2 WEEKS LATER

2 weeks after the great sort out I am still not ready to get new boxes from the attic. It took me long enough to get the 4 back up and the empty boxes sorted out. James has filled one up and brought CDs down to check them, get them sorted and maybe sell them.

The girls' room looks like a landfill and in the hopes of helping them clean up their room I made them just fill up empty boxes with their stuff. They filled 8 boxes,  4 laundry boxes full of stuff on top and the place still looks like a dump.

An "abominable pile" grew out of nowhere in front of my bed. It is made up of 4 laundry baskets. Yes, doing laundry is getting complicated, as I never seem to have an empty baskets. I feel like just dragging it all up into the attic so I don't have to look at it again.

I decided instead of hiding  it all upstairs and getting a new box I will just pretend it is attic hoard (technically it is the second I take it up) and decided to spare myself the trip. Instead of bringing down a box a day, I will tackle a box (basket a day down here until I am done. As I have 16 of them that should take me more than 2 weeks. It is frustrating to think that of 22 boxes 12 are full again/still and if I dumped the baskets into boxes I would fill up another 8. If I think that I only got rid of 2 boxes  over the last 2 weeks I shall go mad. But this has always been the problem with the attic. Things went up faster than they were cleared.

Tomorrow is a new day. I will have new energy and will take care of one basket. One basket is all a day requires! I can do this!

A NEAT STACK

How do you like that? I AM A ROCKSTAR! I am not sure how I ended up with 22 empty boxes. I had 4 full ones left. Maybe I just can't count. You count them! I did have one left over from box #2 but, hey who cares!

I can't tell you just how great this feels! I got rid of so much! I did keep my wedding dress. So what. I am still happily married to the guy I took it to the alter with so I have EVERY RIGHT IN THE WORLD to keep it.

I let go of so much stuff. A lot was easy. I really have made progress. My thinking patterns are changing . Slowly but steadily. I gave up a few things that I would have rather kept. But now as I am typing this. I can't even remember what they were.

James say the attic looks so much better already. I still don't dare to venture up their. I am scared it might ruin it all as I know it can'T be that much better upstairs. 

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

The great wall of China might have been a more fitting title for yesterday's post. Or better yet. Katja's wailing wall. Well. Fear not. I conquered. At least mostly. I made it through 16 boxes that night in a little more than 1 hour. Yes. I really did well. I was also very smart. I have learned from past mistake. Instead of sorting into heaps, things went into labeled bags right away. The second a bag was full it was tied up and piled up by the front door, or in the basement. Depending of where it was supposed to got. So when I quite because it was time to go to bed, I didn't have much of a mess left. More boxes to go through, yes, but no mess. I am afraid those last few boxes might take em a while. 

BOX #3

I am crazy. But you knew that. This is what it looks like when I get too excited about a project. As James is off playing basketball Monday nights and I wanted to sort clothes I decided he should bring more than one box. Bring down all the boxes with clothes in them I said. Oh well. I was about to send him back with the box of sheets but then remembered that someone asked for bedding. So it all came down. As long as there was fabric in it, it was allowed to come down. The boys had to help bring them downstairs. I had a sinking feeling that grew worse with every box that came down from the attic. Don't bother counting them, I already counted them for you. 22. Yes. Twenty-two boxes. As you can tell, not all of them are completely full. But hey. Spell crazy. K-A-T-J-A. Good job! Wish me luck. 

1 BAG OUT

I got one of the 2 bags out, that I shouldn't have in the first place. But hey. The receiver was happy and so was I! I've noticed that some of the measures I have taken to improve my life are working well. Like my folder where I put things for school. Each child has his/her own section and anything of importance, like address lists, instructions for school projects or anything else goes in there. It might all be in there helter skelter, but at least I only have to look in one place (the folder) and don't even have to look through all of it, as each kid's section is divided from the rest. I used to search the whole house (and every single box) for phone numbers and things like that. These days, I get the info, punch 2 holes (the hole punch is right next to the folder) and file it. And when I need it I know where it is. Maybe one day I will fulfill my need of perfectionism and sort the individual sections, but until then I will be happy, that my system works and that it makes life easier. And that I have more time to help myself get the rest of the mes taken care of!

PICK YOUR BATTLES WISELY

It will be Christmas in a week. I have put all sorting on hold. I still have a sick kid at home and I really want to have a nice Christmas. I will do what it takes to have it. If that means filling empty laundry baskets to have a clean living room that is what I will do. If it means I can't play games online ...oh..wait. No I won't go that far. hahaha No seriously. Entirely different topic. One for a different post ;)

I have chosen to stop sorting, because I know I won't be done before Christmas. I will feel overwhelmed and sad and I'll feel I  have once more not reached my goal. So instead I will focus on creating an atmosphere were my family can relax and enjoy each other for Christmas. There will be room to play to enjoy the new things. We will have good food and the place will be clean so I can sit down without thinking:"I better clean up this and that."

I can fight the hoard after Christmas. I know it will still be there.