Accountability

Hi Friends!

Since my last post, I have made a lot of progress in purging some areas of our house.  In the room we call a dining room (but is really a library/classroom,) we have bookcases on the entire one wall.  The center section is mostly storage for things like paper, glue, markers, math curriculum waiting for Mary, etc.  The kids and I got that cleaned out and managed to come up with a shelf for each child to claim as their own!!  How many sets of markers does one really need? How many puzzles or coloring books?!  Here is what the bookcase looked like when we were done.

I did manage to get down the basement and clear out my craft area.  I noticed that I tend to hold on to things thinking that I just might use them later.  Well, when it is 15 or 20 years later, and it has not been used, re-homing it might be a great idea!  I am really sorry to not have a before photo, but imagine three shelves all packed with boxes and other random things.  And, do you see that little drawer set on the right?  Well, there was another smaller one with lots of random stuff.  Here is what I got rid of: extra fabric that was poor quality or very small pieces, latch hook tool (I had two….) cross stitch kits that I knew I would not use, a color by number paint set that was Brynn’s, a St. Patrick’s Day wreath that hasn’t been hung in years, and lots more. I will say, it was a VERY good feeling to have some free shelves.

Now, on to the title of this post: Accountability.  Since I neglected to show you the before photos of the above areas, I will make it up to you by showing you probably the worst area in our house.  It resides in the far (out of sight) corner of the basement. It is where I keep potting soil, pots, seeds, and my little recycled greenhouses when they are not in use.  What makes this area exceptionally bad is that first off, when I wash out a pot or a greenhouse, they are wet.  So I can’t stack them up right away.  Secondly, it is where I do not see it.  So, I can forget about it for months and months on end.

Now that you have seen this picture, you can see what a problem this is.  So, since I have disclosed this bit of mess, I am going to commit to YOU that I am going to get it cleaned up this weekend (and I’ll show you a picture to prove it)!

If you are inspired to clean out a closet, some shelves, etc. this weekend, email me a picture at gwen@backtosomebasics.com .  When I send out an update on my cleaning progress, I can show off yours too!