But that, you see, meant that the girls had to be moved to the bigger room. They would have to switch rooms with Anna...Simple? I think not.
Our upstairs right now looks as though the closets vomited all over the place. Vomited shoes, clothes, forgotten art projects, shoes, school papers, tiny decorative boxes, hangers....have I mentioned shoes? Half the stuff is in the right rooms. Half isn't. It is too late to go back and too daunting to move forward. We are stuck. Tell me, how many bobby pins does a teen girl need, anyway? For that matter, how many hoodies? And does a little girl really need a doll she never plays with? You know, the one her Auntie gave to Big Sister years ago, complete with a handsewn wardrobe?Can I confess something? I shoved some stuffed animals in the trash earlier today (while the little girls were watching cartoons). The guilt is killing me.
I didn't even know their names.
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A good purge is good for the heart (and the sanity). But infinity is the number of hairpins, hoodies, and licensed tees a teenage girl needs.
ReplyDeleteHow I crave the opportunity to purge my home (and hopefully my mind) of all the clutter. If I could just put a baby down long enough!
ReplyDeleteI often wonder why I purchase both t-shirts AND hoodies--it seems as though they could wear the hoodie with nothing under it. But no.
ReplyDeleteI have one daughter. If I had three, the accumulation of stuffies, socks, hoodies, dolls, chapter books, junk jewelry, shoes, jeans, t-shirts, CDs, and hair crap would create a sinkhole where my house used to be.
ReplyDeleteYou have all my sympathy.
It sounds like your rooms are looking a little bit like our basement. We started to clean out the storage room and then we became occupied with other stuff and there are still boxes all over the family room.
ReplyDeleteSo have you come up with your "system" yet?
My sister-in-law coached me in the art of chucking. When the kids are sleeping (or out), grab a dark garbage bag and run through the house picking up all the stuff that never, or rarely, gets played with. Store the bag(s) in a secret place for several months. If no one mentions anything, you're free to toss/recycle/gift-and-thrift. If they do ask for something, DON'T 'fess up. Just say, "Hmmm, I haven't seen that for awhile either..." and wait to see if the interest fades.
ReplyDeleteMamaJJ - My kids are on to that "Gee, I don't know where it went" ploy. They immediately start crying. They know.
ReplyDeleteIn their younger days, I used guilt as a motivator: "There are children who have no home, no parents, and no toys. You have toys you hardly even play with. What are some toys you are willing to share with kids who don't have any?" And then we'd have a large bag to give to the orphanage.
ReplyDeleteNow I just threatened that if they can't keep it cleaned up decently, I'll come through and make the decisions. (But I hardly ever follow through with that... I'm too tired.)
Bunkbed solution for me? Stand on a chair to put on the fitted sheet, then throw a comforter up there and more stuffed animals that actually fit. My 10yo just burrows under as happy as a clam.
Sorry about your hallway! My "craft room" looked like that for the past 2 years.
I have an a/c lying on the floor in my living room and a box of tees on my couch. They will both be there for a while.
ReplyDeleteThe kids seem to be on to more than you give them credit for. Nobody just folds while holding a pair of queens, and then steals her big sister's room by manipulating her mother's guilt.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should bring your little pair of room-stealing queens down to Starbucks and see if they can pitch an investment system to some overcaffeinated suckers.
How funny--we just took down the bunkbeds a month ago and changing sheets is SO much easier!
ReplyDeleteI feel guilt too about the damn stuffed animals. But I still purge them.
If it weren't for the pyramids, we'd have no Mary Kay or Pampered Chef though! Think of it: no Arbonne, no Tupperware, no Partylite Candles. Is it really worth it?
I only have one daughter and I'm constantly asking those same questions: HOW MANY IS ENOUGH?? Angela is right - infinity! UGH!
ReplyDeleteThat overabundance of toys issue might be solved by convincing them to donate some of their good stuff to kids who don't have any toys... because Santa LOVES cheerful givers. Worked for me when the boys were little.
GOOD LUCK!!
It is impossible to move things without cleaning and it is impossible to have girls without lots and lots of stuff. I cannot believe the stuff in my 16 year old's room. I wouldn't be able yo sleep in there.
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