A Purposeful Purge

Every November or early December, as a pre-Christmas tradition, we do a major clean up of our home, in anticipation of the new toys, clothes, whatnots that the holidays bring. This year, I took advantage of a long weekend in November to have our clean up and made sure everyone was home to do their part.First step to our clean up is to buy empty boxes. I prefer to buy new balikbayan boxes so that after the clean up, the boxes can be neatly stacked and stored since they are in uniform sizes.Then label each box according to how you plan to organize after the clean up. I label mine as: STORE, SELL, DONATE, GIVEAWAY, TO CHECK. As we go around the house and our individual cabinets and drawers, we'll consciously think of these labels and think if it's better to do any of the above than to "KEEP" the item. Here's a description of each box and what we should put in it:STORE- These are items we still need and will use again but need to store away because they are not used often. We also put in here the objects with sentimental value or are mementos we need to keep.SELL- We plan to have a mini garage sale before Christmas so we will sell items that are not really easily donate-able like toys and appliances that require a lot of batteries, costumes, formalwear, formal footwear, heels, sports accessories, pocket books, magazines, kitchen items, home decor and the like.DONATE- This is where bulk of the items should go. Clothes the kids have outgrown, adult clothing we don't wear anymore (or have never worn!), shoes, children's books, toys, bed linen, basic kitchen stuff like utensils, glasses, etc.GIVE AWAY- These are items that a younger niece or nephew can use, toys i can pass on to our friends' younger kids, books I think a friend would enjoy, paper, pens and art supplies we can use in the office, etc.TO CHECK- I always have a default box for items that I can't decide on yet while cleaning up. These are placed in this box so we can check them after all is done. That way, the clean up can be systematic and quick, and we don't get delayed because of too much contemplating on some items.Once all the boxes are ready, we proceed to clean up.The helpers also go to the kitchen and laundry area to bring out the items from the closets so I can check them later on. I've given them basic instructions on what to do while doing this- 1) bring out all the items, 2) separate the items we use and the items we don't 3) Wait for me to check everything and decide on what to keep, store, and what to dispose of.While Gary and I go through our own closets, the kids go to their own corners in their rooms.Zach is the most sentimental of our kids. He always has a hard time parting with little notes, origami creations, even empty boxes of toys. Of course we would try to explain to him that things are just things and tell him how we should not be too attached, but when that doesn't work we found a way to help him part with stuff. We take pics of the items and he agrees to dispose of the actual ones. Try this trick if you have senti kids of your own!Coby found this plate which we created as part of a Smartparenting shoot when he was 6 years old! (I think this meant more to me than to him:) )Reese goes through tons of cooking toys. Yaya helps her go through these.Stuffed toy friends are the hardest to part with, and they are the most space consuming too! This one's always a challenge!Super Grover, you've been here since Kuya Coby was a baby, do you still want to stay with me?If there's something that is most challenging, they're the small, assorted parts of toys that accumulate in different nooks and crannies of the house and of storage areas. Some are not even recognizable anymore but you know you cannot dispose of them because doing so might render a whole toy set incomplete. So I store all these pieces in a slim storage case with dividers.It's sometimes hard to let go of things...but feels good after because we let go of things we don't need, give it to others who need it more, make way for the new.Right Reese?After several years of doing this, we all know the benefits of purging every year, and being systematic and organized about doing it helps us, the houselhold helpers and the children do their part with less anxiety, sharing in our purposeful purge.