering what goes on shelves helps. Madame is taller. And waning interests in babyish things, and her growing desire to do more crafty-type projects (solo) has meant moving some things things around so she has access. I never let her use scissors without supervision in the past, but she can be unaccompanied with those in hand, as well as glue sticks and markers now – I trust her. (Let’s hope I haven’t just jinxed myself.)
All those Lego figurines Oliver had been building and collecting looked cool displayed next to the couch when we had four or five of them, but as the collection swelled to many, many more, always lumped into a massive, tangled heap of super-hero/villian plastic weaponry and such, it became clear to me that they needed a new home. They now have a space on the closet shelf, amongst the Skylander figurines, and the other Lego-stuff he hasn’t built yet.
Gone now are the 0-3 aged toys like shape sorters and squeaky toys, but the math games mind puzzles are at the ready. Baby dolls and their accoutrement have been sorted back into their bins, the play foods are back in their basket, and I won’t likely find a plastic cob of corn or a doll’s shoe inside the couch. Or on the driver’s side of the cement mixer truck we have kicking around. Or inside a puzzle box. Or wherever.
And I made peace with the inside of this armoire ages ago. At least it has doors that close.
I gave away what I could, and set some things to donate, but I will not feel bad about any of the stuff Ijusthavetotrashthisrightnowohmygodleavemyhooooouse… that nagging feeling of “wasting” something was gone the moment I put the lid on the trash pail.
*exhales*
I feel so much better now.
Have you started your spring sorting & purging yet? Do you love the process, or do you loathe it?
Thank you, sir! Indeed, to get into the zone, one needs copious amounts of coffee (if it’s morning) or many pints (if it is afternoon). I prefer wine during the evening, but often these last two make me want to sit down and LOOK at the closet, rather than sort it… so proceed with caution. 😉
Oh yes, girl… take a day to do it before your garage sale, and I’ll bet you’ll find even more stuff to tag.
In your case, I would take everything out of the closet, and sort it into piles first – then you see everything you have, and can make decisions about what stays. (Also, you can run a vacuum or whatever inside before you put stuff back.)
Be ruthless! You can do it!!
Your organization skills are impressive. How does one get into the zone of organization? Is there some sort of magic elixir one can take to focus on such a meticulous and arduous task?
J.
I’m so goddamn jealous…I can’t WAIT to do this. I’m actually thinking of taking a vacation day prior to our garage sale just to do this.
Hee!! I mistakenly typed “job” the first time… And thanks, lady! Indeed, if I’m ever Rockies-bound, I will stop in. In fact, I’ll probably need to stay with you, so get ready. Heh. xox
lol…typed “joy” not “job”.
THANK YOU, AUTOCORRECT, for that oh-too-accurate reminder of two polar opposites that are orthographically nearly the same. Boo!
Geez, lady…your before pics are more organized than my after pics.
And yes, I love that William Morris quote (and all things William Morris, come to think of it). But the truth is, to those kiddies? That craptastic stuff? They KNOW TO BE BEAUTIFUL. You’re right, it’s part of their job (and our pain).
Kudos on an incredible job. Any time you feel the urge to check out the beautiful Rockies, feel free to stop off at my house and purge/organize!
Awww, Jen… you’ll get there- I have faith in you!! And I wrote this on FB under this post when someone asked:
Just open the closet doors and make everything look pretty, like a store. Anything that makes it look bad? Stash it elsewhere. Can’t re-stash it? Hide it in the background… put pretty in front. Can’t hide it? Make peace with it. Or move house.
I work backwards like that. I like the pretty. And I’m a slave to the final stage, but I love it. 😉
OMG. I need you at my house STAT. The pre-reno purge is on and well, it looks nothing like this 🙁
I’ve wanted to more “ditch-the-box” chucking, but sometimes there are necessary pics or instructions all over the box, and we need to keep them. Boo! I hate messy open shelves, too… I’m so glad the closet and armoire have doors! I’d be in an asylum if they didn’t.
And I used to reset the stuff every day, but I didn’t get enough help with that *ahem children* and they don’t seem to care much about it… it’s totally me. But once in a while, I just can’t take it for another second, and I simply MUST. Ack!!
I sort and put away at least every other day. When I buy toys, I buy a clear plastic bin to put it away in on a shelf so i can immediately ditch the box it came in. Honestly, I think it’s a disease! I don’t mind a mess in closets, the garage, or the china cabinet (oy, that one is BAD, yo!). But if it is on an open shelf? It had better be tidy and organised.
Sadly, I don’t seem to have passed this on to my kids though, lol!
As much as I complain about toy clutter though … I just know I’m going to miss it when it’s all gone. I took such care in choosing so many of their toys that it’s going to be hard to part with some of them. I’m going to have to get a GIANT bin to put the good stuff aside for the grandkids 😉