Spring De-Clutter Project #2

The backyard! Shoot, might as well be the whole yard, really....the toy overload in the back has spilled out in all directions, so it was beyond time to get it tackled. You know, I thought of making each of these projects a "Tackle It Tuesday" dealie, but it would take me FOREVER to get it all done, so no way, Jose! I'm on a bit of a time crunch lately; I don't feel like getting stuck with a preggo-whale belly in the middle of the icky Alabama summer trying to get this house in order before the baby comes. PLUS....I just found out yesterday that my "What? I tell you before things actually happen!" hubby and his sister have planned a mini-reunion HERE at our house NEXT MONTH for their mother's birthday! Okay, no problem. His mom has two granddaughters she's never met, and his sister has FOUR neices she's never met, so it's pretty much time for a visit like this, but wow. Give a girl a clue, willya?

Alrighty, then, no worries, just on to the next project. We needed to get the backyard cleaned up, because the weather is finally warming up enough for the kiddos to play outside, and they are going stir crazy! We've got a sandbox (that up till today needed a home and sand) and hope to add a smallish swingset in the next month or two so the older girls can go outside and play safely in our yard while I'm tied to the inside taking care of a baby or making dinner. Problem was....the canopy we bought last year has been not only collecting the increasingly abundant rainwater from every storm we've had these last few weeks, but it's also been ripped, pulled apart, and relocated about six feet to the northeast! The toys underneath are woefully neglected and seem to be growing new forms of mold (shade, dampness, and cool air combine to form some interesting science projects) and the girls just don't want to go back there. Neither do we, to be honest. It's ugly, and since our backyard faces the street, we've pretty much got our dirties out there for the whole neighborhood to see.

Today, that's all gone. Thanks to Kelsey (my arm is almost totally numb today, I'm next to useless on one side for over-the-head stuff), the canopy is now down and in pieces ready for the trash pickup tomorrow. All of the mildewy, moldy toys are gone (also awaiting the garbage truck), and the sandbox now has a home, sandy contents, and a purpose! The girls are loving it, and I am too!

Yay!

Oh, and since I didn't get them done the other day, here's pics of the newly diet-ized bookshelves....lookie there, I actually have a whole shelf with nothing on it! And yes, the cat has overtaken the dog's bed...

The "school" shelf--newly rearranged to make room for extra-tall Sonlight Core books!

I wonder what else I can de-junk!? Gotta get Easter (and the Lads to Leaders Convention) over with first, but I'm on a roll and I'm not about to slow down!