Stuff

Today I have Stuff on my mind.  I've been blogging about getting rid of some of our Stuff that we no longer use, need, want or shouldn't have saved in the first place.  The garage sale was a minor hit, having things picked up for donation 3 days later took another chunk, as did Jeff giving a quantity of baby gear to someone he knows.  I sold 3/5 items listed on ebay and will list more when I have the time to take the pics and do the listings.  But the thing about the Stuff today is this...picking up Stuff is a full time job.  I am fairly conscientious about picking up my own Stuff after myself, though I have a major mess of a pile of scrapbook stuff taking over a corner in our room.  Then there is the kids' Stuff.  Must I even describe the phenomenon of the kids' Stuff?  I enter MY room, pick up a handful of kids' Stuff strewn about on my bed and the floor.  I go into another room for no more than 5 MINUTES and come back to find more kids' Stuff on my bed and on the floor. 

There is kids' Stuff on my front porch - a stroller, a wagon, 2 trikes, a scooter, a big bike.  There is kids' Stuff all over the family room - the pretend kitchen, nursery, overflowing toychest, books.  With very little room in the garage after two cars, a motorcycle, and lots of tools the overflow is on the front porch - no, I'm sorry, the main inventory is on the front porch and the overflow on the patio in back.  We spent the finishing the basement budget on the kitchen project so the family room remains the play room.  Ok, pat on the back to me for starting the mammoth task of clearing the basement so we CAN finish it off - but I digress....and I'm not including the kids' Stuff in their own rooms except to mention that strangely, my Stuff, ends up in there...in the same way they drag their Stuff into my room they drag mine out and into their own rooms....kind of like a tidal thing, maybe?

But wait, there's more about Stuff - there is the stuff that we carry in every day with us - mail, mostly junkmail, newspapers, school papers, pocket change, other Stuff from inside pants pockets.  I try to capture the mail pile before it even enters the house and sort out the bills and occasional real mail from the junk and toss it into the can - same with the junk newspapers - but it still manages to sneak inside in someone else's hands to sit on the kitchen counter taunting me. 

I've installed my new piggy bank collection throughout the house to capture the change, purchased a big basket to collect the magazines, sort the mail into his and mine and set aside in designated spots but it's only the tip of the iceberg.  I have nightmares about dirty laundry comingling with clean clothes and coming after me followed by newspapers and LLBean catalogs with an evil look in their eye.  I have to wonder if it's any different for the stay at home mom with stay at home little ones.  I'm imagining it gets better in that case when the kids start school.  But for we who work outside the home when do we have the chance to catch up on all of their Stuff?  Some people stay up and do it after everyone's in bed.  That's not happening here.  On the rare occasion when I have a few hours left in me after the little ones are in bed I selfishly do something that I like to do - read, work on my scrapbooks, surf around on the computer.  I suppose as the kids get a little older responsibility for their Stuff can be partially transferred to them.  It's got to get easier, right?