This was my first post about my basement project and what has now become my Basement Therapy Project!  I wrote this a little over a year ago.  Notice that in the blog my goal was to have it done by Christmas–I didn’t say Christmas of any specific year!

Enjoy.

We have been in our house now for 15 weeks and we still have too many boxes to go through.  I am painfully going through each one and organizing “stuff” and then I decide if I want to keep it, recycle or trash it.  It seems like it should be pretty straightforward but it isn’t.

It is like my own personal museum of precious artifacts.

I have the Single pre-Eric era, the Early Years of migrating to Dallas, TX, Palatine, IL and Livermore CA and the Starting a family Period and now finally the Raising of the Family.

Within each time frame I have too many things that are laced with too many wonderful memories of that time.  How can I get rid of scrapbook supplies–especially now that the girls may be interested.  Or my rollerblades, books never read, journals never finished, quilts 1/2 done and the list goes on and on.  How many winter coats do I need, hats, mittens, it is just all a little too much.

That is just my stuff!  I have mega blocks, transformers, almost every lego ever made, craft and art supplies for kids, building blocks, a million books, a rocking horse, Little People, and so much dress up I don’t know what to do with.

My goal is to have our basement finished by Christmas.  I want to go through each box and make thoughtful decisions and spread the word on what I have so that I can hopefully give things a good home.

I’m not sure how I got to this place.  I know that it is too much and I feel good about letting go and getting rid of the excess.  When I look at it all it is much easier to tell my kids no they don’t need another (insert latest thing) and for me it means that I really don’t need anything either.

We have been weeding out since last November and I look forward to when the biggest chunk of this project is finally behind us and we can move forward in making more purposeful purchases.  It has been an awakening for all of us.  When the kids look at a pile of stuffed animals it become obvious that they don’t “need” all of them.  When I get all of my quilts organized I think about all the hours I spent on those projects and I remember picking out the fabric, researching the history of the pattern and the excitement of beginning the project.

Thank you God for giving me the determination to complete these projects and the grace to learn from my mistakes.  Please help me make wise decisions when I make purchases.

Today I’m linking up with Women Living Well, Whatever Works Wednesday, Work in Progress, and with Ann.