December 6 -- Making space for Christmas

 

On December 1, I began putting away the fall decor and getting out the Christmas things.  

I have a smallish box full of fall decor plus a large plastic bag of silk fall leaves.  This year my daughter had a larger table to decorate for Thanksgiving and had borrowed some of my things to use.  When I went to put those away, plus the fall decor I had used throughout the season,  I was struck by how many things there were in that box that I never, ever use.  Small things, to be sure, but still -- taking up valuable space.  So I decided to do as I had done previously with the Christmas decor and sort it out now, before putting it away.

Wow, what a worthwhile project that turned out to be!  I was able to clean out the box, throw some things away, send some things to the thrift store, and everything that remained fit neatly into the box -- and the lid even closed!  That hasn't happened in years, all because I never took time to really look over what I had.

So I highly recommend others to do the same with their fall decor.

I haven't posted a "Making space" in months, so what I'm enumerating here is from September 3 through December 1:

To our camp —
A small enameled cast iron oval Dutch oven with cover
A small baking sheet
A metal cover to fit most saucepans

To the trash —
A carry-on bag that has seen far better days
2 reusable shopping bags that are too small
A vintage beach bag
An inexpensive tote bag with clear windows for photos
A doll-size yellow zipper
A duffel bag that’s become too battered to use
8 or 10 bits of gold cord and small gold ribbon bows
A few faux cattails
A wooden cornucopia magnet (missing its magnet)
A handmade topiary tree table favor

To the thrift store —
A canvas book bag with zipper top and one zipper compartment (a freebie from somewhere)
A never-used canvas carry-on bag from Golden Grahams/Lucky Charms
2 books
6 handcrafted pumpkin head mini scarecrow dolls made from spools and twine
An Avon Halloween ornament
A turkey table favor made from a pine cone and craft foam
A wooden “Pick Your Own Strawberries” sign with 3-D strawberries *
2 wooden strawberries *
1 small Constant Comment tea canister

* As noted before, this is the sort of thing that happens when you have, or when people think you have, a strawberry collection ... 

Just a note too that I have been SO thankful I took that Dutch oven to the camp.  (It had belonged to my mother.)  It is so versatile and I've been able to use it for everything from reheating soup to making box mac'n'cheese.

Have you stashed away your fall decor yet?  If not, why not go through those totes or boxes before you put them away -- and make more space for Christmas!

Making space

 

 Time for another post as to what all is leaving or has left here recently.  Here goes:

August 17-31
Some from the linen closet, some from the craft closet, some from my dresser and elsewhere

To the trash —
 Some old makeup — lipstick, pressed powder, etc.
A bunch of partially used travel size toiletries — probably 2 dozen or more items
A strawberry bath pouf  — as noted before, this is the sort of thing that  happens when you have, or when people think you have, a strawberry collection
Remnants from some type of craft foam kit
A pair of comfy cotton pajama pants that have completely lost their elastic

To the thrift store —
2 bars of unused soap
2 small empty glass apothecary jars
An Oriental Trading kit to make 6 fall decorated votive holders
A bargain pair of green capris that I’ll never wear
4 vintage restaurant creamers with some cracks, etc.  Hopefully they are a fun find for someone!
A set of red nesting heart-shaped tiny tins
A set of Christmas pillowcases bought on clearance and used once — they don’t fit our pillows
A bright pink hand towel with a strawberry design (see bath pouf above)
A glass floral bowl and 3 rose-shaped floating candles (gift set I didn’t even know I had)!

To my young granddaughter —
Some chunky foam stamps in fun designs like shells, butterflies, western gear, frogs, and more

To our little camp —
2 dish towels
A wonderful Coleman rack for cooking over a campfire
A ceramic penguin lamp from my childhood — need to buy a shade, but this will work in the grandkids’ sleeping and play loft
A pretty decorative fall plate that will be nice for fall decor here

And that's it for now!

Making space ...

 

August 16 — Wow, it has been awhile.   Becki at Field Lilies has been making space again and she's been inspiring me.

Even though I haven't posted about it, I’ve been accumulating things for the thrift store:

Three ziplock bags with filled with greeting cards that I will never use.
Assorted small frames
Assorted magnets I’ll never use again
Some booklets of iron-ons for crafting
Several books we won’t finish reading
A nice navy blue checked shirt of my husband’s; it’s a very large XL and makes him look as if he’s lost 50 pounds.  (He keeps pulling it out of the closet and wearing it and someone invariably asks him if he’s okay.)
A blue glass swan
A Power Mate Jr. attachment to a vacuum cleaner we no longer own
A white glass vase with a motif of pink roses

These things came from here, there, and everywhere around our house, but the last three above -- swan, vacuum attachment and vase -- came from the linen closet, which I am focusing on this week.  Everything listed below came from there, too. 

To our cottage —

A package of green mesh shelf liner
A towel rack we aren’t using here

To the trash —

A huge bag of assorted towels, baby blankets, etc. that got stained with some unknown substance while stored on the lowest shelf of the linen closet.
An old shower curtain I’d been saving to use at the beach — it got stained too
A tapestry rug with a fun design of lighthouses; barely used, but the rubber backing has disintegrated, so …

I have the lowest shelf of the linen closet now fully decluttered.  There are three or four more to go.  I've snatched things off them here and there, but hopefully I can get the rest of the closet completely decluttered this week.  We will see!

Making space ... week 12

 

Yes, I'm still trying to make some space.  Here's the tally from March 9-20:

Things from here and there

To the trash:
Many containers of dried up play dough, plus assorted cutters for same
A bunch of brand-now, but inferior crayons
7 (yes, seven!) partially used bottles of lotion in various scents
3 large, dried up glue sticks
A remote so old we don’t know what it went to

To the thrift store:
4 boxes crayons
2 boxes white chalk
2 boxes colored chalk
2 boxes jumbo colored sidewalk chalk
3 glass candleholders — 1 votive, 2 taper size
1 box vintage yellow taper candles in the “slim” size
7 floating candles — 6 “candy corn” and 1 star shape
1 baby outfit from my daughter’s infancy
Other odds and ends of kids’ clothing — 2 very nice sleeveless dresses size 8 (won’t fit any granddaughters for a few years yet, so …); a pair of corduroy pants, same size; 1 white polo shirt, same size … probably more.
A decorative ladybug made to resemble a strawberry (this sort of thing happens when you have, or when people think you have, a strawberry collection)
A navy blue striped long-sleeve tee
A pretty plaid shirt with silvery trim and black velvet collar (it has never fit …)
3 other plaid shirts; I love them but they will never fit again

Plus, I did give some items of kids’ clothing to my daughters for their kids.

Hoping to post another list in a week or two!

Making space --- Week 11

 

 It's actually later than week 11, I'm sure, and it's taken me far more than a week to dispose of all these items, but I'm finally posting some totals from my recent decluttering efforts.

February 13 - March 6:  

Things from here and there

To the thrift store:
Assorted unused birthday cards that I’ll never use
1 “cut glass” bud vase
1 small glass dish with poppy decals
1 red acrylic sweater
1 pair of khaki pants
1 blue flowered vest — I still like it, but have replaced it with a blue paisley vest that I like better
1 pink seersucker bathrobe I’ll never wear again
5 collectible bells that were gifted to my daughter as a teen
5 glass votive candle holders
An unused candle in a tin
A dozen music CDs and a couple cassette tapes
A large container of oversize lego-type bricks and the parts for a plastic marble run

To the trash:
A “Made in Turkey” vase, clear glass with violets painted on it — as soon as I started to wash it, two cracks developed
Two handmade candles with a “grungy” look made by rolling them in melted paraffin, then spices
A half-dozen nearly used jar candles
A Christmas pillar candle with no scent left
A child-painted wooden plaque that had seen far, far better days
A pair of brown jeans that I loved to death
A pair of black cotton knit pants, likewise
A pair of socks (with a small hole) that just doesn’t fit well
A tube of envelope glue
3 “eye of God” ornaments made by grandchildren
2 large hot glue sticks
Reading glasses that don’t work for anyone
An old sweatshirt I never wear
A favorite sweater with too many rips and holes to wear again
A bunch of CDs and cassettes
Many items I'd kept for kids to "dress up" in

Cleaning out second bathroom drawer:

To the trash:
1 plastic medicine cup
1 used tube of travel toothpaste
Some hair removing mitts that don’t really work
Some Avon fragrance samples
A ziplock bag full of skin care samples that are far outdated
A tube of hand lotion that just isn’t good anymore

Cleaning out the “junk drawer” in the kitchen

To the trash:
12 pencil-top erasers
1 package removable adhesive
5 pieces chalk
1 floor protector for chair or table leg
3 pencils with nonworking erasers
1 plastic protractor
3 metal compasses
1 hat for a Fisher-Price little person
2 calligraphy pens with no points

To the thrift store:
A container of replacement pencil leads

To my Christmas wrap storage:
2 rolls of sweet Christmas-themed packing tape

Cleaning out a large, deep drawer where we kept all manner of photos:

To the trash:
Probably hundreds of useless photos and negatives
A fancy family photo album with one large photo in it; this album is broken, moldy and unusable

Plus, I've actually thrown away many more things that I just haven't taken the time to write down.  This looks like quite a list, but I have a long, long way to go with this decluttering task.

Making space ... week 10

 

Yes, it's another Making Space post.  A few more things have left the house in the past week or so and I'm working on yet another box for the thrift store.

February 5 — cleaning out a drawer where I keep candles

To the trash —

A bag of 8 smallish candles — the type used in Swedish angel chimes.  These had once been red, but have faded to pink.
A partially burned set of wavy dark red tapers.  Pretty, but unlikely to be used again.
A handmade white Christmas tree candle made by me, many decades ago.  Once white, it’s now stained and discolored.  I’ll never burn it, so out it goes.
A used up candle in a tin
A used up jar candle

To the thrift store — 

A pretty resin candleholder with a flower garden theme  -- I love this, but hate dusting it so it's been stored.  Someone else might as well be enjoying it.
A set of hanging candles with a gingerbread man theme
A floating candle in the shape of a mitten
2 small figural Christmas candles — one a drummer boy and one a toy soldier
3 jar candle toppers — so pretty, but a pain to dust, and I rarely buy large jar candles anyway.

🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿    🌿   🌿  

And from a few other areas here and there

Also to the thrift store —

 * A blue plaid thermos -- I hated to let this go.  It's the wide-mouth type and is probably from the 1970s, so not that old.  But my daughter didn't want it and my hubby didn't think he'd use it, so out it went.  I hope someone witll be overjoyed to find it.
* A large blue glass vase

Also to the trash:
A Folger’s coffee canister saved for storage
Two plastic-covered metal shelf dividers I’d used in craft storage

And that's it for now!

Making space ... week 9

 

Okay, I'm calling this week 9, although I have a couple weeks worth of decluttering here. 

 January 18 — From some of my seasonal decorating stash:

To the trash: a decorative egg-shaped soap with lily of the valley motif
To the thrift store: 8 more plastic Easter eggs

From more of my stash of craft materials:

To the thrift store: a jumbo ziplock bag filled with fabric trims of all types and colors (photo below); a bag of assorted Thanksgiving crafts for kids;  spool upon spool of unused 1/8” ribbon.  (Someone gave me this big bag of trims, but really I know I am so unlikely to use it, I just had to pass it on.)

To the trash: a bunch of short odds and ends of ribbons and trims.

January 25-29 — From a tote of Christmas decor in the attic

To the trash:
A decorative hanging ball covered with gilded pinecones, suspended by jute twine — pinecones are falling off it and it’s just not pretty anymore

To the thrift store:
A stuffed bear holding a velvety gift box
A bagful of silk holly, some of it “snow covered”, and a few pine cones
A Christmas table runner that’s not my style
A snowman lamp that’s not really my style anymore
A wall hanging, same
Several pewter-look ornaments
2 square hand-decorated Christmas candles
2 partial sets of iron-on letters for personalizing Christmas stockings
A decorative wooden box with Christmas theme
A lighted folk-art type wooden reindeer
A few bits and pieces of handmade ornaments and some ribbon
Several ornaments I just won't use again

To our camp:
A lighted evergreen garland
Two silk holly garlands
A woven rug in a quilt pattern design of red and green
A Christmas wall hanging I think would look good there
A gallon ziplock bag of assorted ornaments that could work for a camp Christmas tree

I'll likely be writing on my Christmas blog about the above list.  In this large tote from the attic, one of the things I found that I didn't even remember having was a lighted evergreen garland.  I thought of taking it to the camp because it would look nice there year round.  From there, as I found the other items listed, my hubby kind of ran with it and now we are contemplating having Christmas there next year!  Amazing the things that happen when you declutter!

Making space ... week 8

 

 I've been steadily plugging away at decluttering in various areas -- these are all areas that were out of sight, but I still feel great to have so many things leaving my house!

January 5 --To the thrift store: 5 or 6 iron-on craft transfers — bought to use on sweatshirts back in the day.  4 spools of thread, one white and three black.

Cleaning out that second shelf in the corner kitchen cabinet and also the top shelf in an upper cabinet.. 

To the trash: 5 plastic ice-cube trays; 2 metal ring molds; a broken deviled-egg plate; a cracked melamine plate

To our camp: 8 Corelle plates

To the thrift store: 1 Tupperware jello mold; 2 decorative tins; a 1-quart Corning ware casserole with cover; 2 stainless steel nesting bowls.

To our local daughter: a pretty blue glass pitcher; a 2-quart clear glass Fire King pouring bowl.

January 13-15 — sorting, tossing, donating items from some of my craft supply storage.

Tossed — a partial package of jersey loops for making pot holders; a bundle of raffia; old, woodgrain contact paper saved to use in a dollhouse; 2 kid-painted wooden signs (I saved the best ones); an opened package of colorful crafting feathers; pom-poms that had seen better days; an open box of plastic straws dedicated to crafting; assorted odds and ends of VBS and Sunday school crafts; a broken wooden Christmas plaque to paint (and presumably glue); a dozen or so nearly-used thread spools; my grandmother’s pincushion, a round plastic box of straight pins (much shorter than today’s pins and so not really useful); a stenciled wooden cheese box filled with a tangle of leftover crewel yarn and some skeins of off-brand embroidery floss.  (I kept a few skeins of floss.)

To the thrift store: a paper punch,  2 types of decorative sewing trim; 4 small soft-sculptured doll heads; 3 small grapevine wreaths; 2 plastic hangers (kids size); a package of multicolored plastic coffee stirrers for crafting; a fabric “praise banner” for kids to paint; 1 bag plastic Easter eggs; 2 spools metallic craft ribbon; a large bag of assorted pompoms; the makings for satin “Victorian hat” Christmas ornaments; odds and ends of plastic canvas; odds and ends of magnetic tape; a hem gauge (I think it’s called); 2 packages of cover-your-own buttons; 2 packages fabric crayons; assorted metal buckles; a half-dozen spools of thread; 2 skeins black yarn; a box of vintage button & carpet thread; an unused candle wicking wall hanging kit with a strawberry motif.

To my local daughter: odds and ends of craft materials that her kids will use.

To sell on Etsy: a vintage white plastic buckle for a dress belt.

To our camp: 2 kid-painted wooden signs; a wreath hanger I’d been hunting for; a handmade recipe card holder.

Gift items have also been stored up here.  I’d moved most of them to a different area, but forgot some. 

So, to the thrift store: a lighted floating “color orb”; to the gift chest: a set of 3 “Autumn Romance” votive holders.

I didn't count the items, but that's a lot of stuff.  So thankful to have it going elsewhere!

Making space -- week 7

 Okay, I'll confess -- I really have no idea what week we are on.  Life has been crazy.  But this is week 7 for me, I guess, so here's some of what I've been decluttering lately:

December 16 — to the thrift store:  another Christmas CD, a box of vintage glass Christmas balls in gold color (hopefully it will be a “find” for somebody); a ziplock bag containing assorted Christmas decor winnowed out as we trimmed the tree; a set of LED blue Christmas lights with white wires (we used this on an outdoor tree last year and the white wires were really unsightly, so I don’t see us using it again unless we for some reason acquired a white tree.  Not likely.)

January 4 — cleaning out the bottom shelf of a corner kitchen cabinet.   To the thrift store: a small crockpot; a ceramic flower basket;  a blue glass pitcher, pretty but doesn’t fit with any of my dishes; 2 clear glass bowls with pouring spouts; a plastic salad bowl and 4 individual salad bowls that match it; 4 Tupperware sandwich containers with lids; a Tupperware container for a bar of cheese; a mold and doll for making a doll cake; a Texas Ware bowl; a popcorn jar.  To our camp: a Pyrex bowl/casserole dish; a stainless steel bowl, a small glass storage jar, the type with a rubber gasket.  I also put a bunch of stuff in the trash.

Clearing out a craft tote that was under my bed; this was a tote that had been my mother's.   I could see it held craft materials so I had saved it.  Here's what I kept out of that (admittedly small) Rubbermaid tote: a bottle of gold beads and one of gold sequins. and two brand-new stencil brushes.  

To the trash: 4 bags of old potpourri (this was lovely, locally made high-end potpourri, but it was so old.  It had to go!);

To the thrift store: 3 packages of flexible magnetic strips; a box of assorted ribbon and ribbon roses; 5 packages of stencils; 4 miniature chipboard market baskets; a handmade Christmas ornament with a teensy teddy bear inside; a new bottle of potpourri oil and one of tacky glue; a package of wooden heart shapes.  

Much more decluttering to come in the days ahead, but this is a great start!
 

Making space -- week 6

 

 So I need to get this posted even though I suppose Sunday technically is week 7 of the Making Space challenge.  

December 9 — to the thrift store: 3 Christmas CDs (listening to them and winnowing them out), a pair of decorative-edge scissors and a rack for holding scissors; 2 hardcover books I decided against reading.

December 13 -- to the trash: 5-6 boxes of outdated jello; 2 boxes of outdated pudding mix; a jar of very, very outdated fig pastry filling.

Also to the trash -- a tall kitchen bag FULL of worn-out hats, gloves, sweaters, etc.

To the thrift store: 3 hats and a pair of 1980s leg warmers!

To a lady who felts wool sweaters and turns them into mittens: a black trash bag full of old wool sweaters neither of us will ever wear again.  

We usually set up our Christmas tree in front of the picture window of our living room.  A cedar chest ordinarily resides under that window and we always move it to make way for the tree.  This year I decided that we would declutter the contents of that chest (a project that's been on my list for months!) when we moved it.  Hence, all of the woolens being disposed of.  It feels great to have that project taken care of!

Making space -- week 5

 

 I have a pretty exciting list to share this week.  At least it's exciting to me when I think of the many items that have left or will soon be leaving my house.

November 30— cleared out the baking drawer where I keep extracts, sugars and sprinkles, etc.  Threw away:

 1 large package of plastic recipe protectors — destroyed by blue food coloring
1 nearly empty jar of blue past food coloring (aha!)
1 clean spam can with ends cut off — saved to use as cookie cutter
1 partial set each Mickey and Minnie mouse cake decorations
2 partial envelopes unflavored gelatin (I have gluten free baking recipes which call for a teaspoon of it)
Partial packages of vanilla pudding mix and strawberry jello mix
Full, outdated and hardened packages of lime and raspberry jello mix
1 plastic measuring tablespoon
Partial, old containers of red and green decorating sugars and Easter chick decors
1 container vintage silver dragees
1 small tin shaker
1 metal cake decorating tube
1 bottle raspberry flavoring for candy
Partial envelopes of vanilla powder and vanilla sugar

And, to the thrift store: 1 vintage plastic cake decorating tube

Gave away to friends: 1 nutcracker and 2 nut picks (they needed them and we had extra)

Placed with my gift wrappings: 1 ball of thick kitchen string (too thick for its intended use)

December 1 --
Next, we tackled the baking shelf in the pantry.  Threw away:
1 outdated can peach pie filling (exp. 2012)
2 outdated cans coconut milk (exp. 2011, 2014)
1 partial package red candy melts
1 3-oz. jar lemon curd (exp. 2018)
1 tiny container baby prunes
1 nearly empty jar assorted sprinkles

Over the next couple days we went through more of the pantry shelves.  And threw away:

an outdated can of ravioli
2 cans of outdated bean sprouts
2 cans outdated tomato paste
a bottle of outdated lemon juice
partial packages of outdated rice and pasta

I also threw away:
3 old calendars I had kept for crafting purposes
1 kitten-themed child's plastic sewing box from the 1960s (see illustration below)
1 hairbrush I've never liked -- had to use it in a pinch this week and remembered why I don't like it.
A pair of my husband's slippers -- he got a new pair and these have seen far better days.

My kit was pink, sort of a marbleized look.  Lid was clear.

 

And also to the thrift store: a never-used ice pop maker, and a hardcover book.  

Another box of things is headed for our cottage.

It's been a great week on the decluttering front!

Making space -- week 4

 

This past week was crazy and busy and included a holiday, but I managed just a teensy bit of decluttering anyway; undoubtedly a good idea with Christmas decorating on the horizon.  

Here are my very small accomplishments this week:

November 25 — a pair of pajama pants, a hand towel, and a washcloth, all worn beyond repair, but I’d been continuing to use them.  Tossed out!
Also, 10 1960s magazine pages — large size, like old Better Homes & Gardens issues, scanned for use in graphics and now tossed into the trash.

November 26 — While hunting for pumpkin in my pantry [yes, on Thanksgiving morning!😓], I discovered 2 cake mixes with “Use by” dates of 2016.  To the trash they went!  Shows how long it has been since I used a cake mix!

November 27 — To the trash: 1 cassette tape, a cake mix with a 2019 date and a box of graham cracker crumbs with a 2018 date.  A hardcover book headed for the thrift store, now that I’ve read it.

Certainly I'm hoping for greater progress in the week ahead!  I need to declutter some areas in the kitchen to make way for Christmas baking and to make space for any needed ingredients.

Making space -- week 3

 

 Well, I have done very little decluttering this week.  We were away Monday, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday -- a lovely getaway to the ocean which I will hope to blog about soon.

Friday and Saturday have been full to the brim with hospitality, friends and family and all of the cooking and cleaning that accompany such happy times.   Again, some of these are things I hope to blog about one day soon.

On Thursday, I did manage a little decluttering — I cleared out a basket I keep near my chair in the living room.  Lots of correspondence info and devotional type stuff.  This has been on my list of places to declutter for months.  Here’s what I removed to the trash: an unused band-aid, a nearly empty tube of nourishing foot cream; a package of lens cleaning wipes that turned out to be useless; 4 defunct pens; 2 defunct highlighters; a bouncy ball with no bounce (toys are stored in the cabinet underneath this basket!); a half dozen outdated church directories.
 

I also found some things to give away: 3 sets of Scripture memory cards, also a paperback book.  And I typed up a couple of quotes I found scribbled on bits of paper in this basket, and filed them in the appropriate folders on my computer.

I think that adds up to around 20 things gone this week.  I have some great ideas for areas to tackle next week, when I hope to get much more decluttering done!

Making space -- week 2

 

I'm joining in with Becki, over at Field Lilies,  with her decluttering effort called Making Space.  Why not join in, and maybe write a post a week about how the endeavor is going?  I've been working at this, and here's my Week 2 report:

 November 9 — a piece of cardboard (the back of a stationery tablet). along with a matching sized piece of carbon paper.  Stashed in my stationery cupboard, it was obviously something I’d used in crafting or writing something or other, quite a few years ago.  No idea what the project was anymore.
November 11 — 6 mugs being rehomed to our little camp.  We found a great Black Friday deal on a Keurig for the camp, but we’ve realized that not every mug is a practical size for it.  I winnowed out my mugs yet again and chose some of the larger ones to take to the camp.
    I also went through my dishtowel/dishcloth/potholder drawer and threw away 1 potholder.  4 potholders are going to the camp, where the only two I have there are rather thin but have sentimental value.  I am also taking 4 dish towels to camp.
November 12 — a glass tumbler with log cabin scene going to the camp.
A paperback book, a heavy glass stein, and a slate wall hanging with a teddy bear motif headed for the thrift store.
I cleaned out my utensil drawer and threw away the following: 2 old containers of dental floss which I kept there for splitting cake layers (haven’t done that in years!); an old metal pastry blender and donut cutter; a tupperware gadget for buttering corn; assorted plastic ware and plastic cooking gadgets like pasta measurers, etc.  A metal gadget which seems to have been a spout topper for a tea kettle.  I don’t even remember what it is or why it was stashed there.
November 13 — to the trash: 1 rusty melon ball cutter.
Headed for the camp: 2 ladles, one large and one small, 2 pie servers, 2 paring knives, 2 large knives, 1 bottle/can opener; 2 sets metal measuring spoons; 1 apple corer/slicer.

I've been trying to work at the 2020 Holiday Planning Challenge with  A Virtuous Woman which started Monday, November 2.  Maybe some of you would be interested also.

  I'll do more of a report on this over on my Christmas blog, where I'm trying to keep up with it but am off to a very slow start.  All that to say, it's the reason I've been tackling my kitchen drawers at this time.  This has definitely been helpful to my participation in Becki's Making Space feature!