Emma has stepped into a phase where she really likes to clean things. I'm not sure how long this will last, but I'm taking full advantage of it! It's kind of fun to see her personality come out in this area. She runs to clean up her room, I think, because she knows it makes us so happy. And after a few weeks of doing this, I think she is discovering that it makes her happy too! I have noticed a few times, that when friends come over and make a mess in her room, it seems to stress her out a little. After a while, she insists that everyone stop playing so that she can clean everything up!

Today we were watching Oprah and they were talking about this woman who was a pack-rat. She struggled with being overweight and it was attributed to the fact that her house was a complete wreck! You've seen them before, those homes that hardly have any liveable space because they are so overtaken with STUFF.

I've never been a neat-freak, and I can tolorate more clutter and dirt than some people. But seeing these shows is actually a nice reminder that I'm not that bad! A few years ago I decided that I simply couldn't live with so much stuff in such a small space. We've gotten rid of a lot over the past few years. But today when I was watching Oprah help someone get organized, I just couldn't sit there and do nothing. I had to organize something too!

Emma climbed up on my bed as I pulled 2 plastic containers from underneath my bed. I threw out the contents of most of the first one, making room for some mementos that I had found that needed a space of their own. This is going to be my keepsake box. A place where I'll keep things for my heritage scrapbooks, should I ever get around to starting those! The other box had my yarn and crochet hooks, as well as some scraps of fabric that were leftover from a quilt. I bagged up the fabric for donation, and went around the house gathering the crochet hooks that had never made it back to their proper place. Emma was so excited to help. At one point, she said, "Mom! That lady on tv is throwing things away, and you're throwing things away! That's cool!"

All of the cleaning and organizing also inspired Emma to clean up the toys in the living room and I got the kitchen back in shape too. I'd say it was one episode of Oprah worth watching!