Waste or Accomplishment

Today was a BEAUTIFUL fall day in Maine. I never even went outside. Sad.


I took today off from work. The kids and I stayed inside. What is wrong with that picture?


Here is what was accomplished:

-Change of clothes from summer to fall/winter for FOUR kids. Here is the heap of clothes I took out of drawers to end the summer. Note, the twins arrived 2 months ago today and they had a lot less clothing than the other two but still. Oh, and I found more in the dryer after I took this photo. Note, these are summer clothes so there is less fabric. What about winter clothes. How big will that pile be? And, this doesn't take in all of the clothes I'd previously removed while running through daily life. They are in a different pile - same room. Mine.
-Organization of clothing for FOUR kids. Hangers (we had enough!), drawers, shelves, baskets.


-Matching of ALL Pjs before placing in drawers so my kids don't look like poor/unkept kids if we are ever rescued by the FD in the middle of the night (with the mismatched PJs they seem to wear every night).


-Division of clothing to get rid of vs. save for hand me downs. I used to save everything but now I think that my family is pretty stable and there won't likely be more kids for a while/ever (who knows!). Therefore, I feel like I should let Z-man's clothes go as well as the outgrown little girl clothing. Here is the start of the pile to purge. So much more to go. I'm proud that I have a purge pile. I am trusting in the Lord that He'll provide should this plan change.
Yes, this took ALL day along with caring for (kind of caring for) 4 preschoolers. They were fed. They were safe. They got 2 books read to them. Each was hugged multiple times. Boo-boos were handled. It was a 2 band-aid day but nothing big. Otherwise, they just played - all over the house and the mess wasn't actually that bad. We had a few meltdowns but nothing too terrible. There was probably more biting than was necessary (OK, that should be NONE but I have TWO kids who bite and one who always gets bitten - and one who never bits and rarely gets bitten).


What did this process reveal to me:
1. We are blessed. We have too much. We have too many clothes and yet on some days - not enough. Crazy. Having too many clothes can = more work for Mama. Sorting, folding, organizing, tracking them down, cleaning, etc... I'm so thankful.


2. Where do all of the socks go? I emptied EVERY laundry basket in the house, ALL laundry was clean, emptied every closet and even looked under beds (although I didn't clean them). Also, every dresser was emptied today and yet this is the pile of mismatched socks from 4 kids/1 season:

3. Where do all of the matching pieces to PJ's go? I had all of these extra bottoms and one top? Seriously, did the kids eat their shirts while sleeping this summer? No really. Where are they? There are no other hiding places in the house. Very strange.

Summary: 5 years ago I would NEVER have taken a day off from work to organize clothes. My life has changed. Thanks! I'm loving it!

Oh, and I remember complaining about it taking an hour to change out clothes when G grew from one size to another. Now it is change of seasons, change of sizes and the ever important: I wish I could change out his clothes but he never grows. That is the 3rd year in those same clothes. Thankfully he grew and his pants are too short. Why do I have a Husky, Regular, Petite and Mini-never-grows? Life is a gift. I am so blessed. Who knew I'd have so many things to think about/trust the Lord with just a few short years ago. Did I mention - I am so blessed.

Tomorrow - I actually get to "work". It'll be easier than the back breaking work of homemaker.

Oh, and I wonder how families with 10 or more kids handle the change of season/size clothing event that must happen at least twice a year. Wow!

ETA: That day was brought to us by our sponsors: paper plates, popcorn and one Thomas the Train movie.

Also, I should note that less than 24 hours later, K destroyed the organization in her room - took down over half of the clothes on hangers and took out the clothes in her drawers. Then, she felt guilty and shoved most of them into drawers - of course not organized. I was glad that my Mom was here and found this so that I could just hear about it first and then selec to ignore it at least for one day. kids. oh well, this won't matter in a year. In five years. This too shall pass.