Purging

After spending 2 hours this afternoon coaching, threatening, and yelling at the kids to clean up their toys, I've decided I'm done.

I'm done with little random toys all over my house from one end to the other.  I'm done with trying to find space for all the toys.  I'm done with spending an hour and a half every week organizing toys.

That's right, I watermarked that mess.  Just so everyone would be clear that it belongs to me.  Because that's important.  *Sarcasm implied* 

It's time to purge.  Be afraid, little toys.  Be very afraid.

This weekend, I am going to send the kidlets off to play with cousins or relatives of some sort (I haven't decided who to beg bribe threaten nicely ask yet) so I can spend the day purging toys to give to Goodwill.  If it isn't educational, imaginative, or doesn't go with a set of toys the kids love, it's gone.  No more worrying about offending a well-meaning relative when they come to visit and that push-the-buttons-and-watch-me-light-up toy is gone.  I don't care anymore.  I cleaned off a shelf in my bedroom closet which will be used to store about half of the remaining toys.  And, FYI...that shelf isn't as big as you think it is...

But wait, why stop there?  If I'm going to purge the toys, why not keep going?  I decided to make a plan and of course, that requires that I blog about it.  Amiright?  So here is my official purge list:

Kids' coats and winter gear-No child needs 4 winter coats and 18 pairs of mittens.  It seems that the more mittens they have, the more they lose them.  The ones I do keep will have yarn sewn to each mitten to connect the pair so it threads between the sleeves of the coat.  Presto! No more lost mittens.

Hubby's farm gloves-seriously...three drawers stuffed full of ratty old gloves that he hasn't touched since we got married?  No.  Just no.

Dishes-There are dishes in my kitchen that I have never used.

Blankets-I swear they multiply when I'm not looking!

Bathtub toys and kids' towels-They play with the same 2 toys every time they get in the bathtub and I wash towels often enough that the bottom half of the stack hasn't been touched in over a year.  

My clothes-I'm hoping/planning/working on losing weight so I have a lot of clothes in limbo.  Seriously though, if I don't love it, it's gone.  IF I lose enough weight to fit back into the clothes I wore before getting pregnant with Princess, I will buy myself new ones.

Kids' clothes-They do not need 20 shirts apiece.  I do have a washing machine, and I wash their clothes weekly.  10 shirts is the maximum they need.  The same goes for pants.

Kids' shoes-Going on the same theme as the clothes, they simply don't need 12 pairs of shoes apiece.

Books and movies-I'm having a hard time fitting them all on their shelves so it's definitely time for a purge there as well.  Most of them, I can get at the local library so I don't need my own copy.

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