I’m on a quest over the next few days to clear out some things I have been holding on to for who knows what reason and promptly deliver them to the nearest thrift shop where someone may possibly make actual use of them. Mostly I am dealing with clothing and books.
Clothes have overtaken my life lately . . . at six months pregnant maternity clothes often still look tent-like, although not much in my “regular” wardrobe works these days. I refuse to be one of those women who consistently has “fat clothes” living in her closet. Knowing this is my last baby, once the weight is gone the clothes will be, too. Of course, that's also a fabulous excuse to be looking for new clothes next summer. For now, however, I’m just trying to weed out a bit . . . if it’s been in my closet for five years and I don’t wear it because I just don't like it, it’s gone. I have no idea why I’ve held on to some of these things; maybe I found them on sale and wanted a visual reminder of my awesome bargain-hunting skills.
Books are another space-stealer that I am trying to maintain and contain. I’ve been re-reading my pregnancy and parenting books again, most of which I either bought, borrowed and never gave back (oops), or received as gifts when I was pregnant with Dear Daughter #1. At the time, I had no expectations, and so most of the books are fairly generic tips and mainstream jargon. Now that I actually feel strongly about certain aspects of raising children, these books seem trivial to me. But, without them as a starting point, I would not have been able to find my way, so to speak. So, I pass them on to others via my mass Cleaning and Donation Project. (Does this count as a version of nesting?) One book I choose to recycle instead of pass on, however, because it was filled with such horrible advice I couldn’t bear to inflict it on the world voluntarily. So, yes . . . I tore up the pages and put them in the recycling bin instead. This was actually back when DD #1 was only a few months old; I think I had received the book as a baby shower gift.
