Purge

Hi All,

I've been trapped in the non-blogging world and was finally able to escape. Life this time of year is so crazy with all of the boys' activities, doing stuff for the store and EK as well as my biggest project...I'm moving my "studio" from the dining room (we have an open floor plan house so my "disaster area" can be seen by all...not good) to our lovely pit of a basement!!!

This was no easy task as our basement is literally a PIT! I actually have to go through the garage to get to the basement. We have been in this house for ten years...bought it before we got married so have added three wedding showers worth of gifts as well as 8 years worth of boy stuff. It was pretty much floor to ceiling stuff with a path from the door to the washer and dryer.

First of all I know that overcoming an addiction begins with admitting you have a problem. OK...here it is...I'm a hoarder! I come by it honestly:

My grandmother was a hoarder. When we moved her into a nursing home we found over 2oo margarine containers in her crawl space. Her excuse was that she lived through the depression so she saved everything. OK.

My mother is a hoarder. She is also a crafter. Every couple of years she picks up a new hobby and goes wild. She gets EVERYTHING she can find to support that hobby. Now the old ranch house is busting at the seams with everything from wood to stamps (major obsession) to scrapbooking to a small yarn retail outlet...not a boutique...an OUTLET! She says it's because her MOM lived through the depression and would never let her throw anything away....hmmm....I see a pattern developing.

Luckily I have the support of a non-hoarding friend who is helping me to break the cycle. For every voice in my head saying "you can't throw that scrap away...you might need it SOMEDAY" I have Kara shouting at me to get rid of it..."It's only weighing you down!" She's right. I do not need to keep all of the clothes that I'll never fit into again just because there is a memory attached. I have photos and what do you know...MEMORIES... for that. Don't need that leather mini skirt from the 80's!

The hardest part was getting rid of ANY of the boy's clothes...not the toys...the clothes! I look at those tiny things and remember when their little bottoms used to fit in the palm of one hand. They are both two handers now! Again...I have the photos AND the memories...and the bottoms only in a larger size! I am also lucky enough to have a family in Grant's Cub Scout den who have a younger brother that fits into a lot of the toddler thing so I get to have visits with my sentimental little clothes every week or two. Getting rid of the toys was not as hard because I am so tired of picking them up and stepping on them...plus the boys are SO NOT into Pooh or Thomas any more. It's all Transformers and Legos (which I might add hurt much worse than the squishy Pooh's under my bare feet)

I'll post the before and after photos once I have everything in place so check back later.