The great purge of 2011!

All winter long crap has been piling up all over the house. The worst areas are the basement, the attic and my future hoarders Rebecca's room. This weekend I spent many long and ugly hours hauling things out of the basement. I tried to be as ruthless as possible. The Little Mermaid birthday party supplies from Lily's third birthday- gone! The ten empty kitty litter boxes- gone! The slipcovers to furniture I no longer own- gone!

I put a lot of great stuff out on the curb and most of it was picked up by neighbors who know good junk when they see it. I also have a big pile to go to the consignment store next week and I am happy to say that while the basement is still a miserable pit of despair, it is slightly less horrible today than it was last week.

Yesterday I took the kids to Old Sturbridge Village for Homeschool Day. We had a complete blast- it was everything that is great about homeschooling. We learned a lot, made some new friends and got to enjoy a beautiful day outside. While there I received this email from David:

Subject: Rebecca's Room


Holy $hit, what a disaster! The frog tank is black!


I had been planning on tackling her room anyway, but it was funny to hear it from David, who usually does not notice that sort of thing. First I had a long talk with Rebecca. We talked about things; the keeping of things, the letting go of things, the not needing to keep every single thing you have ever looked at or touched. Then I sent her for the garbage bags and we got to work. We sorted through every one of her possessions and I am very proud to say that she got rid of a lot. Once we started it actually seemed to get easier for her. Once we had hauled bags to the trash and bags for goodwill, we were able to rearrange those things which she kept. We washed the floor, vacuumed the rug and declared it clean. She was very, very happy with her tidy room. How long will it last? I will keep you posted.

I will be tackling the attic this weekend. Plan on hearing swearing and watching the accumulation of garbage bags on the curb. Also, please send chocolate.