Operation Clean-Out, aka, the time when I systematically go through all of our things and sell off/give away/throw away as many as possible, begins today. As I noted in yesterday's post, both moms (mine and my hubby's) are coming to help me out today, and to load up stuff to sell at a rummage sale we are going to have later this summer at my folks' house.
I am not naturally inclined when it comes to cleaning and organizing my home, but I'm hoping this purge will help me to keep things more manageable in the future. Interestingly enough, as cluttered as my dining room table can become, I have always been meticulous when it comes to my school and work spaces---nothing out of place, everything stacked at a straight angle, every file named in a precise fashion with a particular folder awaiting it, everything easy to find, etc. Sadly, I haven't been able to transfer that somewhat fanatical organization to my house. Maybe it is a matter of scale? I'm not sure, although I certainly know that the advantage I have in keeping school and work areas tidy is that I do not have a husband and a three-year old's stuff mixed in to make it more complicated.
And speaking of complicated, today is the day that we are going to have EJ start boxing up toys/clothes to sell or give away. There has been a lot of talk about it---a lot of prepping and story-telling to get her ready---and I hope that it has helped. On the walk to camp this morning, when I reminded her that Grandma and Nana were going to help her sort her things, she seemed quite excited by the prospect of "putting tags on all of my stuff with numbers for money, then putting those things on tables at Nana's house." What she didn't like talking about were her toys, however. She kept insisting, "I don't wear my baby clothes anymore...THAT'S what we can sell, because I don't need those." I suppose I could take the tactic of simply boxing up toys that she hasn't used in ages without her seeing me do it, but honestly, my gut says that there is a lesson in this for her about not holding on too things to closely, so she can make way for new things to come her way. Aside from that, I think it might be more traumatic if, on the day of the sale, she saw toys stacked up that she had forgotten she had, only to be reacquainted with them as strangers were taking them away. Zoinks. That's a tantrum I don't want to be around.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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4 comments:
I hope it goes well for both of you.
I think having EJ make decisions about which toys to part with is a fantastic idea! Start 'em young with that, or they end up like yours truly, who spent much of her life sentimentally attached to, and unable to part with, anything.
She might struggle with some of it, but she'll soon forget any of those old toy pangs when she gets to DO something with the money she makes. Always worked for me when I was a kid. My mom kept the money from my brother's and my things separate, and after the sale, we got to go to the store and pick out one new thing that we wanted, purchased with our "own" money.
I am definitely in the stealth removal camp. I rotate out toys of theirs to the basement all the time and they rarely ask about them once they're gone.
As for the rummage sale? I'm usually all for giving kids credit for great abilities, but I do not have any faith in my (or any) kids' ability to graceful watch other people walk off with their stuff. I'd have her otherwise engaged on rummage sale day, if I were you.
I'm still tramatized by the stealth technique and much prefer the getting to say goodbye to the old toys. However, as a pack-rat I may not be the best person to advise on this. :-)
Living in the 1 bedroom house with 4 kids, 2 dogs, a cat, and hub that is one of 7 gift-giving siblings required the early establishment of ritual purging of toys. The fact we had many communal toys added to some of the fun.
As soon as they were old enough to participate they got to help me decide which toys got to "go to the poor children," and which toys were really "just too baby for such big kids as them." We typically did a purge before or after Christmas and birthdays.
I added goals too by saying "You have to choose X number of toys to give new homes." Beware here though, the $200 learning toy often ends up there if you are not clever enough to put it out of sight.
More fun with the communal toys, but since E is the singular owner, we'll skip that horror.
Fast Forward moer than a decade: At ages 11-17 now we have a bin marked Rescue Mission and they fill it without being asked.
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