I cleaned the basement this morning, at least some of it. I didn't want to do it, but I had to. When the girls were home from college for Christmas break, R got it into her head that she would re-organize the main part of the basement so that they would have a place to sit in the house where they could smoke (only allowed in the basement in the house), and it would be like a kind of den for them. Since her shoulder and arm were so messed up, I was pretty skeptical that she could do this, but she was enthusiastic. For as long as it took to move everything. Sadly, not for as long as it took to move everything back.So I spent yesterday in that part of the basement, just in case we ever need to have a plumber in, or someone to read the meter, since all pipes and meters were completely blocked off by bags of stuffed animals, boxes and boxes of Star Trek books, R's long-unused camping equipment, and all the furntiture we've gradually recycled out of upstairs that's all ended up in the basement.
Then last night I went down to do some laundry and saw all the mountains of crap down there, and so there I went, shortly after I got up about 6. Why do I wake up at 6 on Sunday? The real question is, how did I manage to sleep as late as 6, but that's for another day.
There's an old dresser down there, and some giant Rubbermaid footlockers, and since I don't have an actual linen closet upstairs, all of that stuff, and everything else I've ever touched, it seems, finds its way in the black hole of Laundry Area. (It's not an actual room.) So, herewith, the inventory of what I found there:
About 8 tablecloths and matching napkins. Note that I do not have a dining room table, and had a counter instead of a table in the kitchen until last summer.
Roughly two baskets-worth of clothes that I put aside to wash later because they need to be hand-washed, or whatever. This includes clothes that even K, who stopped growing roughly 6 years ago, has outgrown.
About 30 sheets of various sizes, including the ones that matched the curtains I made for our bedroom when we were first married (25 years ago) and the ones my mother-in-law gave me for no reason when she moved out of her house 5 years ago. Also included here are the original sheets purchased for R's first "big-girl bed", let's see, that's about 19 years ago.
Maybe 45 pillowcases. I just don't know.
6 sleeping bags. My god, we own 6 sleeping bags. There are 4 of us, not counting the cats.
Leftover fabric scraps from every Halloween costume and/or craft project I have ever started. Note that I did not say "every craft project I have ever done." With good reason.
At least 15 good blankets or smaller blanket-throws. I immediately e-mailed both girls and instructed them NEVER to purchase a blanket again as long as they live.
So now I have about 10 good-sized trash bags that contain either actual trash or stuff for the Salvation Army. And here's what else I found that I'm keeping:
A bag of Cabbage Patch doll clothes
Two sweaters and a blanket that Shirl made for R when she was a baby
A tiny t-shirt that we bought for my oldest nephew (J1) when we were on our honeymoon, and which later came down to us in a hand-me-down bag
A Brownie uniform and a Daisy apron
K's favorite t-shirt, that she wore continuously from ages 2 to 7
A baseball cap that R wore every day when she was about a year and a half old
Jeans full of holes that I wore in college
The matching nightgowns (with caps) that R and K wore for their first Christmas picture together, and the matching dresses they wore on that Christmas day.
By 10:00 I was done. I took a nap.
