Brenda The Overachiever

See this closet?

It sits in our living room beside the fireplace. We call it "the coat closet." It measures 25" deep by 30" wide.

Kinda small, huh?

So tell me, please, how THIS MUCH stuff

was crammed into that closet? I'm not even including the 7 or 8 coats hanging up on the fireplace in this picture.

You can see my "Put away", "Give away", and "Throw away" designated spots were not quite big enough. (That would be the laundry baskets buried in the background)

So how did it all fit, you ask?

Hard work and determination baby.

About This Too Much Stuff Business

Yes. I am glad you all agree with me. We have too much stuff. I found myself thinking about my college apartment yesterday. I think my family could totally fit in that apartment. It was 2 bedroom, 2 bath, had built in shelves all down the little hallway....they don't make apartments like that anymore. Of course, even though my family would fit in that apartment, our STUFF would not.

I really hate to even bring this up because I have talked about this SEVERAL times to ya'll. I get on these kicks every year and then they don't last. But I must keep fighting!!!

Seriously, the time I took half our dishes out of the cabinet and stored them? It didn't work. I didn't wash up the one plate each person had used right away every single time and then someone would come over and we would dig out more bowls for ice cream and they would never get put back up. It makes sense in my mind: one bowl, plate, cup, fork, knife, and spoon for each person in this family. Why should we need more?

But it isn't really the kitchen I'm concerned about today. It's the girls' stuff. Clothing, toys, and books.

I had them go through their books several months ago and pull out what they did not want. They did really well and I listed a bunch of them on paperbackswap.com but I have found that to be a pain. I mean, we did get 10 "free" books out of the deal, but when I get an e-mail that someone wants my book I just wince. It's always on a week I have so much to do and then I have to add going to the post office. (I know you can print postage, but I haven't done that.)

Truly, we need to have a garage sale but I HATE them. Hosting them, that is. It will draw almost zero English speakers and it's very difficult to handle money, watch your stuff, and communicate not in English the whole time. Plus people are really, really dishonest. At least around here.

There's always Craig's List or Freecycle but that's kind of "Hello! Welcome to our home. Come scope us and our belongings out so you can do crimes in the future!" OK--I'm kind of kidding. I've done both but it's not the way I want to go.

I usually end up setting stuff out by the side of the road. It's usually gone in less than 20 minutes. I hear it's not that way in other cities. One time, we had a new preacher and someone warned him not to set things out or they would be gone. He laid his weed-eater down close to the curb one evening to go get more line from the garage and as he was walking away, a car started slowing down! He RAN back to get his weed eater. I'm serious people. It's an easy way to get rid of things.

I also donate things when trucks such as Salvation Army come by. I want to sell our stuff and get money that we could use, but part of me just says, "Bless others and let God bless you." Most of what we have we did not buy anyway. I've heard of giving a "free garage sale" and just blessing others. I would love to do that if I thought it would go to others who need/want our stuff. But it wouldn't. A couple of folks would load all of it up and take it home for their garage sale.

So, how do you get rid of stuff? Is there a great idea I'm missing?

We Have Too Much Stuff

That's pretty much all I wanted to say.

Of Gremlins and Desk Fairies

When we were growing up, there was a Gremlin at our house. It was my dad. If one of the little girls in our house forgot to make their bed in the mornings before school, the Gremlin would visit during the day. It didn't need to happen very often.

So, if you were the one who forgot, you would come home from school to find that all the sheets and bedspread and pillowcase had been stripped off of your bed and wadded up into a big pile in the middle. Very shocking the first time it happened, let me tell you. Quickly, we discovered it was FAR easier to make our bed in the morning than to start from scratch making it that afternoon.

I used this idea when I was teaching 3rd grade one year. Never in the history of public education was there a class with messier desks. We had the kind of desks that had an opening as wide as the desk all the way across. Just like this one:

At the beginning of the year as we were passing out supplies, etc. I always drew a little diagram on the board depicting how I wanted the inside of the desks to look. Journals and school box stacked on one side, books on the other. You get the idea. I taught it and encouraged it. Digging around in your desk each time you needed something cost precious classtime.

When I saw the desks begin to get messy, the desk fairy would start coming to visit. She would leave little treats on top of neat desks. A pencil. A piece of candy. A cool new eraser. All with a little note that said, "Love from the Desk Fairy." You get the idea. It always worked.

Until this one year. The Desk Fairy could only find about 2 clean desks when she came. They usually belonged to the same kiddos too. So......

Desk Fairy? Meet the Desk Gremlin!

My students came back from P.E. one day to find that the contents of their desks had been dumped ON TOP of their desks. What a sight it was! On top of that, the trash can had been hidden next door.

They all stopped in their tracks and their mouths fell open when they got inside. "The Desk Gremlin must have come!" I told them. "Better start cleaning!"

As the students gathered up armfuls of trash and papers, they began to walk over to where the trash can usually sat. Hmm. No trash can. Now what?

Me: Can I help you?

Students: Where's the trash can?

Me: Why do you need it?

Students: To throw away all this trash!

Me: Trash? What trash? There can't be any trash in here. You have carefully kept all that paper and stuff in your desk for months! Surely it must be terribly important to you. You'd better take all that treasure home with you.

Yep. I made them load all that stuff in their backpacks. They told me how their mother would not be happy. I told them their teacher wasn't too happy either. I told them use of the trash can was free to all who were willing to get up and walk over to it.

Problem solved.

So, I'm thinking....the Gremlin/Desk Gremlin might just morph into a Toy Gremlin REALLY REALLY soon around here. His weapon might be a box.

Think when they get down to about 10 toys they'll get the idea? I better round up some boxes.

A Place for the Husband

Dads get a bad rap on TV. Sitcoms as well as commercials depict husband/fathers as really big dolts who can't think past the end of their noses.

And many women are really willing to agree that it is so in their life.

If you don't watch out, you can find yourself rolling your eyes at your own husband although you would certainly be VERY UPSET if he were to roll his eyes at YOU. Attitudes are contagious. I don't want my girls growing up thinking "girls rule, boys drool." It won't play well into their future marriages.

This weekend my husband was sitting on the couch with the laptop, Bibles and commentaries spread all around him as well as the coffee table, studying for the Bible study he leads on Sunday evenings. The fan was blowing every page so he had various heavy objects trying to weight down the books and Bibles he had open. It wasn't a very comfortable study spot.

He said something about, "I sure look forward to the day when I can have a study or a home office."

Hmm. Poor man. The dining room table was full of my sewing stuff. The homeschool table is always covered in stuff. There really isn't any other place in the house for HIM. He leaves to go to work and we take over the whole house.

Instead of lamenting our little house and feeling discontent, I prayed. I prayed for help thinking of a solution. The sewing room, even if it were clean, is really too small for him to work in. He has the garage for his woodshop. We really need the homeschool room. Hmm. Hmm.

Then I got an idea! I was very excited. I told the girls my idea yesterday and they cannot wait for Daddy to come home tonight and see the surprise we have for him. All it took was a little rearranging.

My nightstand goes to the toy room to put Little Bit's dollhouse on. I don't use a nightstand really. Sweetheart's old desk comes out of the garage and into our room. The dresser and small bookshelf switch places.

AND.....TA DA!!!!

A study for Daddy. (S, if you are reading this you better fall over with surprise when you get home!)

Why is it so important? Because we think he is important. He isn't some useless dolt who wanders around our house. He is the head of our family. And he deserves a place to study.