Magical attic lost its magic.

On Saturday we tackled a 12-hour project to finally clean out our attic. I am constantly cleaning out our house and trying to get rid of clutter. I have a hard time parting with some things (I mean how could I possibly get rid of the inflatable cow my cheese scientist dad gave me many years ago?) and of course there are all the kid-related items that have to hang around for awhile. So I would just keep putting things up in the attic. It was a magical place for me. I never had to see the stuff piling up, but it was still there should I ever need it. Or was it? Apparently things started to get a little crowded up there. I sent Ben up to look for some boots awhile ago and after an hour of searching, we came to the conclusion that I had thrown them out. So I bought new boots. Of course, we found the boots a few months later.

So what is the point of storing things in the attic for the reason "I may need them later" when later comes and I can't find them? Ben kept trying to tell me that the attic was not a bottomless pit and it was reaching capacity. So despite the 120 degree temperature up there, I decided it was time to face the reality of what I had actually been tossing up there over the past few years.

Phase 1:

The attic (half of it). The living room.

Phase 2:

The attic. The living room.

Phase 3:

The garbage. The new and improved attic.

It felt so nice to not only get rid of a ton of stuff, but to also get rid of all the random boxes and fit most things neatly into 27 plastic bins. Everything was well labeled and the contents were thoroughly documented on a spreadsheet. It actually turned out to be a fun project as we sorted through old memorabilia. My family knows how much I like to start collections (remember the antique typewriter collection?) and Amelia caught a glimpse of my massive Pez dispenser collection, Gumby collection and vintage coat collection. I finally decided it was time to part with some of the many shoes I had been storing. I got rid of about 20 pairs but had to keep a few just in case they are "retro cool" some day. Also, you can learn a lot about your spouse by going through their old financial records to sort out documents for the paper shredder. Who knew Ben had received so many traffic tickets??