Decluttering | ZooLights & Tree Lighting | (F.A.T.) Chain Reaction
Howdy,
Those of you who know me know that cleanliness is not one of my virtues. ;-) Recently though, even I'm starting to get embarrassed at the state of our house. It's just hard with kids and work. :(
Even my husband started asking me, "Uh, what is this, and that?"
Well, that's the piles of books and toys my daughter left around, the clothes I'm trying to give away to Goodwill, vs. the clothes I want to return, vs. the toys I want to give to my friend's child, and well, a few mystery bags that I have no idea. :-D
I tried to do some research on decluttering, and watched with kids video on Marie Kondo the decluttering guru's method.
What she mentioned about keeping only what spark joy worked for me and the kids. We made piles for "spark joy" and "give away." My son brought down a bag of clothes that he's ready to say "thank you for your service" to.
It was easier for the kids than for me. There's a pile of books that don't spark joy for kids but I'm just not ready to let go yet, including some we've not read together. I told the kids maybe we can read once, and that'll help me let go. :) Also some artwork I want to take picture before recycling.
We've made some progress, see below. ;-) Our kids were also overjoyed to find a long-lost stuffed animal and the missing piece of the Catan board.
I found it tedious work to document what I'm giving away, so I came up with a new scheme. Get the kids to document for me in a Google Sheet, where I pay them 5% of the donation. Here's my son folding a shirt happily and saying: "5 shirts now, Ka-ching!" He checks every item to see how much he's earned, and was happy he beat his sister on total earning. ;-)
Poll: What are your plans for celebrating Thanksgiving? My plan? Maybe some more decluttering. ;-)
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