Making the Cut

I recently sorted and washed a few newborn clearance finds and hand-me-downs, then realized I had nowhere to put them. Project time!

I'm pretty good about going through my stuff every season and donating or giving away what I no longer use. People have been happy to take all sorts of radnom things of my hands - piles of broken 70s tile, empty cat litter buckets, you get the idea. But making room for a baby raises the bar even higher. Suddenly almost nothing seems important enough to keep. Do I really need this bed? Really, let's think this through. How often do I use it? Does it take up more space than it's worth?

Okay, the bed can stay. But I was still able to stuff two giant garbage bags full of clothes, bags, and books I won't miss. I have a couple of semi-formal dresses to sell on Craigslist, and a handful of cute brand name items I'll run by the consignment store. And I finally parted with - yes, threw away - about 20 singleton socks. Why do we think their matches will ever reappear?

The end result is a whole 2 empty drawers for kid stuff, and a closet I can safely open and shuffle through without risking a concussion.