This week’s Thinning The Nest is sponsored by: Knittymunchkin!
I found out last summer that one of my former co-workers is expecting a little boy in March (almost exactly 2 years after Knittymunchkin’s original due date – if he wasn’t in such a hurry to arrive 5 weeks early!). We were given three HUGE rubbermaid totes full of baby clothes by one of R. Darling’s co-workers when Knittymunchkin was born, and I remember how amazingly helpful that was for us and how grateful we were to receive it. Though R. Darling does well with his job, money always seems to be tight with a newborn in the house. So I thought, what better way to pay some of that good karma forward, than to do this for someone else. Many of the things that Knittymunchkin has worn have been through several kids, lots of spills, and assorted newborn/toddler antics. So there isn’t a whole lot that’s still in good shape. But once I started collecting things I was happily surprised to see the pile of stuff I was able to get together for her. Four giant bags of things, and more to come! Technically these aren’t out of the house as of this Thursday, but they will be by tomorrow, so I’m counting this as my week’s accomplishment.
Because nothing says "Welcome Baby!" like stuff in a Harley bag!
Week 2: Four big bags of baby things! Done!
I read an article in Better Homes & Gardens last year about this family that tried to see how little garbage they could produce in one year. At the end of one year they had perhaps a small handful of detritus to show for themselves. Impressed, I read the article wondering how they could possibly do this. There were some interesting tips in there, and a lot of things that I didn’t really think I could feasibly do myself without a lot of inconvenience. I know that sounds crappy, but there it is. Sometimes convenience just trumps saving the planet (if only for a moment or two). But one of the things that really struck a chord with me was their suggestion to take photos of sentimental items instead of actually saving those things and having them take up space. Most especially when you just store the objects rather than using them frequently. One of my biggest problems with clutter is that I am too damn sentimental. I want to keep everything. And I mean everything. I have letters that I received from pen pals in middle school for crap’s sake! So I like this idea. And I think it would work for most things.
Knittymunchkin at 20 months
I thought it would work here. I mean, there’s the photo. I don’t need the sweatshirt, right? But when it came to this face, and my memory of this day, I had a moment of weakness. That photo can’t show me just how tiny this little bit of fleece was when I look back at it 20 years from now, when my son is 6’4″ like his daddy and this day is a distant memory. So I’m afraid to say that little sweatshirt was rescued from today’s Thinning The Nest stash. Let’s face it. I’m weak. But I’ve still got some time to let go. If I can :)
January 13, 2012 at 9:23 am
lol start letting go now or you’ll end up like me with two storage units of stuff I haven’t seen in years!!!
January 13, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Hooray for those four giant bags! I’m sure they will indeed be of great help to your former coworker. Go you for spreading the love! I have a feeling that letting go is much easier when we see how much more useful our stuff would be in the hands of someone else…
January 13, 2012 at 3:43 pm
I also have penpal letters from a long time ago in a box! I even became friend with my 5th grade penpal from France on Facebook! Such dear souvenirs like letters are worth keeping. So many other things to throw away ;-)
January 14, 2012 at 12:22 pm
That is so wonderful, donating baby clothes to someone who can use them. I’m all for passing things along, especially if someone else can use them!
January 14, 2012 at 5:47 pm
What a great idea you have with Thinning the Nest!!! And you’ve been keeping it up (even if it’s only 2 thurs in a row~) I hear what you mean, I have the same issue with magazines, both cooking and crafting. Mine tend to be moved around from room to room too, never really finding a place to call home. the iPad sounds like a great way to keep your MS mags in.
and if you thought you were bad with stuff BEFORE the baby, it gets worse as they get older. I’ve done the photo thing with the big projects (there are aLOT of these when they start school) and I’ve cleared out a LOT of clothes over the years too, but there are some that just wont be passed on. Too much sentiment in them. There are certain outfits that take me right back to the squishyness of that little toddler I held onto. Mine are 13 and 10 and while I dont have a problem passing things on now of their clothes (if there is anything left of them) their baby clothes I kept a lot of. When I found out I was pregnant with my dd, I knew I could scale thru my son’s clothing but OH that was hard!!! Some were just so cute they were hard to part with , but my way to get thru it was if I could remember him wearing it. If not, out it went. Basic clothes that could be for a girl stayed. Navy sweats are easier to pass on to a girl than pink sweats for a boy! LOL
Good for you for wading yourself thru this. Four bags is a big deal!!!!
January 15, 2012 at 8:47 am
Bravo. And it is okay to keep a few things–just not his whole wardrobe. And very often down the road you might thin out what you save–time has a way of helping us do this. I saved a pair of toddler overalls from each of my boys that they wore a lot. I also have one diaper and one little itty bitty shirt as my second was 3 weeks early and he was so tiny. I show it to him every once in a while. It would be too small for some baby dolls! I had saved a few other things over the years that eventually made it out of the house. :-)
Letters–I’m with you on those. I have a lot saved, especially now that I rarely get a real one. Luckily those don’t take up much space.
What a lovely gift you are passing on to another family–I love this idea.
Keep up the good work!
Kathy