bajada·net

Found

• A book of songs belonging to Matthew’s mother.
• IRS forms from the 2004 tax year.
• Assorted CD/DVDs.

Discarded

• Two bags of assorted garbage, primarily paper and broken crayons.

Left for later

• One blue box of pens, etc.

Survival: a state of mind covers the basics for practical wilderness survival packs.

Matthew and the kids are outside finishing the shed while I’m dealing with the house. Last night I baked cinnamon rolls so that there was something for breakfast other than toast; alas, they tend to evaporate rather quickly with the kids.

Found

• Origami paper.
• A million Bic black pens.
• A pair of moccasins, size 11.
• A tin whistle and a wooden fife.
• An Elm manual.
• Ten pes{o~}s.
• A collection of Matthew’s 5{1/4}” floppy disks, including such classic titles as Bankstreet Writer.

Discarded

• An “under construction” sign.
• Two bags of paper trash.
• A jingle bell, minus the jingle.

Rendered accessible

• The DVD/CD cases.
• The bookshelves.
• The floor.

So, after a busy morning of going to the courthouse to take care of paperwork and fixing lunch with no bread in the house (must bake bread, and soon) and taking Rebecca to gymnastics and finishing up the day’s lessons, I finally settled down by the front door and did a preliminary sweep through the boxes stacked next to it.

Found

• A school-aged children census form from May (but it doesn’t count, because I did ask them to resend it and they never did).
• A Queen CD.
• The One Ring (again).

Discarded

• One bag full of ripped up credit card applications.
• Two feathers from my feather duster.
• Three BH&G magazines full of space-saving ideas for houses that are three times the size of mine.

Left for later

• Six inches of paperwork (still in envelopes) that needs to be filed later this evening.

Hello, computer.

Found

• Too much Gladware.
• Six boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix.
• A purple mitten.

Discarded

• {1/2} cup of cake flour in a huge box.
• A square of baker’s chocolate with a Rebecca-sized bite taken out of it.
• A mostly-empty bag of sticky rice.

Left for later

• A purple storage container full of beading supplies. (MC, any interest?)
• Cleaning the microwave.

Discarded

1. The box from my roper boots.
2. The box from Mom’s latest L.L. Bean shopping spree. (Thanks, Mom! The PJs are adorable.)
3. One worn sandal whose mate has been missing for 2 years.
4. An empty shipping box from the kids’ software package.
5. A Costco receipt.
6. An issue of Popular Science.
7. An empty 10# can that was being saved for some art project that never happened.

Final score: 7.

A package arrived today and I handed it off to Marcus on my way to the kitchen to wash dishes. I was up to my elbows in suds when he stomped into the kitchen, glaring at me. “Mom, I do not want to learn how to eat fried worms!”

Marcus is currently going through his box of circuit boards, decluttering them. “Well,” he says, “this looks useless. Yep, time to throw it away. Let’s see, this one has a motor, I’ll keep it.”

Found

• All of the missing mittens. All of them!
• My favorite pair of socks.

Discarded

• Three t-shirts which were more hole than not.
• Five pieces of the old laundry hamper which were serving double-duty as annoying musical instruments and fishing rods.

Left for later

• Laundering all of the girls size 4-5 clothing and sorting through it for wear and tear.
• Folding and putting away the adult clothes.

Finished

• Cast off on the final side of Matthew’s black and yellow machine-knit scarf.