Decluttering

The highlighted room on Mondays is the kids' room.  We convened there after lunch.  Their civilization models are still 'active' on the floor, so vacuuming was off the table.  I decided we should do some decluttering.

Decluttering with kids, my kids at least, is difficult. 

My older son tends to get attached to his 'stuff'.  Like his father, what the stuff represents is emotionally potent and it is very hard for them to let the 'thing' go without feeling like they are letting everything about it go, as well.  (I can relate, but have been making efforts and strides in this area.)

My younger son is more pragmatic about decluttering, but this afternoon, once he realized that his brother was being blackmailed offered a bit of cash for getting over the hump of letting some things go, he demanded equal restitution.  Despite the fact that he had already said it was no problem to get rid of the stuff his brother was having a hard time letting go of.

Things got a bit ugly there for awhile and I ended up directing them to sit in front of the tv so we could all calm down.

Making strides or not, decluttering is still emotional for me.  And because I'm not absolutely clear of my own baggage yet, decluttering with the kids got a bit muddy.  (Also, something is up with Gem, the older kid.  He either got some gluten in him or he's fighting off some other noxious blow to his immune system.)

Live and learn, as I so often say to the kids.

The space between the top of this bookshelf and the ceiling, from the wall to the edge of the top bunk, had been full of empty Lego set boxes for a few years.  It was the kind of pile that grew and grew till the whole space was full.  It was also, a hoard-y kind of pile.  The boxes had meaning and gave a false sense of emotional security way above and beyond what they actually were, their thingyness, if you will.

While I was bagging the boxes as Gem handed them down to me, I thought about taking a 'before' shot, but chose to remain in the flow and stay present.  It was a tenuous situation.  And, for me, this 'after' shot is pretty sweet.  Complete, standing alone.

While decluttering, running the air purifier is a must.  Dust in the air, dust in our bodies, is really not a good thing.  The health of our family has improved significantly since we got our really good vacuum cleaner a couple of years ago.  We still get sick from time to time, but for the most part, our immune systems fight whatever it is off very successfully.  We feel a little under-the-weather while the brief battle is waged or don't get sick at all.

We also decluttered some overflow dress up bins (yes, overflow dress up bins).  Gem was happy to see some old friends (train museum cap, birthday crown, acorn bag) and he was comforted.