Regain some control before the holidays

The holidays will be here before we know it! First we're putting away our lawn furniture then, BOOM, it's Halloween. As we are beginning to take out our fall and winter wardrobe, I'm already thinking about getting the house in order for the visitors that we will have through the holiday season and the steady stream of new toys the kids will receive, beginning sometime in mid-December and not stopping until after Christmas.

It's time to start de-cluttering. Just as I do with our clothes, a couple of times a year I go through our "game closet" to see what games the kids have outgrown, which ones are missing too many pieces to salvage, and which ones are still in the original wrapper, unused and ready to be given away or (dare I say) re-gifted. Yes, I do re-gift.

The air conditioners are still in the windows, but I'm getting ready for the holidays. De-cluttering is liberating and gives you a sense of control and freedom. Even if you know (as I do) that the extra space you make will be soon filled with more stuff, at least for a little while things will be neat and tidy. And if you're lucky, you can clean out more than you'll take in and be left with a little extra breathing room.