Another Day of Unpacking, Reflecting, and Purging

I started my day with my three goals shining in front of me: (1) Move all the stuff from the small garage to the game room [clearing one of my storage areas completely]; (2) give the entire house a cleaning - leaving the weekend to have with my husband; and (3) organize my desk so I can get some schoolwork done. Yesterday, things went so well and my husband was so pleased that I was anxious to get started. But I think I am a little ADHD. I managed to get a little sidetracked. As I started moving boxes from one place to another. I realized that a number of the boxes contained clothes that the boys had long ago outgrown and some I wanted to get rid of. At one time I had thought to have a garage sale, but today I was being very honest with myself and realized that probably wouldn't happen. Our school - with 86% free and reduced lunch - started what we refer to as the Eagle Closet a few years ago. It is like a second hand clothing store where our families can come and "shop" for free. Now over the year I have bought my children some very nice clothes and I know they could be worn by other kids. I seem to have drifted upward in size (something I keep swearing I am going to correct) and have tons of clothes I no longer wear. So with all of this in mind, I set up the table on the deck and started sorting. I also realized I had two boxes of clothes in my closet that I had set aside for donations when I was putting things away in there, so I added them to the stacks. In the end, I decided that I cannot wait so long in the future to purge. Sheesh! Stuff stacked EVERYWHERE as you can see in the pictures. So I boxed it all up and off to the Eagle Closet it went - all six boxes and six lawn and leaf bags full!Okay, that felt good, so back to the garage I went. I decided to go back to the original plan of just moving it into the game room. I was cruising along until I hit the boxes of china and crystal. Stopped moving to sort. Again a little reflection. When my first husband and I got divorced, I split the china up - he got a couple of sets and I took a couple. (Okay, china is a weakness for me! And I did entertain a lot!) We had crystal glasses that could serve 100 because we used to have HUGE New Year's Eve parties. I split that 50/50. A few years ago he remarried and one day he called me and offered to give me all the china and crystal - as well as all of his mom's stuff. Turned out that his new bride didn't want any of that stuff in her house and he hoped that by giving it to me, it would eventually make its way to our sons. Plus, he knows how much I love the stuff and told me he couldn't stand seeing it go somewhere it wasn't appreciated. At the time I had NO room for it, so it went into storage. Which brings us to today. I went through all of it. There were some random pieces that weren't very nice and were mismatched. Those all went to a pile that I am saving. This fall our school has an annual rummage sale fundraiser. Those people buy everything and I know they are going for a good cause. I filled the china cabinet with glasswear until it can hold no more. Not sure about getting rid of that, so I put it on my list of thinking about it later. I took one very large set of my ex's mom's china and packed it for my son that now has his own place in Kansas. She wanted Chris to have this set and he said he will find a place for it if I bring it down at Thanksgiving. I also found all the dishes and pots and pans my husband had before he moved to South Dakota so I packed those nicely for the next boy that moves out. When all the dishes were dealt with, I finished off the garage. Well, unless you count the fact that I have a desk and a curio cabinet that need to have someone look at to refinish and a number of bicycles. Oh, my husband is going to be so happy with me!

Tony had to run errands this morning and Jamie had to work until 2. After they got home, I had them help me clean the kitchen and I sent them both off to clean their own bathrooms. I have cleaned my bathroom and ran a quick dustcloth, broom, and vacuum. On the whole, the house looks pretty good. I fear the desk will have to wait a bit for organization. So if you veer off your three goals and miss one, but you do tons more on another than planned, did you succeed for the day or fail. Either way, I am feeling pretty darn good about another day.

I promise, this blog will get back to reflecting on education and students and technology, but sometimes life gets in the way. Summer is a good time to clear the cobwebs literally and figuratively and I know I am getting that done. It will be so wonderful to start school this year feeling organized at home! I so needed this time. I hope my Three-A-Day Club is having as much fun as I am!