Although it probably seems like I was just falling in line with the whole 'January is for organizing and cleaning out' trend, it was the furthest thing from my mind when I started to post. I got to laughing and nodding my head when I was visiting my friends' blogs and they are all talking about the need to clean and organize. I was on trend (for once in my life, *laughter*) and didn't even know it.
The thing is, I am decently organized. As I've said multiple times before, I've learned with four kids under six that having a place for everything and everything in its place is necessary for survival. We live in such a small space! I say "decently" with some trepidation. Your version and my version might be totally different. And I'd certainly earn no points from Martha- most of it is utilitarian, practical, and well, ugly. No precious little scalloped labels and pretty boxes here!
But what you are seeing here is a deep dark secret. Otherwise known as the 'under the stairs storage'. It is so pressing, not only for my sanity, but because my van usually parks there! It has rained non-stop for four days now, and I cannot tell you the inconvenience and all around messiness of trying to load all four kids in the rain. Like, pour down your collar, soak you to the bone rain, not nice, gentle mists that water the grass kind of stuff.
When the pipes froze, this all had to be pulled out because the main access point for the water pipes is under the stairs. (We live in a split level ranch type thing.) I haven't seen the wide majority of this stuff since we moved in nearly four years ago. And it's the stuff that cluttered up the garage at the house we rented before that, and got shoved under the stairs because no one wanted to deal with it at the time. It's embarrassing. All this happened two days before Christmas, so it was one of those things that had to be shoved aside for a little while longer. Walking past it for two weeks was sort of easy at first, and then got annoying and frustrating (see rain, above), and then when I fell trying to walk from the open garage door to the washer and dryer because I was tripping over the overnight progeny of all the junk breeding….well. Some dragon slaying had to be planned, and asap.
It will be slain by close of business today, I swear. No matter the causalities. And even if it kills me first. Wish me luck?