Adding On and Clearing Out

Kennedy's portrait of me, September 18, 2011.

Our household is all atwitter as of late. We are expecting another baby, due St. Patty's day, 2012! Along with all the joy and talk of names and wondering if it's a brother or sister, also comes a lot of thinking about space planning and all the "stuff." We always saw ours as a starter home, and it has served the needs of two grown-ups, one child, two dogs, and, at one time, a cat, very well. Very tightly well. Never in a million years did we imagine bringing another child into our tiny space. I take that back, we imagined it, then quickly said, "we'd have to move." Now here we are, entering the second trimester, with the housing market being where it is, and there is a very slim chance of us leaving. So, we adapt!


Luckily, we have three bedrooms. Unfortunately, two of them are so tiny you could not fit full sized beds in them and expect to move around. (I honestly eyed our master closet as a potential nursery, it is so big. If only there were a window!) We will clear the smallest of the two rooms, which is currently our office, for the nursery. and move the computer to a work area in the dining/kitchen. It's going to be cozy, that's for sure.


In the meantime, I repeat to myself the following de-cluttering mantras: "LESS IS MORE. ONE THING IN, ONE THING OUT. YOU ARE NOT YOUR STUFF. YOUR STUFF ENDS UP OWNING YOU." Since this isn't our first rodeo, we know how little babies actually need. We also know how hard it is resist the cute little stuffed monkeys and the soft blankies during those trips to Target for diapers. It is going to be very interesting planning for this little leprechaun!


A starting place - the hall closet, new shelves installed: