I have the urge to purge-but I think I stink at it. With eight kids and collecting kid stuff for 20 years - we have a lot of stuff. We’ve been trying to clean the basement playroom in anticipation of tgiving and the holidays. Trash - no problem, out it goes. Just kinda broken, just a little bit but it is ( or was) cherished stuff is another story too. You should see our ‘costume and weapon’ boxes we sorted through-yikes-and most of it so old but so darn loved by these little boys. And then there is some of the finer toys and games, still in great shape - because no one has every particularly cared for them - YET. I guess I keep hoping someone will since I payed good money and they are NICE> sigh. I know, I know, let go....
So how did you do it? Did you mostly get rid of things that your kids had outgrown? Things don’t seem to be getting outgrown here yet with a 2.5yo dd and a 5yo ds as the youngest. Did you let your kids on it? Want to come over and do mine now? I think if another adult was standing there and looking at me with that ‘you aren’t seriously thinking of keeping that are you?’ look, I might fare better…
The Urge to Purge
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Monday, November 24, 2008 9:59 PM
When Danielle showed us her beautiful garbage bag on Saturday, I made a comment about doing the same thing—how I had big plans for myself and a few bedrooms and closets around this joint.
Well here we are, three days later, and I have just finished. What happened? Where did the time go? Who fed my children while I was waist-deep in clutter?
Don’t get me wrong—I’m so glad I had the energy and wherewithal to purge everything in sight—I just can’t believe that I did it. I had a thought that maybe I’d get one or two bags of goodies for charity, and before I knew it I was up to six bags for donating and countless bags for the trash.
That’s a little embarrassing, don’t you think?
It’s always funny to me that things can seem so neat and tidy until I start really looking. That’s when I see how bad things have gotten. They weren’t terrible before (well, not every room anyway) but wow are they fresh and enjoyable now. It was totally worth the effort!
And now, that sound you’re hearing is a big, deep, huge sigh of relief.
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I purge about once a month. I have a mantra when I get going and that is “It’s only stuff”. I try not to get sentimental over clothes and toys, because if the kids aren’t playing with them or have outgrown or don’t wear them, the stuff has lost its purpose or meaning. In all the years that I have lived in my home with my family, I’ve never regretted getting rid of anything. Not once. And that goes with the enormous Thomas the Tank Engine set & table, legos, blocks, American Girl Dolls, ballet recital costumes, barbies, video games, game systems. I’m ruthless:)
I’m curious who *did* feed your kids while you were wading in the clutter? I don’t doubt they were taken care of, I just want some ideas! I’ve done purges like this before, but it never gets DONE. I don’t mean that it’s an ongoing job and all that; I mean that I get interrupted and can’t justify spending the time to finish and eventually have to shunt the whole project back in the closets. Anyone remember that community blog decluttering project of posting pictures before and after different problem areas got cleaning? My camera was totally depressing!
Nicole,
I do my best purging when my kids are in school. When they were really little, I’d have my husband take them out of the house for a few hours.
Want to keep kids fed on purge days? PB&J;for lunch and frozen pizzas for supper. Or if you are a really organized mom, pull out the crockpot for supper.
I vary how/when to purge based on the kids involved. If they are reasonable kids who will get rid of things and are efficient in time, I may involve them. If there is a child who unreasonably holds onto things in such a way that detracts from our family, I will give them a chance to do it on their own (maybe with a little help) then will get in there and do some further investigation/purging which meets both the family’s need for a place to live and the child’s need to hold onto important things. If I was uncertain about an item that I thought may be okay to get rid of but didn’t want to find out too late that it was actually treasured, I would stash it in a bag in the back of my closet for a month before donating. That way, if they noticed its absence and were upset, I could “find” it.
In one case, I gave the boys a few hours to clean their room, then went in with big garbage bags and picked up the rest of the stuff off the floor. The bags were stashed in the basement for 2 months. At the end of that time, they could each ask for a certain number (I think it was 12?) items back but they had to remember them without getting to paw through the bags.
That was pretty successful. I believe I tied the timing of getting to ask for things back with them keeping their room thoroughly clean for a month. And that was a great way to see what was truly important to them since they had to remember it by memory rather than by sight.
Oh and to keep kids busy while I was decluttering, I’d let them watch as much tv as they wanted. There are times the tv is a huge blessing!
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