Hoard on, I mean hold on!

I have issues with getting rid of things, not junk (not to me) but stuff that has meaning. I've seen all those hoarding shows and I'm pretty sure that baby clothes and old school tests are quite different from old tuna cans and broken fans. Although rereading that last sentence maybe I should have called TLC instead of Goodwill.

During my reorganization project I was forced to tackle my "collection" in an effort to regain some space around here. I was once again face-to-face with the items that I had hidden away because I couldn't deal with throwing them away. In K's closet alone was every bit of schoolwork that had come home with her from the last four years. Bins and bags full of paperwork. As I sifted through the piles memories came flooding back. How could I trash K's "Welcome to Kindergarten!" packet? Quite easily actually. It was at that moment, sitting in the middle of her room, sweating (because it was about 90 degrees outside) that I realized saving items from babyhood will not keep her a baby. Holding on to her play kitchen will not keep her from getting older. These things are going to happen no matter how much stuff I cram into her closet. I can go back to those times whenever I want. Thanks to my amazing memory and near obsession with photographing every moment of my child's life, I have pictures of the moment she first saw her pink play kitchen, I don't need the actual particle board which has become a hiding place for her "collections."

K's new room (minus the kitchen and all relics of her toddler room) is a tween oasis where she will now be able to create her own memories. We found a nice home for her play kitchen, and neither of us was sad when it drove away. She did save a bag of accessories, insisting that she needed certain items for "something."

So that's my lesson for today, holding on doesn't necessarily mean keeping everything. Letting it go physically and mentally not only creates more closet space it allows for actual mental growth.

Now on to my room....