Summer Cleaning

I have never been a spring cleaner. I don't clean on any kind of schedule, really. I consistently pick up every room in the house at the end of the day, but then I just go on common sense - the floor looks dirty so I sweep it, or the bathrooms haven't been deep cleaned in a while so I do it. The last few days I have been in a bit of a cleaning mood. It started when my washer flooded our basement (note to self: can't have clothes in the sink the washer drains into during a cycle). I ended up having to move everything on the floor, so I organized it and put it in piles in our other storage area. That led to cleaning out various kitchen drawers and cabinets that have long needed to be gone through. It's never fun and always takes longer than I think it should, but it's nice to have a clean and organized house in the end.

This afternoon one of our neighbors came over with a bag full of stuffed animals. They have recently moved across the street (literally) from a house they were renting to a house they have now purchased. As the kids have been unpacking their rooms they were getting rid of various books and stuffed animals, and Amber came to see if my girls would be interested in any of them. OF COURSE the girls quickly began deciding which animal would go to whom. Before they got carried away, I explained to Ava and Jocie that they could each pick 3 stuffed animals to keep, but would then have to pick 3 of their own stuffed animals to give away. They managed to do this with no problem. What really surprised me was that all of a sudden they wanted to go through ALL of their toys to pick things to give away. By the end of the night we had stuffed a garbage bag full of toys the girls were willing to part with. There were a few surprises, and a small handful of items I made them keep for sentimental reasons, but I did my best to keep my opinions to myself and let them have at it. The mother in me was happy to see my children so willing to share their old things with others less fortunate. The neat freak in me was ecstatic to see a few less toys to clutter up the rooms. There is still a TON of sorting out to be done with the girls' toys, but today was a great place to start from.