Spring Cleaning

With a new baby on the way in a month (or less) I decided that I needed to get my house in order. No - I am not the mother, I am just the Grandmother, but I am expecting that I will be "needed" for a few weeks. Therefore, I need to be prepared in the event that Megan expects me to trick out her freezer, baby watch while she sleeps etc. etc. So about a week or so ago, spring cleaning fever hit my house.

My plan was to clean at least two cupboards or one big closet out per day. Every day. I started in the master bedroom and I CLEANED HOUSE. I am down to just the clothes that I fit into, not all of the "I might wear this again" clothes. Three large, overstuffed garbage bags left that room. Then it was on to the bathroom, six drawers, one cupboard and a BIG medicine cabinet later, that room was organized and tidy. I discovered that in another life, I must have been deprived of moisturizer! The reason why everything was falling out of the cupboards and cabinets was because I have collected a virtual museum of every type of cream and moisturizer known to modern man. I literally threw away a large garbage bag of half used tubs, squeeze bottles, pumps - I owned them all! I've used them all!!! And the worst part - I still have wrinkles!!

Then I carried on to the kitchen, living room and upper level of the basement. Two full pick up trucks worth of crap have left my house.

It was about the time that I was down to the two spare bedrooms and the lower level of the basement that I had to come to terms with my scrap booking supply addiction. These areas of my house are FULL of wooden stamps, unused paper and card stock and OLD CRAP. I just wanted to sit down and cry. I have never been able to purge scrap booking supplies. I just can't do it. So here I am with Beary Patch cut outs, Creative Memories stickers, 8 1/2 x 11 paper, PAPER DOLLS!! WHO IN THE HELL HAS PAPER DOLLS ANYMORE!! Okay, after I stopped hyperventilating, I forced myself to come up with a plan. Stuff just had to go. There was no way around it. I am self aware - I know I can not throw this stuff out. Hence...THE PLAN.

Part #1 of the Plan - pick out all of the stuff that you can donate to Allison's scrapbook garage sale. Put in unmarked cardboard box, so that no one can trace it back to you and laugh at you for still having paper dolls. Deliver in the dead of night. (It's really that bad!)

Part #2 of the Plan - Throw away all true junk. In my case, any paper that is wrinkled and/or faded, packaging from scrapbook supplies etc.

Part #3 of the Plan - Put EVERYTHING ELSE in the scrap booking room. It is piled SKY HIGH, there is so much stuff. My master plan is to collect all the supplies from EVERY room and cram it into one. This is a scrapbook INTERVENTION. The only way to make myself deal with the problem is to be faced with the problem and as there is no way in hell that everything is going to fit, I am soon going to be faced with it when you walk in the front door. By last night, nothing more would fit in the room and I had to pile some stuff outside the door. In two more days, I should be down the hallway and into the front entry way. I am not even sure if I can get everything that came back from the Bloomin' Inn into my front entry, but I am going to die trying. It is only when I am face to face with the wall of stuff that I am going to be able to come to terms with it and stop avoiding the issue by neatly putting it inside of closets and cupboards.
Part #4 of the Plan - Let it sit there for 24 hours. That should be just enough time to put me over the edge, I should be twitching by then - possibly even a convulsion or two.
Part #5 of the Plan - Go to town and buy beer and cigarettes. Usually I only reserve this practise for income tax season, but in this case, I think I might have to resort to these forms of medication.
Part #6 of the Plan - At this point in time, I should be so upset by the mess in my house that I will have an "outside my body" sort of experience and I will be forced to get rid of some of the stuff.
At least, that is the plan... I'll keep you posted!