Purging 1

I have been in a mood to get rid of stuff ~ my home seems to accumulate things that get used for awhile and then left to the side in favor of other things. That, in addition to the paper trail that always comes through, leaves me feeling a bit crowded at times. This is one of those times.

I was able to give away so many boxes before Christmas; Salvation Army, freecycle, friends who could use what we no longer were needing...but it is hard to see that things have been removed. Well, that isn't completely true; I am feeling a freshness in the home and sensing a bit more flow through the rooms as I continue on my mission, but I still feel OVERWHELMED with the amount of *stuff* we accumulate. I don't know if anybody gets the same sense as I do when walking into a room that has lots in it, but I get overloaded and tune out. I am pretty certain if we had a larger home, it wouldn't feel so crowded, as I tend not to collect things just to fill rooms, but I still believe we could stand to continue to purge.

In the last three days, because of school holidays and snow days, I have been enlisting the help of my girls to cleanse our home from excess. We have freecycled out MANY things that are no longer serving us, given to several people who are delighted to have what we no longer need. What a wonderful way to share it is!
Michelle has now moved into Kari's room, and her room has become a playroom downstairs. That has freed up our living space downstairs to feel less crowded and perhaps stay a bit cleaner (so I won't have to step on small barbie toys or beads on the floor any more, hopefully). It has also allowed the wood stove some breathing space which I prefer for fire hazard concerns.

Today there are five bags sitting on my front porch glider with things in them for various families. I passed on six yesterday and four the day prior. It is such a nice way to share. I hate throwing away perfectly good things that have outlasted their interest or need here. For instance, one of my three drawer containers that the girls used for years at their art table, with pens, scissors, markers, crayons, etc. in the drawers ~ had become a holding tank for miscellaneous junk as they had found other locations for pencils/crayons and spread them out to multiple ares and caches (of course, since I set up the order they had to find what worked best over time). yesterday I gave that drawer stack to a lady in Remington who was starting a home business and had very little extra $$ to purchase office needs. The drawers were sized for 8 1/2 X 11 papers so perfect for her. I love that!