Are there skeletons in there? I wouldn't even know.

I have taken a short leave of absence from Culinary school for this round of classes. My friend Maria did it to go home and I realized that it was possible and grabbed at the chance. Since I was only taking one class, I was commuting 3+ hours a day to be in class for 40 mins and that just didn't seem like an effective use of time. So instead I am steadily working my way through back seasons of several TV shows I didn't know I would like at an alarming rate (thanks Netflix for being a time vampire)......and working on getting my house under control.

The picture kind of shows what I am up against. That is the pile of books to be rid of from 1 of my 3 bookcases. So far I have dealt with A's room and the living room, the two cleanest rooms in my house, and I have made 3 trips to the Salvation army. I have always in the past tried to stay on top of being in control of my stuff. Since A came, it has been MUCH harder. There are several reasons I find it hard to get rid of things that should have gone... I have very little time to do things like this without "help" or someone whining that they want me to play. I never quite know if A doesn't play with those toys because she hasn't grown into it yet or if she just doesn't like it. I have been seriously conditioned by my genetic contributors to not waste things that could be used (which leads to me keeping things like unopened bars of Zest for 4 years because Carl used them and I don't but I can't possibly throw them away because that would be WASTING). And last but not least, I am constantly trying to convince myself that I could sell the stuff and make some money. Which might work if I wasn't totally lousy about posting things on Craigslist and then forgetting to check for responses, and holding a garage sale in the middle of winter with a 3 year old sounds like hell.

Don't get me wrong, my house doesn't look like it belongs in a Hoarders episode or anything. But I wouldn't recommend you look too closely at the closets or garage. In fact, if you open a closet in my house, I would highly recommend you take a step back or shield your head because often you can find yourself clobbered by something that was precariously stuffed in there the last time my in-laws visited.

Yesterday, I conquered the hall closet and my bedroom closet which lead to some questions/observations (some are not first time ponderings.)

1. I have got to stop buying candy for holidays and shoving the unused portion into closets. I have a huge stash of candy I don't like, that I don't want my kid to eat too much of taking up space because I can't waste it by throwing it away.
2. How is it that I manage to buy presents for people and then forget about them? I must have found at least 4 things that were meant to be given for some celebration and have gotten lost.
3. How did I marry a man that liked, without irony, the 80's TV show "Sledgehammer"? I mean seriously, "Sledgehammer"? WTF?
4. Which always leads into whether or not I should keep some of Carl's DVD collection for A when she gets older. And if not, can I really give/throw away 200+ DVDs without having a nervous breakdown about the waste/cost of it all.
5. How many candles, candle holders and vases does one chick need?
6. How many pairs of high heels does one stay at home mom need to own?
7. If I give away all my old office wear will I inevitably decide the next week to return to the work force? (Something I keep considering and rejecting.)

Chances are that I will stuff the hard stuff back in the closet to be considered at another date, because I can get rid of enough easy stuff to make the closets functional and look good without making those decisions. But, next week I have scheduled myself for garage duty.....so if you don't hear from me for a couple of days alert the authorities. I am not entirely sure that the stuff in there hasn't become sentient and may be liable to crush me under a mountain of unused toys and Costco sized packs of toilet paper to protect itself.