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WASHINGTON—This week I feel good. After another session
of reclaiming my attic from years of clutter, I walked
down the stairs, shut the door and gave myself a
hard-earned pat on the back for making real progress.
Nearly halfway through our 11-week project, professional
organizer Caitlin Shear and I attacked the mounds of
baby equipment, toys and bags of baby clothes that have
been accumulating up there for five years. My two
children are no longer babies, and I’ve been looking
forward to the day I could get rid of all this stuff.
Much of
what my husband and I stashed up there is still in good,
“lightly used” condition, and Caitlin suggested places
where it would be appreciated. Among the things we’re
passing on: the Peg Perego high chair that had too many
crevices to keep clean; the Pack-and-Play portable crib
that my two-year-old son, Charlie, hasn’t fit into in
six months; the nearly new Baby Bjorn carrier that
neither Charlie nor his big sister, Margaret, ever
liked; the ExerSaucer toy that they both loved; the
extra toddler gate we never needed; and dozens and
dozens of stuffed animals. I was delighted to see the
stuff go and to think it would help another family. Most
of it has been donated to a local women’s shelter.
I did
keep the pink-striped Moses basket we received as a gift
when Margaret was born more than five years ago. I’m
hoping to pass it on to one of my friends or relatives.
Actually, that’s a total lie. It’s the nicest present we
received, and I don’t want to give it to anyone. I want
to keep it. Caitlin allowed it because I kept almost
nothing else.
Clothes,
I discovered, were much more difficult to part with than
baby equipment. Every sundress revived some sweet
memory; every bathing suit was a reminder of their early
days at the beach. But even though I’ve been pretty good
about weeding out outgrown clothes, faithfully sorting
through and donating wearable things to AmVets every
December 31, there were still bags and bags of
children’s clothes all over the attic.
Finally,
I got ruthless. How many Old Navy T-shirts do I really
need to save? Almost all of Charlie’s 18-months wardrobe
was packed up and donated. Maggie’s size-5 clothes from
last summer were delivered the next day to one of her
preschool teachers, who knows Maggie’s outfits better
than anyone and had been eyeing a few things for her own
daughter.
I didn’t
get rid of everything. During the past few years, any
kids clothes I really couldn’t bear to part with I would
throw into one large plastic container, to be decided on
at a later date. That box still has room for a few more
memories, and I feel comfortable that I haven’t gotten
rid of every onesie.
I’m also
keeping the bumper and other linens from Maggie’s crib
in hopes of one day converting it all into pillows of
various sizes. And I’ve set up two plastic storage
drawers, one for each child, for filing mementos from
their earliest years, including their hospital ID
bracelets, baptism certificates, cards they received
from relatives and friends, and a lock of hair from
their first cut. I totally fell down when it came to
recording important milestones (first tooth, first
steps) in the baby books. (Does Charlie even have a baby
book?) I hope to be a bit better about these file
drawers.
In the
end, Caitlin and I packed up 31 items of baby clothing,
a dozen cloth diapers, a changing mat, baby Halloween
costumes and the 30-plus stuffed animals and sent them
off to a humane society that will resell the items in
their thrift stores.
***A
note about the attic: It’s gotten very hot up there.
Even though Caitlin and I spend no more than two hours
at a time decluttering and are drinking plenty of water
throughout our weekly sessions, it has been tough to get
as much done as we want. In a perfect scenario, I would
not be doing this project during a record-breaking heat
wave in Washington. So if, like me, you have an attic
that’s in complete chaos, consider waiting for cooler
temperatures to arrive before getting started. The kind
of clutter I’m dealing with can be found in any room of
the house, so you can adapt Caitlin’s strategy of
organizing by topic.
Next
week: Heirloom Tableware—Save, Toss, Donate? |
