The Aftermath

I am sitting in the playroom, listening to the kids bicker over crayons, paper and scissors (what's new?) and looking around at all the stuff. Christmas is always fun, but for me it creates a big conundrum. You like that word, don't you...conundrum...I don't get to use it every day, so I thought I would break it out ;). Anyway, back to the point - where to put all the new stuff and what to get rid of from the old stash of stuff. I have such a hard time getting rid of things. It probably goes back to the vivid memory I have of a white garbage bag full of my stuff that was cleaned out and thrown away while I wasn't looking. I only got to see the bag as it was going out the door. I could see through the bag and my Auburn basketball program with Charles Barkley's and Chuck Person's autographs was in there, and a pair of sunglasses I really liked...among other miscellaneous who-knows-what. I was a bit of a tomboy, so that basketball thing was important to me. It really was my own fault and I take full responsibility because I was a big slob. That was not an attempt at a guilt trip, Mom, should you read this ;)

Anyway, for whatever reason I can get emotionally attached to just about anything. Oh, here's something gross and I can't believe I am about to tell you this, but I once kept a piece of gum that some boy I liked chewed. I found it all dried up in a box several years ago among a bunch of other "keepsakes." How gross is that? And I don't even know whose it was.

I'm glad I got that out there. There's power in confession, right? I suppose I'm just going to have to put my big girl pants on and let some things go. The problem is they really do play with a lot of this stuff, so I don't know what stays and what goes. I think what I need, in addition to help from the Holy Spirit, is a few episodes of Hoarders. That's always motivating and I happen to have several on the DVR. I so don't want to be that person, and if I ever feel I relate to what they are saying in the slightest, I immediately start throwing things away. Yes, I think that will be step one, and I'll let you know how it goes. Then I'll have to re-tackle the organization system...whew!

Oh, and if you have any suggestions at all for making decisions about what goes, or how you organize things like trains/tracks, cars, art supplies, etc...do tell!