52 Organization Projects Week 6

I actually didn't organize anything this week (gasp). The weather here in Texas has started to warm up so Erik and I started reclaiming the garden from the weeds that took over last year. That took a few days because let me tell you, we are good at growing weeds, and because in true Z family fashion, we had to stop the progress to repair the sprinkler pipe that we broke in the process of tilling the dirt (happened last year as well). So we deweeded, tilled and shoveled in 4yds of garden soil and then we were ready to plant. We've always had luck with strawberries, tomatoes, squash and zucchini so we planted those again (and lots of them) we also planted a raspberry bush, avocado tree, 3 types of peppers, and cucumbers. We also marked off a small section of the garden for J to plant some left over seeds from last year (peas, green beans, carrots, and radishes - things we didn't have much luck with and weren't going to plant again). We also tried moving the boys to their cribs (they've been sleeping in a co-sleeper in our room), but after 3 really rough nights I decided it wasn't worth it and moved them back to our room. We'll try again later. In the process to get the nursery ready for the boys to move in, I had to move all of our junk out. I'd been storing all the stuff we're going to get rid of in the boys' room until we get enough to have a yard sale. As I was moving the stuff out I got to thinking that it's amazing how quickly some things go from things we need to junk that's just taking up space. It's also amazing how much others who live outside our home contribute to the clutter inside of it. A majority of stuff in my pile is stuff that others have given us. Stuff that may have been helpful if we didn't already have it (I'm grateful for my friends and family and their willingness to help us out with the twins, but after the second play mat, the rest of them become clutter). Stuff that people think is cute and our kids NEED it (then again, what kid really needs 3 rocking chairs?), and sadly some of it is junk that other people didn't want at their house so they dropped it off at ours in case we might need it one day. I'm all for being prepared for the future and saving things that you WILL use again or that there is a HIGH chance of you using soon, but if the chance of you using it again is slim or several years down the road, then no thanks, I'll just buy a new one at that later date IF by chance I do need it again. I'm also not very sentimental about other peoples things. Both sets of parents are empty nesters and are at the point in their lives where they're starting to scale down and give things to the kids. I struggle with this one a lot. We were given Erik's grandmother's china, it's in good shape and I love it. I also have a miniature tea set that was my great grandma's, it's missing a few pieces and there's a few cracks in it, but again I love it. However, the plastic flower arrangement that Erik bought his mom at the school store when he was 8 - I'm glad you love it, but no thanks. The bottle that my siblings and I glued plastic beads on for my mom when we were little - again no thanks. I don't even keep the pictures J brings home from church each week, they get filed into the permanent filing cabinet (aka the trash) as soon as we get home from church. My mom kept every piece of paper that we brought home from school, I've got most of J's in a binder right now, but as soon as the school year is over I plan on taking pictures of the ones we like best and making a photo book out of them and then trashing everything. I think that's one of the hardest parts of fighting the clutter battle, keeping other's clutter out of our homes. We're afraid to hurt feelings and ruin relationships, but is it worth the stress and resentment we feel for keeping it? I've come to learn that keeping me and my little family happy and healthy is #1 in my book and if I can keep friends and family happy in the process great, if not I'm sorry.