Barbie Hoarders

Now that the kids are in school, I'm tackling a few cleaning and organizational issues. First up, the girls' rooms. They share a bedroom and a playroom, and have about a billion small toys, which get sorted and put away periodically, but are usually all over the place. I wish this were a true "before" picture, but I'd already filled several boxes and put them into storage when Rob suggested that I should take a photo. The dollhouse was especially bad, every room crammed with furniture, clothes, Barbies, Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shop, stuffed animals, novelty erasers, play food and more. It looked like an episode of Hoarders, starring Barbie.

We decided to try a modified version of the Stringham's clean up. We didn't box up everything, just most of the small stuff. They still have some dolls, Barbies, stuffed animals and kitchen stuff, but if they can't keep what amounts to about 1/3 of their stuff picked up, we'll box it up too.

Shedding a few pounds...

No, I'm not talking about my quest to get in shape before the marathon, although I'm working on that.

This is all about an item that's been on my "to do" list since fall, when the kids went back to school. These are our toy cupboards. I love that the toys are behind closed doors.

But I hate opening those doors, and we have many toys the kids have outgrown. The toys they do still want to play with have been too hard to find in the chaos.
I knew this wasn't a job I could do with kids home, but leaving it until the last day and a half of school was procrastinating even for me.

Now that we have a little room to spare in here, I can move some of the girl's toys down and out of their already-crowded room.

I even tackled the huge pile of clothes that is always the result of growing kids and changing seasons.

I LOVE to get rid of things. It always feels good to simplify and organize. You'd think I'd get a clue and quit buying stuff. But even when I don't it seems to multiply and reproduce all on its own.
If only getting rid of my excess body weight were this easy...

Remembered my camera, forgot to check the battery...

This is where I lugged my big camera, only to discover that the battery needed recharging. I did take all the photos posted on Melissa's blog, just with her camera (put those in the iPhoto folder for me, will you Melis?) It really was fun—in addition to being super-talented, Pete is great with kids. As we were on our way there, I reminded Ainsley that Scout's dad was going to be there teaching about music, and she said, "You mean Peter Breinholt?!" Just doing our part to make sure the next generation of fans is in place. :)

So, my daily-photo-by-default is a "before" picture. Even though Ainsley comes by her obsessive-compulsive organizational skills very naturally, my house has plenty of chaos. Exhibit A:
I actually have two drawers in my kitchen that hold all of my cooking utensils. And they are both organized by the "toss it in wherever you can fit it" method, simply because the kids usually put the dishes away these days, and they haven't learned to read my mind, which has a clear picture of where everything belongs. We had a professional organizer come to our ward tonight and she gave a great presentation on the process of organizing so that your family can maintain it without you hovering over them every minute. I've been planning on going through my house room-by-room to de-junk, reorganize and finish what is unfinished, so I'm excited to use some of her tips. I looked for the handouts she passed out on her website, but didn't see them—she does this presentation for free at local libraries in January and February, so if anyone is interested, here's the schedule. I'm hoping that my "after" picture won't be too long coming. :)

OCD: it must be genetic

Well, I was saving my photo of the day for book group tonight, but I couldn't resist posting this one:
Ainsley came to me and said, "Mom, want to see how I cleaned the bathroom?" Knowing how that kind of "help" usually pans out, I hurried back to access the damage. I was pleasantly surprised and slightly alarmed to find this. I think it's safe to say, genetic testing will not be necessary to prove she's mine. :)

Another great photo op happened when Ainsley wouldn't stop chasing Robbie around, trying to stick on her "Dancer of the Day" heart from ballet on him. I suggested that he just let her catch him, so HE could be the dancer of the day. They both thought this was hilarious, and he even posed for a photo: