Wednesday, November 17, 2010

use it or lose it

I think I have mentioned before that I have an addiction to purging stuff. I LOVE getting rid of stuff, it feels so fabulous! And we try to keep to a mantra around the boat about getting rid of thigns that don't get used in the space of a year. Or not buying a new whatever unless we are willing to get rid of an old one (more for the grown ups as far as shoes or sweaters and such).

So when my boy looked at me out of the blue the other day and said, "Mommy, let's give a bunch of these toys to another kid who needs them. I don't think I need them anymore," I nearly burst with excitement. I dropped everything (except the baby, I gently put her down) and jumped right in to his toy cubby with a bag next to me for packing away the giveaway stuff.

He made some really good choices about what he really plays with and what he doesn't play with so much and what we could save for Naia when she is a little older. The best toy, he decided, was the empty space forming in the under the table cubby where he could hide. 
He wanted to keep some board games, the blocks, the cars, the bag of animals, the bag of playsilks, and of course his tea set.  Now the real trick will be keeping this space clear for hiding with the holidays around the corner.

Anyone else doing a purge this time of year?

9 comments:

Laura said...

OMG, I LOVE to...!! all year long, it just feels SO good.....creates positive energy!

Joy said...

I'm a constant purger too. Especially toys. We don't have as many coming in this year. Now that the olders are more interested in other things it keeps the clutter down a little.

ellen said...

We should do a swap! We can't keep much on the boat either, but they get bored of what we have- blahblah. A constant battle.

kelly said...

Yes!

So far three whole black bags of clothes, two of unwanted toys and the hardest one (for me) two boxes of books.

It does feel great!

Behan said...

Yes! We did a big purge on clothes in Vanuatu, so they could go to kids who needed them, and now that we're in Oz there will be another round. On the other hand I suspect it will be offset as we settle into dockside life in Sydney... there will probably be some expanding... I am already dreaming about my pots of herbs and a few veggies!

Yay Zach for feelin' the purging love.

Anonymous said...

When I was a kid we would do that type of clean out in August just before school started.

We would bag up clothes for charities.

Toys and books would be divided amoung Texas Childrens, MDAnderson, and Ronald McDonald House.

Happiness is... said...

You know that we are in purge mode. Now if I could ever get my ass motivated to post a bunch of crap on Ebay I would be tickled pink!

LY lots,

Super Jen

Whirlwind Woman said...

We are doing a whole house purge. It worked out that I have 10 days off, and then work full time through Christmas. So now is my time to clean house. I have about 7 bags of stuff out in the playroom to take to the thrift store tomorrow, and I've already had 4 pick ups through Freecycle. We have 4 or 5 more nooks and crannies to go through, and I will have done the whole house! It really looks better. I think we can cram a lot more into a 1600 sq foot home than you can on your boat! :)

Laureen said...

The boat's been on the hard for a month, and the whole thing is going to need to be cleaned. So when I get home, probably next week, the kids and I have committed to a full boat, fore to aft sweep of *everything*. Really stop and consider each and every item, and see what we can do to keep the water line where it belongs.

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