Purging, Just a Little Bit

I don't remember exactly which 90s song that is, but I was totally singing it while typing that title, no lie. (I think "Wiggle It"? Does that make sense?) We use that song, er...variations of it, with the munchkin quite a lot.

So, y'know that phase where you've got so many projects or cleaning duties to undertake that you're just clueless where to start? (raises hand) That'd be me. But, lucky me, I saw this post and thought,"Oh, right! I wanted to purge my utensils." The thought had occurred to me months ago. Whoops. So, here we go. This is what we were dealing with (in slightly dark/fuzzy iPhone pics; hit or miss):

Yeah. Two drawers and one counter-top holder; and this doesn't count the drawer we use for everyday silverware and knives...and a separate knife holder. Wow, i've got a lot of kitchen crap. Anyhoo, I wanted to keep the utensil holder and I'm fine with having two utensil drawers (you can't tell, but I was aiming for one side to be the "less dangerous-slash-less used" side and the other to be the "sharp and frequently used" side.

The baby "helped" me with this project (he wasn't near any of the sharp stuff, pinkie-swear). I brought the utensil holder and each drawer into the living room to dump-and-purge (kinda like the sound of that) one at a time and gave him a plastic measuring cup or wooden spoon to keep him occupied. Let's just say a miniature set of wooden spoons is now his, as is one of the extra sets of measuring stuff. #freetoysFTW

So, here's our "afters":

Okay, you totally can't tell, but there's tons more room in the blue holder. Like, I won't cut my hand open when I try to jam tongs that clearly don't fit into the thing...again. So, there ya go.

I got rid of tons of second...and, yes, third items. A second wine bottle sucker thing. Two additional sets of measuring cups (one donated to the baby's cause ;-)). Spoon after spoon after spoon. Why I kept two turkey basters, I'm not sure, but they're both in such good condition, I just couldn't help myself.

Boy, am I hoping we can keep it this way. You know the saying "Everything in its place, a place for everything"? I've read (a lot) that this is the trick to keeping one's house tidy and neat. So, when it comes to these kitchen implements, if I take the ice cream scoop from the second drawer, third item from the left, that's where it goes back. Sounds simple, right? Why is it so dang hard??

With the flooding (and sheer loss of so many memories and important items that people have been dealing with) lately, it hits home the fact that we have plenty more to purge. Just before we had another bout of rain that ended up flooding folks (again!), we grabbed a few boxes of more valuable stuff (we really don't have much of value; it's stuff that we've collected over time) and, more importantly, emotionally-attached stuff (yearbooks, wedding stuff, my grandmother's hand-me-downs) and dragged it up to higher ground. Looking around, we realized, "Wait. Why do we HAVE all this crap?" We don't have a lot down there, but it makes us realize that we've just accumulated stuff that we simply don't need. We also have a pile of stuff for an impending garage sale, but I'm wondering if it'd be worth just donating at this point. Gotta weigh the "will we make $100+?" with "will it give us time for a trip to the beach or the zoo?" options, if ya know what I'm sayin'.

So, I know some of my friends are purging because their stuff has been covered with water, mud, sediment, and, yes, sewage. What have you guys found that you were like, "Where did this even COME from?" Anything weird/interesting to share? I heard of a family who found the dad's wedding ring, lost for 5 years, in the midst of removing crappy basement mud. There's always a silver lining! And, yes, we have way more than our basement to purge. ;-) One day at a time.

Had time is our #1 priority lately, though. He's so dang irreplaceable, and with his first birthday *next week* (gah!!!), we have so much to be thankful for!