The house is a wreck in a great way. Our spare bedroom is piled high with stuff. We are purging and cleaning and giving away and it feels great.
I think there are two great disadvantages of having a fairly large house.
1. Cleaning. Ugh. This place can be a beast to clean. OK, we obviously don't live in Downton Abbey, that might be more worthy of the title beast, but we'll just say it is no 20 minute job.
2. Stuff. More space means more room for stuff. Books, papers, clothes, toys, kitchen stuff. Oi!
I decided it was time to really pare down our stuff, or at least to start paring it down. I started in the kids rooms with all the hand-me-down clothes. Changing seasons and changing sizes in our house is a bit of a nightmare. After going through all the hand-me-downs for HC and Annelise, I discovered that I actually did not need one single piece of new clothing for either of them. Thank you friends who give me clothes! In turn I am giving all my clothes away, one good turn deserves another. Just this morning I invited a friend with two young girls over to go through my stash.
Next I tackled the playroom, and then the kitchen and then the books in our family room. We still have more to go through, but it is a start, and a move in the right direction. I do have to stop for a week or so because my parents are coming for a visit next week, so I need to get rid of all the stuff in our spare bedroom so there is room for them to sleep.
OK, so, where did al the stuff go? Let me tell you.
I packed up a box of used shoes and sent it to Shoes for Kids. Dave is on his way to USPS as I type.
Our church has been supporting Atlanta Union Mission for as long as I have been there, and not only does AUM have multiple thrift stores around town, they also pick-up! Yay! All of my clothes, toys, and kitchen knick-knacks are going there.
Anything that is leftover is going to the Kidney Foundation which also has a couple local shops that you can drop things at or ask for a pick-up. We got a new mattress last summer, and still have the old one, so out that goes next week.
