Clutter!

My house seems to be an absolute magnet for the 7 letter word mentioned above. Everywhere I turn there is CLUTTER.  Gone one day, here the next. I could toss, pitch, sell, burn, give away, etc., but I can't seem to get rid of it.  I do live in a fairly small house...only about 1100 square feet of living space so that adds to the problem, but there has got to be a solution.  Right now I'm working on getting some cubbies withe baskets so I can store toys in them, and my wonderful mother just purchased a new dresser and night stand for the hubby and me for Christmas so that will help, but we just have too much stuff.  My kids have too many toys and we have to many "items".  I know, stop buying so much, but really it's not so much that...we just don't have the room!  I'm already writing down a list of things I want in my future home.

1.  A huge downstairs toy room from which nothing can escape.
2.  A mudroom....making it the only place where people can enter. 

Because my house is so small, we use every bit of the space, all the time.  Hence, making it the house that needs to be cleaned most often! I just got done scrubbing the kitchen floor, which happens twice a week at the very least.  Wow, it's a good thing I have no job!

Clutter makes me feel so unorganzied.  In fact, it makes my life feel totally chaotic.  I even hate it when my car is a wreck!  I get very overwhelmed when I think about "lists".  I just have to dive into it and not think about it.  And speaking of clutter, I'm sitting here staring at a package of Silly Bands.  Worst invention ever made, yet every kid loves them and they sell like hotcakes.  Why do I keep buying them?  Probably because, like today, we found Toy Story ones at  Hallmark, and I got one for Gracen and one for Zach...buy one get one free.  But seriously, why can't I think of something that cheap and creative, yet stupid. 

I have found one really productive secret to getting rid of my clutter---yardsales!  My first yardsale was such a success that I will have one at least twice a year.  Also, any online forum where you can sell things is great too like craigslist, Amazon.com, or even ebay!  However, living in the Southern Maryland region, I would really suggest trying SOMD.com.  People are local and pick up their items instead of you having to ship them.  And trust me, you wouldn't believe what people buy!  Some tips when stashing your stuff to sell later on (I learned the hard way):

1.  ORGANIZATION is KEY.  Don't just throw stuff downstairs or up in the attic.  Place it neatly in CLEAR tubs and label it. 
2.  Try to keep clothing items categorized somehow.  For instance, I had my daughter's clothing separated according to size and season.  Next time, I am going to do my best to not only do it that way but also separate things such as coats and jackets, pjs, and seasonal outfits like Christmas and Easter dresses.  I will also do the same for Parker's clothing.  It's really important to keep out shoes and socks too.  People love to buy those things!
3.  If you can't re-gift tagged clothing or other items, keep that in a separate place as well.  People love things they can buy at a yardsale that are still brand new.  Have a nice way of presenting them too like a table or a station where you can hang them.
4.  Bigger items like cameras, etc. will definitely go at a yard sale, but they will sell just as quickly (and easily) by selling them online.  People are less likely to try to talk you down too. 
5.  Take care of your items!  No one wants to buy "Junk in a Box".
6.  What's trash to you, may be treasure to someone else!  Don't toss it!
7.  Lastly, and I learned this the hard way, YOU WON'T FIT INTO THOSE SIZE 2s, AND 4s EVER AGAIN AFTER HAVING KIDS.  Part with them...let some teenager buy them.  It's painful, but it's soooooooo cleansing.

DON'T LET YOUR HOME LOOK LIKE THIS!



(No, that is not my house!)

............On a side note...........

Hey!  Parker got his first hair cut today.  Really it was on a whim so I don't have pictures being the wonderful mother I am.  I was out with him and Gracen and just happened to walk by the hair cut place and no one was there!  He really needed it and looks even more handsome now.  I'll just take pictures next time and call THAT his first hair cut.  He's such a sweet little boy and Gracen sat so still the whole time :).  My angels...well, most of the time.

Well, it's time to put the house back together again before we have company later.  Family dinner night was moved to my house tonight because Stephen was supposed to be in NC, fishing.  He came back early though because the fishing was not very good.  He'll be late again today.  We would have such a great marriage if only he'd find a different job :(.