Making My Way Through the Clutter

A few weeks ago I wrote about my goal to de-clutter and organize our house.  Let me tell you-this is a slow-going process with four little people in the house.  I've come to the conclusion that our house is going to get a whole lot messier before it appears to be cleaned up and organized.  I have wonderful ideas pinned, images of what I want it to look like in my head, and all I have to show for any of it is a large pile of clothes thrown on the couch downstairs and some put in boxes and bins.  Someday we'll get there...someday.

One of the most difficult parts of this process is parting with the outgrown clothes.  I know it is just "stuff," but I have so many memories of my kids in those clothes.  I have a real problem with being sentimental and my photographic memory is a fault in this case.  I can remember who gave us the clothes, when my kiddos got them, and several occasions when they were worn.  I really don't think it's the "stuff" so much that's the problem:  it's the reality that my kiddos are growing up (a little too quickly for my liking) and it is quite unlikely that there will be any other little kiddos to where those clothes again.  Ugh, just typing those words makes me teary.  While I am sorting them into bins to sell, I am not quite ready to part with everything just yet.  Someday I'll get there...someday.

Purging is a liberating feeling, but it's an emotional process, too.  There are a lot of little memories tied up in the "stuff" we have lying around this house.  I know that we have years of great memories to make, but parting with those little outfits and accessories is proving to be an emotional ride for me.  I'm thinking I may need to take a break from that and go through some of the stuff in this house that I won't even give a second thought to:  magazines, old papers, items from our move that are still in the boxes.  There's so much to do and not enough time in a day!  Someday I'll have more time on my hands...someday (but I probably won't like it much, because that means all my kiddos will be in school!).  

Are you having success with organizing and de-cluttering your house?!