Friday, February 11, 2011

Cleaning Out the Closets

This is it.

#3 will be our last baby.

I don't feel sad about that decision either.  I feel as though our family will be complete with this new addition. We had always talked about having only two or three children. It feels right.

When I became pregnant, I loved the idea of being able to purge all the baby stuff within the next two years.  I can just imagine having closet space again. 

I know I will not be able to tame the chaos beast that rears its ugly head whenever my children are awake.  That just isn't realistic and probably will not be for the next decade at least but being able to clear out my closets is a step in the right direction.


I started to wonder how I couldn't feel at least a little twinge or quivering lip at the idea of getting rid of all the baby paraphernalia that has cluttered our closets for the last four years?  Me, who gets weepy at every little thing on television or at something I read in a book or magazine.  I found myself crying over a Family Circle magazine just the other morning.

That was until I started going through the baby clothes yesterday. Since #3 is a boy, I figured I could start purging our closets now of all the little infant girl things that I have boxed up and are of no use any longer. My intention was to sort to sell or donate to a good home. 

There it was.

It started in my heart-just a tiny little spark and soon it had spread to my hands.  I found myself clenching the little bits of cloth. I swear my nose could still detect those baby scents. My feet wanted to run and take me to hide all of those boxes away as my mind started to play a reel of memories of the girls as infants.

Sigh...It would have been so much easier if I did want to part with these things. I finally just packed all of the girls' infant clothes and toys that they no longer needed into two boxes to be sorted another day when I was feeling less emotional. Otherwise, I would end up keeping almost all of it.


For those of you who have already started the process of cleaning out the closets of your children's baby things, does it get easier or harder as time goes on?

12 comments:

Liz Mays said...

I did it in stages. With each stage, I was willing to part with a little bit more. I now have about 15 things which I will keep forever, but I started out with hundreds.

Unknown said...

I did it in stages too. Just sold JDaniel's stroller and highchair at a consignment sale. I have kept a few of my favorites for grandchildren some day.

KLZ said...

I told myself that I could keep some of the outfits that were special to me to have someone make into a quilt. Otherwise I'd never be able to get rid of any of it.

Joey Lynn Resciniti said...

I have no trouble getting rid of stuff. I enjoy clearing out. We kept a few things for the baby dolls.

Lourie said...

I need to purge. I have boxes in the garage that haven't been opened since we got here. Three. Years. Ago. As for baby stuff, I kept a few things like the clothes they came home from the hospital in. Gosh they are sooo tiny!

Anonymous said...

Visiting via SITS and I thought I'd say hey. My husband and I don't have any kiddos of our own so I guess I can't really offer any advice on this one. But here's to hoping it gets easier from here!

Shell said...

I managed to get rid of most of ours w/o much emotion...but it was right before we were making a big move and it made so much sense to get rid of it instead of bringing it all with us when we wouldn't need it any more. But, now...I'm sad that it's all gone.

Joy@TPMG said...

I think part of my need to keep everything is partly because my mom got rid of everything. I regret that I don't have anything of mine from infancy or toddlerhood to pass onto my daughters.

I think I have decided to keep the girls' coming home outfits, Christmas dresses, their baptism clothes, maybe one other outfit from infancy, and one blanket for each of the girls.

That is a good idea letting the girls keep one or two things to for their dolls.

I think everything else is going (or that is what I am telling myself).

Anonymous said...

It is hard to let go.

I'm using my favorite baby clothes to make a quilt. Just seeing the fabric makes me smile and recall wonderful times.

Unknown said...

Even though it is so hard to let go, it does get easier. I only have a few baby things from my girls left. My oldest still has her baby blanket and the youngest has a fave toy. They are teens and still have those loveys!

Dropped by from SITS! hope you had a good weekend.

Penelope said...

We have decided - no more boys!!! I am selling all baby boy things at a Just Between Friends consignment sale next month! Just waiting for the call for a little girl! Our 3rd and final?

Unknown said...

I'm a hoarder, so that would be HARD!! Stopping from sits.

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