I'm Drowning...

...In a sea of toys.

So Christmas is over, and I am glad. Today I took down the decorations from the family room and shoved it all in the basement. I could not wait to get it out of my sight. D says I was so sick of it because I put it all up the weekend after Thanksgiving. My reasoning is that if I wait until mid-December to put up decorations, I might as well forget it. I am still gonna want to take it down immediately after Christmas, so why bother putting it up for only 2 weeks' time??

And then there were the piles of gifts. Some people can leave their presents under the tree for days and days and eventually find homes for them. Not me. Christmas Day after breakfast I started organizing stuff and putting items into their new homes. It is just too much chaos for my brain to handle. It makes me anxious knowing that things don't have a home. I've read about drug addicts getting the creepy crawlies (like bugs under their skin), which describes exactly how I feel when looking at stuff just lining the walls of my home in gift bags and boxes.

I have also started a yard sale stack---all of the things I no longer want or gifts I can't use or don't like.

Now I am biting at the bit to get a small bookshelf for the family room to store toys. I have been pulling out every clear Rubbermaid container and wicker basket I own for storing Polly Pockets and Barbie clothes and Little Pet Shop animals.

I told D to say to me next year, "Remember that N and G are gonna get gifts from Mamaw, Nana and Pa, cousins, aunts & uncles and great aunts & uncles, so do not go crazy on the gifts." I could not believe how much she got in 2 days' time. Unbelievable. It sorta makes me feel sick. Although I just blogged about having fun buying toys for her (which I did), it is kinda like a one-night stand. You enjoy it while you are doing it, but after it's over, you feel pretty weird and gross and think, "Why did I do that?"

In general, I am not a person who loves to shop. I rarely buy clothes or shoes because I have my favorite 5 shirts and 2 pants that I wear for a couple days and then wash --- although now that I'm being spit up on on a regular basis I am having to wear some not-so-favorite shirts. My joke is that my clothes can walk themselves to the hamper by the time I wear them a couple days and decide to put on something clean.

I have very few chatchkies or "pretties" in the house, and most of the ones I do have were given to me...like at our wedding 10 years ago....which means I may not even like them but I can't see spending money on decorative stuff. I love those Pier1 tall vases and think a couple of those would look so cool on my entertainment center, but I ain't gonna pay $30 + for empty vases that I'm just gonna look at at.

Anyway, following the Christmas holiday I always begin this weird purging thing where I go through my house and select the items I really don't like anymore, never did like to begin with, or just want to get rid of because they are taking up space. It drives D nuts because I make him go through his closet and drawers. We've been doing this 10 years now--he should be used to it. One day I will get him to sell these huge ass speakers he has. It is on my list of things I want to accomplish before I die along with going on an African safari.

Of course I type all this about not liking to shop and what-not, but my mom and I plan to hit the mall tomorrow so I can look for a Mikasa crystal frame, spatulas, potholders, my desired bookshelf, and some other items I "need."