Shoot me. (With some of Marc Jacobs’ Daisy perfume thank you very much)
Sadly, it’s that time of year again. (Yup, still fat.)
Spring cleaning. (MEH)
It’s the time to get a little ruthless with the cleaning and the organizing and the letting go of the STUFF suffocating every corner of my abode. I’ve been tackling one area at a time, on my own. I have two children, so it’s slow going – I’m sure you understand.
So, I started small with the front closet, kitchen cabinets and the kids’ rooms. Done, done and done.
Yesterday, the man and I decided to tackle the crawl space (also know as the depths of hell in our basement). We clearly had no idea how big this job would be. What’s in there? EVERYTHING – its literally overflowing in crap. I would say 80% of it is kid related – toys, furniture, and 16+ large rubbermaids FULL of outgrown clothing. We also have boxes and boxes of books that we have no shelf space for at the moment. Books in boxes is a sad, sad thing if you ask me. There is also a crazy amount of random stuff that I have no idea why we even bought in the first place (YES, I’m referring to you $600 foosball table, that has been wrapped up in our crawl space for 5 years).
We decided the best way to try and tackle this was to pull out as much as possible and go from there. A good idea in theory – except that we really had no free space to begin with. The result? It’s basically a depressing, crap explosion that is beyond stressful at the moment. Two levels of our house are now an utter mess/work in progress. The front hall is packed with piles of toys and kids items that I plan to get rid of. Of course, the children can’t help but want to play with these toys, and are constantly moving things and knocking things over. Our laundry room is a mess, our playroom/rec room is filled with stuff, and the crawl space is the worst of all.
I’m trying to think of the end result so it’s not as stressful, but it’s not really working.
Also, crying about it doesn’t actually work either.
Neither does whining, yelling or screaming into a pillow. Go figure.
I think I need a cleaning lady. And a bulldozer. And a priest.
If I could get the husband and the kids to move out, I could be done in 2 days. Failing that, it will be nothing short of a miracle if it gets done by the end of the month.
In the meantime, please send me valium. And wine. And lip gloss.
And because I have no shame, I feel the need to share my horror story with you, as evidenced in these sad, I-swear-my-house-does-not-normally-look-like-this pics.
{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi. Im over from the UBP. Glad to meet you, love your blog. You really made me smile today. Here’ a spritz of Daisy.
Visiting from SITS and th UBP! You are taking the first step by starting to clean. I am there too.
Honey, we’re in the throws of it too. Trying to get a handle on the toy situation is ridiculous. Yesterda I just went ahead and tossed a bunch of stuff. This week I tackle our own basement. The worst for me though is the kids clothes…who knew they could have so much!
Good luck with this, I hope you make it out on the other side unscathed!
holy crap, you werent lying when you said there was a ton of stuff.. you are gonna need a miracle! may the lord be with you! lol
You can do it! I have faith in you. No matter how slow going and overwhelming it can be, the payoff is so rewarding. As you are going through it, get the old stuff OUT right away. Donate it. Put a FREE sign at the curb. Price it for a yard sale and pack it away neatly. Whatever the case, don’t put it back in. Just remember, it’s only “stuff.” And there will always be more “stuff” right behind it. Once it’s gone, you will NEVER miss it. I mean, five years from now, could you imagine saying, “Gosh, I really miss that big blue stuffed animal. I can’t believe I let some other child have that.” ehem…no. LOL Keep going!
I am right there with ya distance..half the crap in your pics are strewn about in my own house and I just had mini panic attack about all the stuff I plan on selling at our Saturday yard sale that is fast approaching, that is currently buried. Did I mention its supposed to rain Saturday?
I found ordering a dumpster worked for me. They delivered, they picked up, and I had about 4 days to purge to my heart’s content. Wasn’t that expensive either.
WOW I feel for you because I am going through the same thing. Except we just moved and have no definitive place for anything yet. When I was packing I had a donate pile and ended up donating a bunch of old clothes toys and book. I still have Boxes and boxes of things to go through and am planning on donating a bunch more. it makes me feel good to get things clean and help someone else in the process. FYI tackle the kids stuff first. For such little people they seem to have more stuff them my husband and I combined. Hope you get all this stuff out of your way soon. Good luck oh and a priest won’t be able to help I have been in the basement of a church they are the biggest pack rats of them all. LOL
Ugh. This is my worst nightmare… that is why I avoid such endeavours at all costs (read: ignore it). I figure if I can’t see it, no one else can and all is well.
I hate having useless clutter and junk, but I hate cleaning it more!
Woaaa that’s a lot of stuffs for sure
Stopping by from SITS
Would it help if I sent over Colin Firth and Jeffery Dean Morgan to give you some, you know, assistance?
UM. YES PLEASE. That would be an awesome sandwich of deliciousness.
Ohhh that does not look like fun!!
But it’s gonna be SOOO wonderful when it’s all done and you’ll feel so much better!!! Good luck girl, I know it’s hard with the kids running around you (I include the husband in that…) . And good for you for getting it done before you have to be on that “Hoarders” show… ;-P Love ya!
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff lol. I say take a bunch of picture of what you don’t need and start craigslisting it all.
I wish you the best and quick of luck to get it all cleaned up as soon as possible. Hugs to you.
If I could get my hubs and kids out of the house I could get SO much done, too. However, since I rarely have time to myself I believe I’d probably laze around in bed! OOPS!
In my experience, the portion of this that most needs a wish of good luck is getting the kids (and possibly husband) to not strew everything around the house out of the groupings – so good luck!
Glad to see I am not the only one going thru this. If I too could only send the 2 kids and husband away for a weekend it would be so much easier. None of them want to let go of their stuff. I am at the point to sell or donate anything that has not been used in the last 6 months (except the seasonal items). They do not share my enthusiasm.
Good luck.
Ugh, talk about overwhelming! That is A LOT of stuff to deal with all at once. I’m with Sarah on this one… avoid and ignore!
But good for you for taking it on! It is definitely a stressful situation, but glad you can find some humour in it and pass it on to us. You are funny and I like your stories.
WOW!
I guess you haven’t got friends who need hand-me-downs? We’ve built up a great network of people who swap and hand back clothing, and it’s working great as I’m just getting back all my baby clothes from my niece in time for my good friend to have her baby next month. Otherwise, I really like the Craigslist idea, that way you can make some money off it.
And you can send that foosball table up here.
I can totally put that to use.
Get me some mad skillz.
We did a big clean out right before we moved (which was also a couple of weeks before Christmas ’08), and just did it again. Not as big as yours, but man, I couldn’t believe the amount of crap we threw out, and the amount we donated! Incredible! I agree though, get a dumpster if you are just going to throw things out.
We are moving at the end of June. I am SO not into “stuff” (never was) – and now that we are moving, I’m ruthless. I’ve started this routine for my kids clothes now (they’re 8 and 4 YO): “Here is what you are wearing today.” “NO!” “What, you don’t want to wear it, are you sure?” “YES!”. “Fine, then out it goes.”
And I’m serious. I am not moving clothes they won’t wear. Just like I am not moving toys they don’t play with, baby gear we have outgrown, and camping gear we haven’t used since before my son was born. Or Christmas decorations given to me by my mother-in-law, because she got tired of storing them. Out!!
I find those donation bins at gas stations and community centres are great – I can throw a couple of items of kids clothes in the back of the car, and boom, they are gone on my next trip out. Same with linens, winter gear, shoes still in good shape, clothes I’ve grown tired of….on and on. I keep a big bag at the front door for anything that’s going out, and once a month, we are making a trip to the Salvation Army.
If it’s sellable and worth more than $50, I put it on Craigslist. If it doesn’t sell in two weeks, I donate it to a charity.
Be ruthless! You can do it, you can do it! We don’t have any basements where I live (too close to sea level) so if it doesn’t fit in the house or garage – it’s outta here!
I don’t want to scare you, but I think we may have been separated at birth. Okay, that was a little scary…. I did the same thing not too long ago, still working on it, the crap that came out of the closets was nothing short of terrifying. And also, I do so love me some Marc Jacobs Daisy…it’s my summer fave!!!
Oh boy, I am right there with ya!! We just returned home from 3 months in Costa Rica & I tell you what, if I could bulldoze this house & start all over I would. I am trying to prepare for a yard sale this Sat. & the girls keep wanting to keep all the “crap”…….I keep telling them that they just lived for 3 mos. with nothing but 1 shoe box full of Polly Pockets & their DS’s, they never even “remembered” that they had 1/2 this stuff. Not to mention the clothes, ugh, but that one is on me I suppose. A woman has to have a “habit” right???
Oh, that’s so lookin’ like my basement.
I have to do something,too.
I fear I’ll die and then whoever walks into this mess will just have a stroke.
It’s that kind of bad.
Keep us posted with updated photos!!! That’s motivating…or “action prone” as they say on “hoarders”
hey, you guys can go on that TV show CLEAN HOUSE
oh, my son would love that backyardigan Pablo toy…
Soooooo showing my mom this the next time she complains about the clutter in my house! LOL!
Good Luck! I have been there/and am there every freaking day!
Good luck with that! When you’re done would you like to come down to TX and do the same job in my house? Preferably before I deliver the baby in 3 weeks? Thanks!
Those pictures remind me of my recent move! For three days my home looked like a bomb went off as I methodically went through everything I owned and purged (right up until the wire… where I ended up just throwing things in boxes and loading them onto a truck. I purged more when I arrived at my new place.)
It’s such a hassle but going through it has now instilled a very strong: “Do I need to buy this?” feeling that twitches every time I walk up to a cashier.
Good luck with your spring cleaning! The end result will be more than worth it.
I’m stopping by from the UBP today- and I love your line about getting everything done quick if you could get rid of the fam for a couple days. I’m with ya!
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I feel at home in those pictures. Awww. Looks like my upstairs right now.
I do the same thing. I pull it all out, the kids have a frickin’ field day and then the mess is 5 times worse than when I started. Your descriptions have me LMAO! The crap explosion!!!
Oh. Oh my. Yeah, that’s one big crap explosion all right. I thought I was drowning in boxes and piles of ridiculous stuff –- now I see that there’s at least one person in the world who’s right there with me at the moment.
Hang in there. A couple of days have passed since you posted this, so I’m hoping you’ve had a chance to make your way through it…
Oh I hear you we have a crawl space that is full too. We try and go through everything but have never pulled it all out. Yikes!!!!!!!! Just think how wonderful the end result will be though.
I love your blog! I feel for you with those pictures. It has to get messier before it gets cleaner..hang in there. BTW…Doesn’t that count as a workout?
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