As I mentioned below, we cleaned house Friday in preparation for The Middle Girl's birthday party and Saturday afternoon we cleaned out the minivan. Yesterday I began the process of tearing all that down and sending the house back into its usual state of piggishness. Actually, it is probably far worse than usual -- BUT -- it is all for the good cause of cleaning out, donating and removing from our abode a lot of extra junk that slowly accumulates without us even trying very hard.

Yesterday I started cleaning out my closet. I got rid of a sweater I've been dragging around since junior high (yes, I was about 12 when I got it and baggy things were in) and I certainly haven't worn it in at least a few years -- Outback Red not having the cache it once had when I was in seventh grade. I also got rid of a suit I wore to a job interview in 1997 and wore last shortly after The Boy was born. I could list more things, but I probably shouldn't mention all the things I couldn't quite get rid of this time (mostly for sentimental reasons) but I did make a big dent and you can see the floor in there.

Since my closet also doubles as the house's linen closet, I tackled the refolding of sheets and blankets that have been wadded up and shoved back on the shelf a few too many times and at the same time, I also got rid of all the sheets that no longer match anything and/or don't fit the beds we have.

Some sort of cleaning sickness must have really hit me hard. When I went upstairs this morning to put clothes on The Baby, so I could take all the bags now decorating my dining room off to a donation center, i instead opened her closet and started dumping, sorting, putting away and best of all getting rid of. I'm more embarrassed by just how many children's clothes I've been holding on to than by the fact that I was still hauling around a sweater I bought in the eighties. I finally decided that if we should have another child there will be other clothes available and it will not be naked just because I didn't save every sock, onesie or pair of jeans the older kids ever wore. Yard sales and Goodwill will still be around and operating and I can buy them something new. I didn't get rid of everything. I kept probably more than I should have, but only things that held some sentimental attachment or that I would really, really, really want to see another child wear. Otherwise, the clothes are going to go away and be worn by people who need them and not be stored away awaiting a child that might never actually be born and filling up one of the few storage spaces I have.

Emptying all that stuff out and sorting through the children's clothes and getting out their cold weather clothing was extremely satisfying. The only frustrating part was that despite spending almost the entire day in The Baby's room and getting rid of half the stuff in the closet, I was not able to finish up all that needs to be done and the room is still a wreck. I can't wait to restore order to chaos and actually enjoy a clean house for more than a few hours.