Combing the Debris

Jeff and I have begun to attack some of the random piles of clutter that threaten to take over our house. It's been quite satisfying.

I've emptied a closet, filled bags with clothes to be donated, and excavated several toy bins to pluck out abandoned toys for a future garage sale and reunite long-lost toy siblings (who knew that Duplo blocks were lurking in every room of the house, including the bathroom?).

Jeff has been wielding the shredder as if on a grim mission. As he fed old receipts into the shredder, he observed that the big fat envelope of receipts seemed demarcated somehow. "You can tell where I put in the receipts," he said, gesturing to crisp, flat pieces of paper, most likely placed in chronologic order, "and where you did." The mangled, crumpled receipts were clearly my handiwork.

"This one is my favorite," he said, presenting a receipt wadded up into a ball.

Hey, at least I saved the receipts in the first place. I consider that a triumph of organization in and of itself. And did you see that clean closet?