Obsessive-Compulsive Organizing

The topic at our moms group yesterday was organizing your house. As you can imagine, this is a topic that I was almost drooling over (attractive picture, I know). I learned a lot of good tips, and was newly inspired to tackle some of our problem areas: our closets. There are 4 in particular that, while not totally horrendous, are a little jumbled. I figured if I could clear some extra space in there for other stuff, we'll have more room in general once the baby gets here! Space around here is getting to be a pretty hot commodity as the kids get bigger. The added bonus to my cleaning plan is that the upstairs in our house is a full 7-8 degrees warmer than the downstairs, and as our outside temperatures drop to around zero for the next few days, I'm doing everything in my power to stay upstairs!

So, the kids and I tackled the walk-in closet in the girls room that has always served as the landing place for junk. David got a head start on me here, cleaning out some of his electronics several days ago to sell on ebay. We dug all the way to the back, where I have been storing 5 boxes, mysteriously labeled "Anna-high school--do not open." Well, we opened them and found a treasure chest of goodies! The girls found old jewelery, prom dresses, prom shoes, mardi gras beads, and lace gloves to add to their dress-up collection. I found a million stuffed animals to throw away (ahhh--so cathartic!), in addition to a million high school trophies that have also now gone the way of the garbage truck. Don't worry-I did save the important ones. Carver found an old picture of Dad playing the guitar that I had thought was long-lost. I also found a piece of jewely that I had given up for lost--bonus! All in all, we went through 5 boxes, put 3 large bags out for the trash guys, 1 in the trunk of the car for goodwill, and put 1 small box back in the closet with diplomas and old pictures. Success!

Here are the girls in some of the mardi gras beads. Ellie also found 3 beanie babies (remember those?) that she took an immediate liking to.


Here's Ellie, trying on the procelain mask that I brought home from Mardi Gras in high school (also pictured: previously mentioned lace gloves):

Here's Laura, trying to drink out of a miniature china pitcher that we found. This, among a few other things, was one of the memorabilia items I saved to use to decorate the girl's room.

Coming soon: the 2nd half of this closet, and then on to Carver's closet!