Clean Up, Clean Up

If you've ever watched Barney, then you know that song well. You know, the one where everybody does their share. Well, here at the Kelly house, even though my kids loved Barney, they seem to have missed the part about sharing the cleaning up.

Every closet, every drawer and every cabinet in my house and in my garage and basement is overflowing with stuff! Some of it's junk and just needs to be thrown out. Some of it is in the wrong place and needs to be put back in its rightful home.

Last night I was bit by the clean out bug. I started with my pots and pans, which I seem to reorganize nearly every week. Jeff and I have a bit of a communication problem when it comes to the pots and pans. When he unloads the dishwasher, as he often does, he just sticks the pots and pans in the cabinet. Along with the glass mixing bowls and colanders. Now, does that sound like something you should do? Uh, no.

So I cleaned out the pots and pans and glassware and baking pans. When he got home from football practice, I gave him a guided tour of where everything goes. Well, rather than taking notes as I thought he should've, he simply said he'd let me unload the dishwasher all the time. Ugh.

Then it was time to move on to the junk drawer. Ah, the ominous junk drawer. Every house has one. Or two. Or three. I found in Junk Drawer Number 1 about 50 pens, most of which didn't write. Several lead pencils. With no lead. Pencils with no erasers. Super Glue that was squeezed empty. Single staples. You know you're desperate to staple something if you're going fishing around in a junk drawer for a single staple. Three rolls of tape. Which I can never find when I need a piece of tape. And buried back deep in the bowels of the drawer, I found several of these.

I don't know how it is at your house, but when I need scissors, they're nowhere to be found. In fact, I've bought two pair this week. One pair to cut paper and things and another pair to cut fabric. And I hid both pair.

Then when I moved to Junk Drawer Number 2, I discovered that we have way too many of these.

The fun card game of Uno. I had three or four boxes of Uno cards. Even though the only time we ever play them is when we go to Jason's hunting land in February. Obviously, when I'm packing for the trip I can't find my Uno cards so I buy another box. That's organization for ya.

Ross and Cam are 21 and 17. They haven't used these at home in, oh, about eight years. But have no fear, when the grandkids come I'll have two brand-new boxes for them.

When they get tired of coloring, why I'll just pull this out of the junk drawer.

Only the modeling clay that was in my junk drawer wasn't neat and new like the picture. Oh, no, mine was all squished up and thrown in a Zip-loc bag.

Here's a good one. Remember me telling you about having a hard time finding notebook paper. Two stores were sold out right before school started. And for Cam, I like to buy the kind with the reinforced holes because with him being a lefty, he always tears the holes out. I couldn't find a single sheet of that kind anywhere.

Should've looked in the junk drawer. There were two unopened packs.

And four of these.

But whenever anyone needs one, they go in my office and take mine! Go figure. Ha!

I found address books from when Jeff and I first got married. Why? Why do I keep that? No one except my mom and dad probably even still live at the same place with the same phone number as they did in 1987. And it's not like I'm going to forget where they live or their phone number. At least I hope not.

I had several bags of trash. Several bags of stuff for the Goodwill. Why would anyone need a gazillion coffee mugs? Especially since Jeff only uses one certain mug and I only like a few different ones.

I hope someone who shops Goodwill likes coffee mugs.

Enough about that. Let's move on. Today's my Auntie Barbara's -- I call her Barbo -- birthday! She's the oldest in her family. She and I have a special connection. Maybe because we both know what it's like being the oldest. We have certain birthrights for sure. I think she and my dad are about two years or less apart in age. She always looked out for him. I love to hear her stories about my dad when he was a little boy. And we have a lot in common too. For example: we both love pocketbooks. Big pocketbooks. With lots and lots of junk. We both have a fiery hot temper. We both have husbands who understand our fiery hot temper and love us anyway. We both love our family with every beat of our heart and would do anything for any one of them. She was always there for me when I was a little girl. I could call her and she'd be there. And I know if I called her today, she'd be here again. God broke the mold when he made my Aunt Barbo.

I love ya and I wish you many, many more birthdays! I hope your day is filled with lots of calls from your grandkids and greats, a yummy birthday cake, lots of family, a Craig's List with lots of goodies, beautiful sights out your breakfast room window, but most of all LOTS AND LOTS OF LOVE. You deserve it!

Till tomorrow. TGoodnessIF!