Nesting

I've been cleaning out the house this past week. I'm really trying to get rid of as much stuff as possible to prepare for the move. Today is garbage day and we put a lot out. I also have about 5 big bags of stuff to go to the Second Mile, our local Goodwill type place. And there is hardly a dent made, of course. I bought an organization magazine last week and it helps to look at it. My sister has been sending me articles from Real Simple etc. about getting rid of clutter too and that is also motivating. It's hard to let go of stuff but feels good and right. Even looking at pictures of my new house is helpful. I'm finally looking at the pictures for more detail-- like, are there light fixtures in the ceiling? If not we should bring all our lame standing lamps but if the rooms have lights then I'd rather leave them here. Of course my pictures don't tell me. There are lots of places in the new house that have display type cabinets. I've never really displayed anything- I'm not sure what to put in them. All my life I've needed every inch of everything for storage only (ok, I may have had one or two small display areas in my last house- before I had kids) and it's not like I have so much nice stuff. I am really impressed by other people's displays, especially some I've seen online recently.

Anyway, it's actually snowing today (April 16th in Philadelphia!) and when it's not snowing there is this nasty rain. T and I didn't leave the house all weekend and I don't think we will today either. She's been really good during all this cleaning. Although she told me she was "sad" when she was playing with a certain toy (Incidentally, it was an empty container for birth control that she thought was a clam. She enjoyed spinning the center part that helps you set the date. Obviously I was cleaning out the bathroom cabinet at the time). She said she was sad because she wanted me to play with her. Generally I can set her up with an activity near me and try to interact while she's playing but it can take me hours to go through stuff and I can get really into it. Plus the mess of whatever activity I set her up with is another thing I have to deal with after. Yesterday she played with her tea set for a while (there are a lot of pieces) and at another time her dollhouse with all the old school Fisher Price people and furniture- there are a TON of pieces for that. I really need to teach her how to clean up after herself. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so hard for me to bend down, but at 38 weeks pregnant it's quite a chore. And she does clean up after herself really well sometimes but during this cleaning stint I've been pushing her to her limit of self-entertainment and when she's done she's really done. Not that that's an excuse.

Well I guess I better make some coffee if I plan on getting any cleaning done today.