Reclaiming Space

 We came home tonight to this lilac just beginning to bloom!  A second blooming this year!!

It's hard to believe that the kids are starting school next Thursday, just a week from today.  The summer has flown by and I can say it has been our best family summer yet!  We have seen a return of some warm late summer days and are finally beginning to pick a few tomatoes.  This time of year I begin to contemplate fall; harvest, storing food, school, new beginnings.

Funny, the meaning of fall harvest is so profound to me now.  We have to pick our food, slowly clean up beds as they fade, plant crops for late fall harvest, plant beds to winter cover crops, and store the fruits of our labors away.  All of this frenzy is for a clean up that leads to tucking our little farm in for the winter.  With that thought passing though my mind, I came across a blog post last week from Mama Schell.  It discussed the catharsis that comes from purging, simplifying.  Her post was called 40 bags in 40 days.  The basic premise is to pick forty different areas, clean them out and dispose of or donate what you no longer need, use, want, have grown out of, etc.  By taking a space, even if it is as small as a drawer at a time, this overwhelming task becomes much more manageable.  So when I think of the settling in coming soon, I want my space to be as simplistic and comfortable as possible.

Since school is approaching, I began today with organizing the attic closet and all of the school mementos that I have collected from pre-school forward.  Everything is now better condensed into manageable quantities.  The kids in turn will spend some time tomorrow going through closets and drawers to determine what fits and what type of school shopping we may just need to accomplish before next week.  Then I will continue on through my forty areas.

1. Kitchen Drawers                                         21.  Basement Food Storage Shelves
2. Sewing Room                                             22.  Basement Craft Area
3. Our Bedroom Closet                                   23.  Basement Work Bench
4. Sid's Bedroom Closet                                  24.  Basement Junk Area
5. Sid's Bedroom Dresser                                25.  Holiday Decorations
6. Charles' Bedroom Closet                             26.  Hutch on Porch
7.  Charles' Bedroom Dresser                          27.  Garden Tools
8. Kids Bathroom Cupboards                          28.  Chicken Coop
9. Linen Closet                                                29.  Grainery Storage Area
10. Attic Toys                                                  30.  Upstairs Bookshelves
11. Attic Closet                                                31.  Entry Closet 
12. Our Nightstands                                         32.  Hall Tree
13. Our Bedroom Dresser                                33.  File Storage
14. Our Bathroom Cupboards                          34.  Canning Supplies
15. Powder Room Cupboards                          35.  Spice Cupboard
16. Desk                                                           36.  Liquor Cabinet
17. Kitchen Cupboards                                     37. Knick Knack Shelf 
18. Dining Room Hutch                                   38.  Irrigation Supplies
19. Basement Craft Area                                  39.  Trellis Supplies
20. Root Cellar                                                 40.  Laundry Room

Isn't this a great idea?  Fall is coming and when you go to open your windows and let in the amazing fall air, wouldn't it be nice if that air could fill your newly reclaimed space?  What forty areas can you look at to begin to simplify your life?