Weekend Uncluttering

[fred_mouse]

How goes your weekend? Are the unloved items sneaking out of the wood-work, or are they perfecting their camouflage?

I'm back in the salt minesspare room, sorting paper again, although I've done a few other bits and pieces of sorting as well. I found yet more kid sized coat hangers (I swear, they are spawning under the kids' beds); made the kids look through a basket of bits and pieces that were pulled off the shelves for being inconveniently located (they kept one pack of cards and the twister game, which means about a dozen items of assorted sizes will go, including a kids microscope and a game of Buckaroo); moved the contents of shelving around in the games room/library, resulting in about 20 books that I want to get rid of (one vetoed so far) and four damaged items thrown out.

I've also moved several items out to the car to be dropped at the op-shop in the morning. I'm hoping that they open at 9am, because the current plan says groceries (which are on that street), op-shop, shopping for bulk staples, and if the middle part doesn't work, the car will be too full for the last part (plan: one carton each breakfast cereal, soy milk; at least two 2L tubs of peanut butter, and multiple 2-3kg jars of assorted pickles).

And I've made a promise to myself that when one particular artistically minded family member passes on (possibly within the next decade), the kids and I will do a thorough inventory of all the things that that person has given us, and work out which ones we actually love, and rehome the rest (so many items on the display shelf - I really had forgotten how many dust collecting knickknacks are attributable to this one person). Rehoming them now would be an unkindness, but oh, I hate dusting them.

Comments

[brigid]

I packed up & moved out several trash bags worth of items including toddler-appropriate board games and tub toys my 8yo hasn't played with in years. Next week he and I are going to winnow out his book case and pack up books he's outgrown. I've already donated several grocery sacks worth without him knowing. Once the current ones are packed up I'm going to sort them into toss/donate and keep. I was really happy to be able to share books from my childhood with him... few were left because my parents' basement flooded with sewage several times. I'm hoping if he has kids he'll have that same thrill of sharing his (and my!) books with his kids. I'm going to pretend that's not a form of hoarding. Shhh.

[fred_mouse]

Keeping the good books is not a form of hoarding, it is saving the important things for the next generation. I have heard too many stories of people being unable to replace a beloved book when a youngling comes into their lives to think otherwise.

On the other hand, good on you for getting rid of the extras! I get my kids to go through our picture/small kid books on a semi-regular interval, and we still have many shelves worth.