Space: The Final Frontier

Last year I took advantage of having my kids out of the house for a few days to do some serious cleaning in and around Sierra's bed. I recently had that opportunity again, since Sierra is gone for several days visiting with her Aunt Linda.

While there is still a significant amount of debris around her bed, it isn't anywhere near as bad as last time. True, it looked like a tissue box exploded and took out several small battalions of trinkets and tiny toys, but it didn't take nearly as much time to blaze a trail through the mess around her bed. Today I may even tackle the bed itself, but I want to finish my comics for next week, so it will have to wait.

This time around, I have Marina to help get things in order. She was away last time. Marina shares a room with Sierra. Imagine if Felix and Oscar shared one room rather than a whole apartment and you will get an idea of how crazed Marina can get at the...relaxed nature of her little sister. (My chief editor says this is a bad comparison, so I will give full disclosure: Marina is no Felix, she is just neater than her brother and sister.) My own opinion is that the room is simply too small for two girls and their stuff. I've done what I can, but it is simply a small room in a small house.

There was a time when we considered adding on to our small house, but I don't believe that's an answer anymore. As George Carlin would say, "A house is just a place for your stuff." I believe it is far better to teach my kids how to let go of things they don't need anymore than to teach them that they just need more storage room. So even as I make my way through my own piles of stuff, I will try to help sort through the clutter in the girls' room to make their space a little spacier.