Nesting

I pulled out the junk door this morning or rather I should say I tried to pull it out.  Or course it would not open all the way and the decision was instantly made to drop all I was doing and have a grand sort out of the imfamous junk draw.   We all have one, some of us have more than one.   And my children will tell you the grand sort outs in our house never turn out well.   When the kids were younger the sort outs of their rooms took longer than the patience allowed. Unfortunately if your room was last you regretted it.

It is hard to imagine all the was crammed into this drawer.   It was a walk down memory lane.   Four lighters from the days of smoking; a beach tag from the summer of 1999 for Sea Isle City and the memories of that summer; paint chips with colors I chose to use and others that made me wonder what was I thinking; photographs; miniature little stop signs and traffic signs fit for matchbox cars; cup hooks, gum, candy, screws, toggle bolts, alan wrenches (5),  matchbooks and business cards from a needlework show or a from a friend with a new position. 

First I got rid of the trash - yes trash - candy wrappers, etc. and I must add the cabinet the houses the trash can in directly below the junk drawer.   Someone must have had only enough energy to open the drawer and was apparently not strong enough to open the cabinet and pull out the trash can.

I  separated all like things and proceeded to put all the nail clippers and files in the victorian flower tin in the bathroom that first housed these things in my mother's bathroom when I was a child and now has a place in my bath.  I put all the rubber bands on the magnetic hook on the side of the fridge; all the cough drops were relagated to the tupperware container in the pantry with all the others; and the extreme amount of change ~ not~ all 52 cents went into the rosewood bowl that sits on my dresser waiting for more change.   I now know where all the tape is (5 rolls); I have enough lip balm for the winter (5 tubes); and more safety pins then I knew were in my house.   I did leave one little compartment for the stray puzzle pieces, little green men and the extra dice for that critical time one is lost.

This got me going.  I set off to my walk in closet in my bedroom to switchout the summer and winter clothes; to make a mending pile; to sort like things; get rid of the hopelessly stained; and hopefully I will even part with things that I truly know in my heart that my fat a$$ will never fit into again but I keep because nothing is wrong with them but the fit of course. [Right now I am taking a time out from the mess I created.]

This must be a fall thing.  Last weekend I sorted the two cabinets housing canned goods, juices, pastas, and condiments and the other where the crackers, chips and cookies are.  I found I had three of the same jelly, a giant jar of peanut butter that without the kids are home I won't use in two years time; two boxes of   vanilla wafers among others things that I bagged up and sent home with my son.

There is just something about things being where they belong.   When Monday to Friday we are so busy with the rat race I need to be able to not waste time searching for things.  ....less time looking for things kind of equates to more time to stitch that way I see it.