Miranda: Cleaning up
We’ve been divesting the basement, part New Year’s motivation and part preparing for putting the house back on the market. I’ve latched on to the idea that getting rid of the old and unused helps to make room for the new and unknown. I’m letting go of old things I’m attached to in hope that waves of creativity will sweep in to fill in the gaps. (Why not?)
Since my daughter has outgrown her Barbies, I combed through the boxload in preparation for passing them on to a family with younger girls. A few Barbies didn’t make the callback–bad haircuts, or missing feet and heads. I handed a pile of the cast-offs to my older son to toss for me. When next I opened the kitchen garbage, I discovered this violent still life. If you have Barbies in your house, you’ll appreciate the accidental carnage.
I hope this isn’t the kind of creativity I’m making room for! (Although I can certainly relate to the feeling of desperately clinging to your own decapitated head by a few strands of hair…)
Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
That is quite a still-life. I feel her pain.
You know what’s funny? I gave my Malibu Barbie a real hack-job on her hair, and our Chihuahua chewed up the legs of my Grow Pretty Hair Barbie. So I eventually popped the head of the latter on the body of the former. Twenty-five years later, I sold that set-up (with full disclosure, of course) on eBay for $50.
It was a total accident that my mom had saved a few of my toys that have since paid some of my bills. Like you, I’d opt for the uncluttered basement.
OMG, don’t even TELL me that! It’s just that kind of re-sale story that makes me hold on to too much stuff. I have Archie comics from 30+ years ago, and two dozen of the original Star Wars figures. But am I ever really going to sell these things on eBay? (Although really, if you so successfully sold a Barbie who’d had a head transplant, maybe I should push myself…)
Wow. Who knew?
I’ve been in clean up/clean out mode, too. We’ve been in our house about 13 years now so we have so much junk. Toys the kids have grown out of, clothes (ditto) and books are all way out of control. We did a massive toy purge, and now I’m combing through my books, donating several bags a week to the library (where I work, so it’s convenient).
I mentioned in my intro post grad school starts up again for me next week. I’m signed up for THREE CLASSES, which is totally nuts. Even cutting back my work schedule to 25 hours a week it’s obvious how crazy that is.
I have three kids, but only one is active in anything outside school. But she’s like me and into everything.. For her it’s dance, music, friends and a social life… For me the social life is all but non-existent, and every minute seems packed with something. I need to take a serious look at my schedule AND my life.