Here’s one of the reasons why there was such a mess in the closet where my kids used to keep their school supplies—that big heap of stuff on the floor was full of old backpacks and sports bags. Rather than throwing the well-worn ones away at the end of the school year, the kids just tossed them back into the closet. Then they sank to the bottom of the heap, never to be seen again.
Of course, as the responsible adult I should have made sure the old stuff was gone when I bought new school supplies every year. Learned my lesson there: Not paying attention to what goes out (or doesn’t) when new stuff comes into the house equals clutter! But all’s well that ends well—the closet is back to life. No more Bermuda Triangle for backpacks here!
About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!
Hi Meg, just today I was looking inside one of the closets, full of my handbags, and purses that I don’t wear no more, I do like your kids, I buy a new one, and I throw the old one in this closet, I should clean up it, but I always say, maybe one day I’ll need that one 🙂
Yes, I know how that goes, “maybe one day I’ll need it” is such a convenient excuse for not cleaning up! But I’ve found that when I give old things away, it helps me to feel that I can easily afford to buy new things; and most of the old stuff never really will be needed because it’s worn out, obsolete, or out of fashion!
Good parenting advice! This is too funny. I am visiting my mom and she is living with the same challenges of getting rid of stuff my brother and I left. I think I am going to tell her that the huge stack of piano music books from who knows how many years of lessons in my closet can go!
Haha, yes, I found some music books in my kids’ closet too!