Day 55: Baby Bathtub

This baby bathtub totally represents an "Aha!" moment for me in terms of giving stuff away.

I have been feeling a little uneasy, wondering when it was going to start getting hard, triage-ing our belongings with an eye to giving them away. When will the day come when I can't find anything I am willing to part with -- sooner, or later? Either way I know, day 55 or 155 or 355, it will come.

Or will it? This morning I was gathering up clothes to launder -- a neverending supply around here, it's like the dirty clothing fairy visits us each evening, sprinkling small soiled garments about the house -- and scooped an armload out of the baby bathtub. Since we no longer use it to give the not-really-a-baby-anymore his bath it's become a de facto clothes hamper in the bathroom. As I stooped to scoop it hit me -- we don't use this object for its intended purpose, have not used it in at least six months, so why the hell is it taking up so much valuable bathroom real estate? Easy enough to give away, we certainly shall not miss it, and in going it will actually help keep the bathroom tidier (assuming we manage to get the clothes to the real clothes hamper in the bedroom). Also a perfect item for the Young Parents' Support Center donation-slash-invisibox.

Thus I am feeling much perkier about giving this bathtub away than giving away a baby bathtub ought to make one perk. I now suspect there could be all sorts of impedimenta -- objects which impede or encumber, people! -- all about the house, hiding in plain sight. It's just that they have become such a part of the home landscape that my eye passes over them, unquestioning. From now on I will have eyes that ask questions. At least in the morning, when I like to get the whole giving an object away thing done first thing.