Taming the Beast

All's quiet on the homefront. R & CJ are both asleep, and I'm enjoying some uninterrupted blogging time. The stillness is welcome after a productive weekend.

Friday, I took CJ to school and then faced the terror we like to call our attic. I don't think I've mentioned that our attic is nearly 1,300 square feet...much of which has been overtaken by boxes and bins and the junk you see here. I could defend explain myself by letting you know that we had 6 weeks to move from our first home. CJ was 3 1/2, and we didn't realize we wouldn't have more children. We moved to a cramped apartment, and threw virtually everything into storage. The next 18 months were consumed with building our current home (R built it himself) and my health problems that resulted in a hysterectomy. We moved a few months afterwards, and I wasn't physically or emotionally able to deal with the baby clothes, etc. that we'd moved with us. Sadly, that was nearly 5 years ago...and I just never made the attic a priority. Honestly, I couldn't get the main part of the house in control, and the thought of dealing with the attic petrified me. And so we have this mess. Warning: these photos are not for the faint of heart!

(Notice the Christmas wreath...it will appear again)

(Note the sleigh bed...it will also appear again)

This is only part of the monster to be tamed.

I worked alone for several hours before picking CJ up from school. She actually wanted to help me when we got back, and the work went much faster. Here's where we left it Friday afternoon.

(The wreath didn't move, but everything else is GONE to make room for our Christmas section)

(Notice all the empty floor space!)

(See the sleigh bed...another object that didn't move)

I gathered the items to take to consignment in the fall (winter clothes & holiday decor):

(A close shot of the area in front of the hot water heater - "Before Pic #1")

I'm well over halfway with the initial sort. I was ruthless. Here's what R hauled to the dump Saturday morning.




Yep...it took more than one trip!

I don't have a picture of what I'll be taking to consignment in the next week or so, but it's a LARGE pile. I promise to give you details soon.

I hope the weather will cooperate and I can get back up there next weekend, while I have momentum. It will be wonderful to get the junk out, but I must confess I dread sorting and organizing through the paperwork, etc. that we'll be keeping. THAT will be much more difficult and time consuming.

One step at a time...