After Christmas thin out.

     I love Christmas, I love EVERYTHING about it. The music, especially the good old carols! The lights, so warm and cozy, the decorations!

 After Christmas though, when its time to take down and put away all those things, I find that I get feeling the need to declutter. Christmas is a beautiful time, but it does tent to be a crowded and mess-making time too. I have spent these last two weeks going through all the things I have (we seem to acquire so much during the year, dont we?) in my yarn and cloth stashes, in my clothing and storage closets, and finding there is plenty of things I can't or wont or don't use. Those are the things that need to go.
     I find that a home that has too many things, even if those things are organized and stacked away, is not conductive to creativity, hospitality, or a feeling of relaxation. Have you even heard of a condition called hoarding? One of my fears is to become a hoarder. After all, we should not place our emotional happiness in THINGS, but in God, and the people we love and cherish. Do I mean throw out family pictures and grandmothers china? Heavens No!! But if you ever get to the point where you have 3 or 4 sets of dishes, choose whats of worth. Love it or toss it. (or better yet donate it!)
     One thing I DO tend to hoard is yarn and fabric. Not so much hoard maybe, more like acquire. I hardly EVER buy them, they are given to me, which is great, I make MANY of my gifts for people throughout the year from these things, and they cost little more than my time. But these stashes do need to be thinned at least once a year, or else my Hubby and I would be buried!
     We have a two bedroom apartment, and the smaller bedroom, up till now, has been used as a storage/catch all room. I would clean it, organize it, but sooner or later it would turn into a big mess again. That is a sure signal that you own too much STUFF! So I have been fixing that problem for the past week, with these results,,,,

The day after Christmas, there wasn't even a PATH through the piles of stuff that filled this room. Now, it is nice and clean. And empty, you may have noticed. That is because, in the next couple of months, Mr Evans and I are going to be doing our best to become Foster Parents. I want to make this the year that I become a Mommy:) So this room, hopefully and God willing, won't be empty next Christmas!