In a little over a week I will have all my kids together under one roof. Plus, all my grand children. Plus, two great grandmothers. For this to happen I needed to get busy finding room for my home of 5 to become a temporary but comfortable home for 13. I am so excited! Beyond words, excited! Finding room for 13 people though - not so much. But, I realized something had to be done about all the unnecessary, overwhelming, accessories (read: stuff) around the house if I was going to make this happen. This meant (means) I needed to get busy.
Hang on. It's going to be a wild ride.
Several spaces within my home need(ed) tackling and I (we) have begun making room.
1. The boys' room will become a room for four. After moving in a year and a half ago, Joan's boxes remained in my boys' room..for long enough. Yep, they've had their room cluttered with boxes of things that weren't even theirs. They've been so gracious about not even saying anything, yet it has bothered me tremendously. These boxes have now found a place in the attic and the boys can see their floor again. Yet, much still needs to be accomplished in their room before the work is done. Vacuuming, dusting, fresh sheets, pillows - a cleansing beyond...plywood between the sagging mattress and box spring, putting away (preferably purging) of their 'stuff' - but, more likely putting away.
2. The den will become a room for two (maybe three). This room was the worst! More boxes from Joan's move in, tons of my craft STUFF that had gotten out of control, boxes of photos, homeschool curriculum...the list goes on. I did not, and sometimes could not, even find space to plant my feet, let alone have a space to work. Much progress has been made in this room from first clearing the floor to raiding the closet to cleansing the stuff-shelves (as opposed to bookshelves). I have a pile of STUFF ready for Goodwill, ready for another home, just not my home anymore. That 'one man's stuff is another man's treasure' still applies, but does not resonate with me anymore.
I have found such freedom in purging and cleaning. A gentle peace and contentment. It isn't more stuff I needed. It was less.
a. Homeschool Curriculum has been pulled out. Actual work the boys accomplished has been stored in a bin and moved to attic. Once they've been accepted into college those bins will be emptied and discarded. Actual curriculum has been photographed and posted to homeschool co-op board for possible sale.
b. I purged! I seriously asked myself: Would I use it within a year? How long has it already been in my possession unused? Do I love it? Honestly, will I ever use this? After asking myself at least those four questions in multiple variations, I began making a very large pile ready for Goodwill and a large heavy-duty yard bag for trash. Unfortunately, I'm not done. But, I have made quite the dent and I have empty shelf space to prove it! Over the next couple of days and this weekend the den will be finished. Vacuumed, dusted, hide-away bed in the room ready to open with fresh sheets, blanket, pillow. Even after my family of 13 goes back down to a family of 5 again I want this den space to become my studio again where I work (rather than the kitchen table) at my craft.
c. More vacuuming, more dusting. More purging and organizing, and ordering.
3. My bathroom needs cleaned top to bottom. Because we're going from 5 to 13 my bathroom will need to be utilized by more than just Hoosier Man and I. While I can accept a level of filth much higher than most, mostly because I can't stand cleaning the bathroom, I'll need to clean it for the sake of the family. Sigh. A sigh because I hate cleaning the bathroom. Oh, wait! I said that already, didn't I?
4. My bedroom needs cleaned top to bottom. Family will be walking through my bedroom to get to the bathroom. Enough said. Unfortunately, much of the problem areas are piles of stuff that aren't mine, but Hoosier Man's accumulated 'stuff' which I won't touch - it's not mine to touch, or purge.
5. The shelves, previously holding all things homeschool, need to be cleared and decide, what now? for those shelves.
This weekend will be the big push for cleaning, buying food for a house full, planning and accomplishing to-do lists for a graduation and party and a house full of people. Did I tell you we were going to have a house full?
I'm not overwhelmed.
Ok, maybe a little.
But, I wouldn't want this coming week and weekend of celebration any other way.