Fighting the Madness...

mark's wearing off on me.. i spent five minutes doing calculations regarding this post. LOL!

I have spent the last 3 hours buried up stairs in my children's rooms and closets.  i have officially touched every item of summer clothing and replaced it by touching every article of fall clothing. it's a lot of touching. then i moved on to toys. i am half way through touching every toy in our house. ( i needed a lunch break, my blood sugar was dipping and i was feeling the urge to throw all of the toys in a box and label it trash, coming over me!) i kept thinking, "how can we have so many toys? where did all of this come from?" that's what brought me to my calculations. i figure that each child has received on average, 20 gifts a year between their birthday and christmas. those estimates do not include, valentine's day, easter, and "just because"..  we come to a grand total of 400 opportunities to receive clothing, books, and toys. we are SO appreciative of the MANY gifts people have given to our children. there are many that i refuse to pitch b/c they came from "such and such!" but when you think about 400 items being collected over the last 8 years, it can mean a ridiculous amount of things to sort through.

every 2 to 3 months i touch every toy in the house. determine how loved or unloved it is, and then i determine its destiny.

you have to be in a mood to do this kind of sorting.. kind of a cranky mood. heartless, and not sentimental. determined to find order and sanity amongst the dolls, trucks, pretty princess outfits, match box cars, endless bouncy balls, random tiny pieces to random tiny toys, puzzles, potato heads, bats, gloves, soccer balls, cleats, ballet outfits, dress up clothes, and the insane amount of stuffed animals  (if you are about to buy a baby or child a gift, will you PLEASE do them a favor and NOT buy them a stuffed animal? the mother of small children around the world will collectively thank you! :)!!

today is that day! (this should clue you in to my mood if you are paying attention)

if i don't do not purge regularly the madness will take over my house and you will never find me or my family. there will be an "out of control" kind of feeling that will taint everything i do.

the kids are getting bigger. we have no intention of returning to the infant years. and we are thrilled and at peace with that decision. therefore, i just filled my first box of infant toys EVER, to pass on to the most beloved, still in utero, baby Johnson :) a huge weight has been lifted.

i am not obsessed with cleanliness, order, and perfection. but i am motivated to find sanity, functionality (is that a word?), and rhythm,  so that i can focus of the PEOPLE who are far more important than any THING!!

so here is to fighting the madness.
happy purging!
~s