Spring Cleaning

As part of our downsizing and spring cleaning I've had the kids go through both their closets and their bookshelves (toy boxes are next) to weed out things they no longer want. I'm listing both books and clothes (some) on Ebay and we have a big box of things to donate. I was surprised at how many duplicate children's books we had - some adoption/Chinese related as we might already own one and then be given one as a gift, but also other books. I think it's a result of me buying bulk collections on Ebay!

As for me, I'm tackling paper which is a much more laborious task than clothing. I cannot believe how much paper I've dragged around with me through multiple moves. Back in the days before internet I used to clip magazine articles on things that interested me so I had file after file titled things like alternative medicine, herbs, politics, headaches, animals, people (mostly stuff about Harrison Ford, but I had coverage of Princess Diana's wedding too- oh my that was long ago and the person that collected those things isn't the same anymore). In the interest of time I just chucked it all into the recycling bin without leafing through each folder. I need to buy a new shredder (mine mysteriously disappeared from our house) and clean out all the old files with financial/personal information in them as well.

Moving, if done right, really is a good curb on packrat tendencies! If you don't sort and toss during packing, you do upon unpacking. Better the former though otherwise you'll regret the time and money spent packing and moving what is essentially rubbish!