I'm here to tell you all that keeping things beyond their time and reason can pay off. I used to be sentimental and am becoming increasingly less as the years and things accummulate. I have moving on my mind and I'm starting to panic about certain areas of my house. "They can't pack that!...what was I thinking?...I don't want to move or unpack that for sure!" So even though moving is still a good 9 months away, I have begun an exodus of junk. I love to do this. Purging is fun for me and it leaves me feeling so much better...purging of things, that is (my breakfast is still where it should be.) I wish that my camera was refreshed so I could take before and after pictures because I love them. I love to take a cluttered closet and leave it neat and tidy, full of right angles and labeled bins. It gives me pure joy...and I must admit, I am good. I figure I should be grateful for at least one of my talents. And this just happens to be one that I can practice, often. I even drove to Utah this summer with my sister and four children to help do this for another sister. It was truly enjoyable.
ANYway! The point of my story is...I was emptying the closet in our office and throwing loads of stuff away. I came across a gift bag full of all of the cards from my bridal shower and wedding (SIX YEARS AGO!). I figured that if I looked through each one just one more time I could fondly remember the event and throw it all away. I was going through each card and reading the name when I came across $25!!! thats cash, so it was still viable! Thus we see that it can indeed benefit us to keep things, and most certainly benefit us even more to go through it and throw it out. So go my friends, clean out your closets and under your beds. There may be treasures awaiting you yet.
And thank you Stevens family, we had breakfast on you this morning.
16 comments:
Hi, Emily! It's me, Sho! I totally feel the same way about organizing and getting rid of the treasure, which is called "junk"....
I mean, I love to keep things because sometimes you find them useful, but it keeps cluttering your space! and in the end, you have to pay your the debt....such as staying up late before you have to move out. ..or keep postponing your moving date and drive forever with out proper resting...
Well, i had to say something on this topic!
We miss you and your girls!! and Clark too:)
way to go Girl! Nice talent to have by the way. I really mean that. I like neat closets too. Not always good at it but I do like to make order....ok so that brings to mind the state of some of my closets living here all stuffed into this condo....hmmm ok so I need to clean out. want to help? I'm afraid there isn't $25 at the bottom of it
What? You're moving in 9 months? Where are you going? Could you please move to OR and de-junk MY house? I love your talent for organizing. I covet it.
I need to clean out some of my closets too. Already went through the old wedding cards and chucked them -- no money finds for me:(
So, where are you moving too?!?!?!
Your guess is as good as ours! From here the Lt has a 6 month long school in Connecticut and then we are thinking of either Washington state, Connecticut, Virginia or Hawaii (you can see we have really narrowed our choices). But so much can and will change between now and then, we'll see!
I vote Virginia, and how many times do I get to vote. Is it like American Idol and as long as I have the patience to keep at it I can vote as many times as I want, or do we only get one vote each? Good job decluttering, Fly Lady would be proud of you.
WASH-ING-TON! WASH-ING-TON! WASH-ING-TON! Have I made myself clear?
Have I told you lately how adorable your profile pic is? That's how I remember my little sister. ...with the gorgeous, long horse mane-like hair down to her bum. ... stealing my most precious possessions. Ok, that was just uncalled for. I forgave you a long time ago. :) I just can't resist because I still think the big "reveal" when we were all adults was so darn funny!
Hi Emma Jo, I noticed that my mother posted a note about making closets nice and orderly. Do you think that there is a Green gene for this? Or might it come from a jean green? I am so nuts about having things neat and orderly that I can't sit down to eat unless the dishes are done, I can't sleep unless the room is straightened out, and it gets worse, honest. I tell my wife it's because the one way to keep Mom happy all the time was to keep the rooms neat and orderly.
Where's my $25?
Mike,Shh, don't tell anyone but I think that the OCD gene does come from the Green side. I haven't figured out who yet. Maybe we should go from house to house, closet to closet and I bet we could figure it out. (PS, the $25 might be in someone else's closet...keep rummaging, I mean, looking.)
I don't think that it is a secret that it comes from the Green side. Unfortunately I got the gene to WANT everything perfectly neat and orderly, but I also inherited another gene that says "I hate cleaning." It is torture!
Hello, folks, may I remind you of a little friend of ours called PKO??? You don't think we get it from him? I'm almost positive of it. Mo's is a different type of organized, such as, "It looks really organized just because there are 12 of each pen color, etc," and not necessarily bc she's a neat "freak." PKO, on the other hand...well, you remember cleaning baseboards and the parts of the stairs where the vacuum doesn't reach! (Don't get me wrong, mo is clean too).
I admit it, I am a packrat but because I am Jean's daughter, I am an organized packrat! I really must point out that it was me who saved all your wedding cards in that little bag and gave them to you. So, do I get a cut or is it all spent? You would all be so proud of me in this move--tons and tons and tons of stuff have been trashed, sent to NAM and DI and/or given it away. I am so purged-out I am weak! It is a good feeling, I must admit.
I'm pretty sure that there is no way I got the gene from PKO.
I already trashed the wedding cards. I guess I'm not as lucky. (I can't believe it can be time again for you to move. It's O.K. that we left but everyone else has to stay in Houston to make visiting easier. Then again we were looking for free lodging in Hawaii. You're up for it right?)
I am the pack rat for whom you drove to Utah! You and Boo made my year. And you ARE good. I still need to blog about it, but alas...I need to get my butt in gear. Beleive it or not, I too love to get rid of things. I already have my D.I. pile going for the next round.
All my toys are in plastic bins with lids and labels. I even put a chain lock on the top of the closet to keep them from getting new ones out without properly organizing the old ones.
Yesterday we came to spend the night at Mo and Papa's house...the boys went upstairs with their overnight bag and "unpacked". Shoes in one drawer, shirts in the next, pants in the next, and in the bottom...a single pair of underwear and one Pull Up. I've never been so proud!
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