Cleaning up can be hard on the heart

By Staff
Mom's Corner, Michelle Blaylock
Hello, everyone! I hope you've had a great week. We've been busy trying to get ready for a yard sale. Before we go any further, I must make a confession – I am a pack rat! I will keep just about anything! When the movers delivered 750 boxes plus furniture, I realized that I had let my "pack rat" mania get out of control and something had to give! Hence the yard sale. Unfortunately, I kept saying, "Well, I might need this." or "I can't give that up so and so gave it to me." OK, so obviously I needed some guidelines. Here are some of the things that worked for me.
First of all, John and I decided that we weren't going to have any more little babies. Therefore, I could get rid of all that stuff – right?
Well, that didn't quite work for me, because that's when the sentimental side of me kicked in big time. I kept thinking things like, "My grandbabies could always use this or that." What was I thinking? My oldest child is 15, for crying out loud! How long am I willing to store this stuff? Good grief! I decided I had to define how much space I was willing to sacrifice for "posterity." I voted for not much. Therefore, out went all the big baby things and next came all those cute little outfits. How could I ever choose? I decided to allow myself two boxes for those cute little sentimental clothes and I had make them fit in the boxes or get rid of them. Now, I must admit I should have probably used just one box. However, in self defense, I must say I have quite a few little frilly dresses that my mom bought me when I was little. She passed them down to my daughters and I just couldn't part with them (not to mention my mother would disown me if I did!).
Next came the kid's toys. When we lived in Kentucky, we started telling the kids if they didn't pick up their toys they (the toys) would be "timed out" until further notice. John and I would take the toys and put them in the huge 50 gallon barrels. After we moved and began to unpack,
I decided that the kids could only have the toys out of the barrels and boxes that they could remember. I did allow some grouping like Barbie toys, doll clothes, and Legos. However, for things like the dolls, and stuffed animals they had to be specific. What amazed me was everything they could remember! After some tears (mine and theirs) and begging (theirs) we finally made the hard decisions.
The last thing that I had to do was sort through the household and knick-knack stuff. Again, I wanted to keep it all. I decided if I couldn't find a home for the item, then I couldn't keep it. OK, so I did keep a few things in boxes, but it's greatly reduced, and what I did keep are things that I use once in a while and really felt like I needed to keep.
The knick-knacks I've kept are with the intention of rotating them with the ones I currently have out when I tire of them.
As for all the "gifts" that someone special gave to me, it finally occurred to me that those people didn't give their gifts with the intent of them being packed in a box or stuffed in a closet somewhere. I really believe they would rather see the things used and enjoyed even if it isn't by me. Over all, our house is finally coming together. I read one time that it takes as much as two years after you move for everything to become "normal" and for it to feel like home. I hope I can make that happen a little quicker. Do you have some suggestions about how you sort, clean, or de-clutter that you could share? Also, I'm putting together some favorite fall recipes. Do you have one to share? Please send it to me at: Mom's Corner, P.O. Box 1496, Hartselle, AL 35640. God bless.