De-Cluttering

I am having a clear-out or clear-up.
I have always been a perpetually messy sort and I am slightly ashamed to let people into my house.


I find sort-outs quite therapeutic too and a little trip down memory lane, finding parts of you that you might have forgotten about. I have a (very large) memory box where treasured birthday cards, postcards, rambling letters and funny post-it notes from friends go. I also have the only physical token of my albeit brief courtship with Wriggles' father, when on our first date after a few glasses of wine we decided to compare handwriting on a scrap of paper. Funny the things you keep. When after a while he disappeared into the ether, or at least, stopping calling me, I meant to throw it out. Now I'm quite glad, not because I have particularly sentimental feelings about or for him, but that there is some evidence that we at least met in a not-just-procreating sense.


Amongst my mountains of things, I also have like every parent, A LOT of baby items. It always amazes me how one small person can take up so much room and acquire so many things in such a short space of time. But acquire they do! And grow, relatively quickly. I now have amongst other things a baby-seat, a moses basket and rocker, a large pram, a sling, a slightly faulty pushchair and a baby bath as well as probably hundreds of clothes, ranging from premature sizes up until 6-12 months. Some is millionth hand already, but most of it is in pretty good condition. And it is taking up room. I have already sorted out some things which have gone into a memory box for Wriggles, and kept first tiny gloves and favourite jumpers, but I am still left with a multitude of things and no one small enough to use them. Recently I began working with Tiny Lives and their Nearly New sales that raise money to support the neonatal unit where Wriggles spent the first two months of her life. In the past I have donated and sold items that I had no use for, and now I am wondering whether it is time to clear out other bits and bobs that I simply have no use for anymore. Many things have had a lot of wear as Wriggles was and is, still a titch, so over the 17 months or 15 that she has been at home with me, she still uses many things more suitable for a 9 month old. 

Finding the Perfect Gift

My best friend from university has recently found out she is pregnant and I am delighted for her. Her little bean is due in June 2012 and in the mean time I am trying to find the perfect present. She is cautiously waiting until 24 weeks (viability; Wriggles' premature experience has made her walk on eggshells) before shouting it out to the world who hasn't already guessed, but they are keeping the gender strictly under wraps.

I think this is really quite a nice idea; so many newborn or indeed any baby items are so gender stereotyped that it seems like a special challenge to find a really lovely present for a newborn. No pink! No blue! And we all know that lovely as white is, beautiful and pure, it is the least practical colour for a newborn. I imagine that family members will overdose on teddy bears (it seems to be some divine law) and given that as a shattered new parent you can only muster up so much polite excitement about novelty sloganned bibs, I really want to find a longer-term keepsake. Also, I remember selfishly thinking when Wriggles was born that it would be quite nice to dress my own daughter some days!

I have narrowed it down to a few things and I may well try and "road test" them first as I personally am quite enamoured with them!

• "My Life Journal" by Suck Uk. Essentially a 100 year diary, this is a beautifully bound scrapbook that is split up into year with each year separated by seasons with pockets for photos, keepsakes and special pictures and awards. There is a world map so you can mark everywhere you lived and went on holiday, a body map to chart bumps, bruises, war-wounds and tattoos and many other things to mark off. It sounds a lovely idea to fill up and take over from your parents as you grow older.

• I am a little obsessed with Folksy and saw this amazingly cute Memory Make Stegosaurus , by Molly Moo and Jessica Too. It is simple: you sent them some sentimental fabric, and they craft a cuddly dinosaur from it! Who doesn't like a dinosaur? This may need some consultation with the expectant parents (I imagine nabbing my friend's favourite jumper will not endear me to her..) but there are so many possibilities of making a really personal present.

• Then lastly is this photo book by Sassy, which I must confess has already lured me into clicking "buy"! (Why Amazon, why? Internet shopping just does not feel like real shopping. Dangerous) The 'Look Book' is a photo album for babies, made out of sturdy boards with bright colours and some texture, it has 7 pockets to put your own pictures in. Apparently the handle also doubles up as a teething ring; genius! Well at least it looks genius-we shall soon see!