Daily Declutter

I narrowly avoided bringing home an office chair for my daughter yesterday. She really wants one, but I don't believe it will fit under her desk. However, it was free, so I wanted to try it. (If I had brought it home, and if I had been right, I would have been stuck looking for a new home for it.) Fortunately, when class got over the chairs were gone, so I was spared from temptation.

I had no idea I brought so much home.

Likewise, I am constantly amazed by the clutter I have lying around that I get used to, and I forget the clutter is even there. I am finally getting rid of the Squatty Potty I was given at Christmas. I'm pretty sure it was a gag gift, but I had to hang onto it until the person who gave it to me stayed over (for a planned event). However that was almost a month ago, and since then I have been cleaning around the Potty. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Watch the ad, and prepare to laugh. These people have the only possible attitude when selling something to promote bowel movements!) Now I can pass this along, and have less to clean around. (If only I could get rid of the scale as well! It's evil little feet collect hair, and I hate it, but my husband uses it.)

I know it would be more efficient if I cleared out one section of my home at a time (clear everything out of my bathroom, then put back only what I need) but my family is afraid of becoming too stark, too empty. So I will continue to work slowly, decluttering whatever I can, patchwork fashion, until either I have less stuff or my family joins the struggle.

I felt rather triumphant today when I realized that my daughter is turning 12, the magical age when she can use adult strength medications, not pediatric dosages. So I cleared out all the pediatric meds to pass along to a friend with small children. This allowed me to use the storage container to contain all the paraphernalia she needs in a much tidier way -- toothpaste, dental floss, bath fizzies and other miscellany will not need to live on the counter any longer. Likewise, since they were sharing my son't belongings no longer have an excuse for being clutter. Wiping down their bathroom will be easier. This begs the question: should I start having them wipe down the cabinets regularly, so they can learn that skill? This is a question worth exploring (for me!).

Unfortunately for me, there is a (friendly) snake in the front yard, so I am unable to go outside and move things around in the shed. Snakes give me the shivers. So the remainder of the day will probably be spend on regular cleaning and laundry and not cleaning out the clutter.