Call me crazy, call me a packrat, call me embarrassed.... all I have to say is that something has GOT to change soon or I'm gonna completely lose it. You see, I have this room that I call my "craft room" and Ben calls my "crap room" (figure that I can't be upset when he's speaking truth). It is busting at the seams! Here, take a look:
this is the door into said room...
these are the 16 boxes of boys clothes that DON'T fit Grey anymore... (and a couple of really cute Easter type suits) [Come to think of it, I should ask in sis-in-laws if I should bring clothes down at Easter time.]
and the fabric corner...
and one of two baby paraphernalia corners (that we just might need one day)...
this is the pile that drives me the most crazy - the stuff piled up to leave and the bins I've bought to help organize the stuff that will stay...
but don't worry, there is a "place" for me to sit and sew (but barely)...
The kind of things I feel need to stay are:
- select baby toys, swing, exersaucer, and crib - we don't know what is ahead of us in the realm of foster care. I think that makes sense - right?
- fabrics that don't have any specific project - scraps are sometimes big enough to do something else with and I guess part of me is dreaming of doing a scrap quilt someday
- craft items that could, and do, come in handy - baskets, dowel rods, old fish bowls, old curtains, picture frames are all things that were kept in a time of non-use and came in handy later
- sentimental knick-knacks that aren't currently on display - so much of this is just stuff but is so hard to see go
- extra blankets and comforters - we have been in several situations where ALL of our blankets and comforters were in use. I can't in good conscience get rid of something that we would only have to replace
Just as I wrote that, it seemed silly. Silly because I am holding on this stuff hoping to find the "best" place to give it and it is ending up not being of any good use. Silly because I'm saying that I can determine where the best places are. Silly because I am surrounded mostly by families that don't NEED these hand-me-downs but the Goodwill and/or Salvation Army can make these things available to people that do. Granted, if I knew of the perfect family for any of this stuff, it would be bagged up and delivered. (I've been known to do this. Really I have!)
Nevermind.... I guess my next job will be to pull everything out and make a list of it. As a last call, I could email my list out to all my other mom friends to see if anyone wants to make any claims. Then, everything left will get loaded up in my van and taken to the Goodwill. [Or maybe I should talk to Ben about having a garage sale... it would be our first.] Sounds like a plan.
The good news is that I think with the removal of these things, I could easily organize the above list of things in my spacious CRAFT room. Whew... maybe you've helped me solve my problem and I *won't* lose it! At least not for this reason. Thanks for listening! And if you have any anti-packrat advice, lay it on me!
PS - Steph and Chris, so you want me to bring the boys clothes to pass off at Easter?
9 comments:
Are you sure you didn't take those pictures in MY craft room??? My only advantage is that it's our guest room too, so thankfully I am called upon to find the bed now and then and make it sort of livable. I think that there is no bad/good/better/best way to get rid of clothes. I often take the first available option, which means if the vietnam vets are coming by, they get them. If I'm headed to Target I drop them by goodwill. If I know of a friend who could use them (especially one who typically is careful about money in order to be a good steward), pass them along. ;-)
Yeah, Tracy, I thought of you while I was writing some of this. We are so thankful for being your family's "next in line"! And we try our best to use our benefit wisely. I didn't write it very well in my post (and I rewrote it several times!), but having an obvious "next in line" for all our things would make things slightly easier. I don't mind "blessing" someone that doesn't NEED the things we have to pass off, but I've been spending a lot of effort trying to figure out who our "next in line" might be. I just need to stop making it so hard and move it along. I think your "first available option" idea is great!
Um, yeah... I'm all about hand-me-downs! And the good thing is that Grey, Sam and Isaac were all born in the same season, so we may have good luck in finding stuff. :) And, while I have a new understanding of the whole "sentimental" thing, I still do everything I can to be honest with myself as to whether or not we'll ever use or need the item I'm contemplating hanging on to. The answer is usually no, at which point it goes into a box in the garage that I take to Goodwill several times a year. And you know what? I've NEVER taken anything back out of that box to keep. Out of sight, out of mind!
Well, you probably don't want my advice on junk rooms. But you call that a fabric pile? P-shaw. That's no self respecting fabric pile. I've had more fabric in my purse at one time than that. I think you need some lessons in fabric hoarding, and I know a good teacher. ;-)
We have a pile of baby stuff bigger than that. It is so hard knowing what to keep when with foster kids you never know what age to expect. And when you get the kids suddenly like that, it is practically impossible to find good deals on things - you would have to buy everything you need retail. What I've done is try to keep it to a minimum. We do have a couple extra car seats - one infant and one booster, and we could use one from DH's car for a forward-facing seat. I keep a bare minimum of clothes in 0-18 months, and only gender neutral. Older kids clothes I just figure I will buy when/if needed. Babies have more of an immediate need for changes of clothes (spit-up, anyone?)
As for disposing of things we don't need anymore - at different times we've done different things. Sometimes, God places a family in my path that could really use them. Lately, I have been going to a thrift store about every month with donations. I found an independent one run by a church, and I feel better about giving my stuff to them than Goodwill - I guess b/c it is a church and their prices tend to be cheaper than Goodwill.
Wow - I've written a book. Hope it was somewhat helpful, if you made it all the way through :)
we recently went through a purge. we americans certainly accumulate a lot of stuff, don't we? i held on to tons of girl clothes hoping that if we had another baby we could save money and reuse them. oh, well! it was certainly hard to get rid of all those nice clothes and buy boy clothes instead, but such is life. it's been a lot of work, done in phases since the fall, for us to sort through old baby stuff (girl clothes, toys, etc) and not to mention getting rid of our office/guest room to make way for a baby, but i think it's been good. hard work and frustrating in that one project always leads to something else and it always takes longer than expected to get it done right though. we have donated stuff to charity, friends and have also had a garage sale. there are a few items left for craigslist.
do you have freecycle in your area? you should check to see if there's a local freecycle group locally via yahoo groups. it's basically recycling stuff to other people free of charge. it's also another good option, especially b/c you are meeting someone's need specifically. we have gotten some hand me down clothes for emma this way. people give away all kinds of stuff and you can look for things you need as well, but don't want to spend money on.
i can totally understand your need to hold onto the baby stuff in relation to foster care. makes total sense, but it might be time to find a good home for some of the other items too. i guess balance is the key. that's what i've been trying to reach in our sorting of things around the house.
good luck!
FROM AUNT LOU: Hi Mel, Your craft room post hits way too close to home. My craft room has spilled over into most of the other rooms in my house. I am one step away from being featured on "Hoarders". Catherine and Hannah may already be planning an intervention, but in the case of Catherine; the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. She just hasn't lived long enough yet, but she's on the way to a little intervention of her own. You and I are also connecting on several levels here. I keep things that I think others could use, but never seem to get them to the places where they might be needed. The biggest laugh I got, however, was the photo of the empty rubbermaid tubs waiting for your organizing day. I have more than that and a variety of sizes and shapes as well, several dollars of investment there for storage I have yet to use. What a country as they say. Anyway, your post made me laugh and Ben's nickname for you craft room as well. I remember what your father in law called an Arts and Crafts show that he once attended with his lovely wife, Ben's mom. Love you guys, Aunt Lou
Hey, Lou, I remember that comment from Mel's father in law very wall. At least it RHYMED with Arts and Crafts! LOL...
Oh, maybe I remember it very WELL, or very ceiling or floor...something like that.
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