What Goes Around, Comes Around

I stopped at Walmart today. It was on my way home from school and I needed toilet paper and cleaning supplies, so I decided, instead of driving out of the way to my beloved Target, to stop at Wallyworld. As I walked in, a Walmart employee started to say, “Welcome” to me, but coughed instead. Actually, coughed isn’t quite the word for it. It was kind of like a, “Welcome to Walcough cough hack hack aaaaaggghhhh hauck cough.” And then her lung fell out at my feet. Without missing a beat (because I am so much cooler than your average Walmart shopper), I carefully maneuvered my cart around her lung and went about my shopping while Typhoid Mary spread her disease.

As I pushed my cart down the aisles, I noted the degenerate interesting folks shopping there. There was the young boy wearing socks and sandals which should be a crime in and of itself, but these were no ordinary socks, no ma’am. These were pink socks. And they weren’t just ordinary pink socks, no sir. One had pink butterflies on it and the other one had pink and red hearts. Yeah.

I noticed a couple teens wearing knit ski caps. I know this is fashionable in teen world, but when the temperature is in the 90s every stinkin’ day, why on earth would any sane person put a knit cap on their head??? Why?!

I saw an old man who looked like Uncle Jesse from The Dukes of Hazzard. I thought about asking him how it was working with John Schneider and Tom Wopat, but after seeing his toothless grin, reconsidered and simply smiled back instead.

And then I saw the most priceless outfit of all. A woman, easily in her 70s wore her long gray hair, braided and twisted into a lovely grandmotherly-looking bun. She wore sensible, orthopedic shoes. And she wore short-shorts with a skimpy halter top, leaving her abdomen, which, if she wasn’t in her 70s, I would swear was nine months pregnant, bare. Attractive. I pulled out my phone, clicked the camera icon and nonchalantly aimed it at her, ready to click a picture. She smiled and said, “Hah” so I wimped out, lowered my phone and smiled back.

After paying for my purchases, I walked out to my car, loaded the bags into the back, and sat down in the driver’s seat. As I pulled my seat belt across my lap, I realized my shorts were unzipped. Yep, I just walked around Walmart making fun of people and the whole time my fly was down. 

Now that’s class.

The moral of the story is: Make sure your pants are zipped before you make fun of the characters at Walmart or you might find them taking pictures of you even as you snap pictures of them.

The One with the Foreign Language

As most of you know, my kids and I recently moved from Chicagoland to Central Florida. Although we like it here, we’re learning that things are very different down south. One of the things we’ve learned is that people are extra-friendly down here. And they speak a different language too!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Where's 7?

First, let me begin by asking my friend, Doreen, not to read this. Doreen, close this window and go play on Facebook instead. Really, you’ll thank me for it later.

Okay then. Lexi’s friend, Ally (and my friend, Doreen’s, daughter) has been staying with us this week. The girls were really missing each other so Doreen put Ally on a plane to come visit for a while.  When Ally and Lexi first saw each other at the airport, they ran to one another and grabbed each other in an airport hug like something out of the movies. I cried.

Anyway, we’ve been doing fun things with Ally, showing her some of the cool things about Florida while, at the same time, taking advantage of the last couple weeks before school starts to cram in a few more memories. We’ve gone to the pool, to Clearwater Beach, and last night, after dinner, we drove to Downtown Disney to walk around, window shop, and just hang out for a while. It started raining on our way there, so we sat in the car for a bit, waiting it out. After twenty minutes or so, the rain seemed to have passed so we took our chances and headed out.

No sooner had we left the comfort of my van, than it started raining again. We ducked into a store and looked around until the rain let up a bit, then we, once again, ventured out. We walked along, looking in shops here and there as it alternately drizzled and poured. We were walking toward the end of the strip when I realized we’d gotten to Pleasure Island (which is all bars), so I prepared to turn around and walk back. That’s when Jackson said, “Where’s Clayton?”

Now, I do the headcount thing regularly when we’re out. It’s part of my subconscious. It’s an instinct thing. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. So I know Clay had just been with us. But now? Now he was missing. I kicked myself because I hadn’t given the kids my “If you get lost or separated from us” speech. Why hadn’t I reminded him to stay put if he got lost?

My kids insisted they’d seen him running ahead, so we continued to move forward, calling his name, searching the crowd for his face. By this time, it was pouring rain, so as we ran, we glanced in shops, thinking he might have ducked into one to escape the rain. We couldn’t find him. I told the other kids to stay there and watch for him while Austin and I backtracked, frantically calling out Clay’s name while squinting through the deluge of rain, hoping to get a glimpse of his red shirt. Nothing.

Austin and I headed back to the other kids. By this time, it looked like we’d all jumped into a pool. Every inch of our clothing was soaked, our hair was dripping, our shoes were squishing through the deep puddles of standing water and still the rain fell in sheets, making it near impossible to see.

I gathered everyone and headed toward a huge Disney store, thinking that someone there should be able to help, call security, call Clayton over a PA system, or something. Then I saw a flash of red. A little kid wearing a red shirt was running several yards in front of us. I screamed, “Clayton!” Was that him? It totally looked like him. I think it might have been him. Austin and Jackson took off running, trying to catch up with the flash of red that we thought might have been Clay. Jackson slipped on the wet pavement and landed hard on his lower back. They lost site of the kid in red. I yelled out to everyone, “Stay here together! I’m going to get security,” then I slipped into the crowd of people in the Disney store.

At this point, the panic started to set in. Or maybe it wasn’t panic exactly. I didn’t think anyone had taken off with Clay. I didn’t think he’d be lost forever. I was sure we’d find him soon, but the thought of my little boy, wandering around, lost and scared, sent a wave of gut-wrenching emotion through me. I can’t even name the feeling. Any parent who has ever experienced that moment when you can’t locate your kid knows the feeling. And any parent who has ever felt that will tell you that they never want to experience it again.

I gave my description of Clay to a cast member who called security. She told me to wait there so security could contact me. I told the woman I needed to grab up my other kids and I’d be right back. If any of you have been to Downtown Disney, you know this World of Disney store is enormous! I mean, it’s HUGE! It’s like 10 stores all connected together. It took me a while to navigate through the crowds of people and find my way back out. When I reached the doors, my kids all shouted, “We found him! He and Austin went in the store to find you!”

Ugh, knowing the size of that store, it could be days before I saw them again. I headed back into the store to look for Austin and Clay, and to tell employees they could call off the manhunt. After wandering around, and not seeing the boys anywhere, I wound my way through the wall-to-wall people, back toward the door where I saw all six of my kids plus Ally. Whew!

I grabbed Clay and hugged him. I choked back my tears until I saw his red eyes. The thought of him lost, scared, and crying made me lose it.

“Where did you find him?” I asked.

“By the car! He was just standing there by our car!”


“How did you think to look by our car? How on earth did he find our car? Oh my gosh! I can’t believe he walked out to the car!” Then, to Clay, “How did you find our car? Why did you go to the car? Did you think we were going to leave without you?” I asked, incredulously. I mean, look at this map? Do you see all the parking lots?!

DD Map 300x136 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Wheres 7?
Image: WDWInfo.com

Jackson piped up and said that he was the one who thought maybe Clay had headed to the car. I have to admit, I don’t think that would’ve crossed my mind. I wouldn’t have thought that Clay would think to head to the parking lot and even if he’d had that plan, I didn’t think he’d be able to retrace our steps and find the parking lot.

After a brief “If you ever get lost, just stop right where you are and we’ll find you” speech, we decided to get the heck out of there as it was still raining cats and dogs. As we walked toward the parking lot, we realize we were the only ones out in the rain. People stood in the doorways and under the awnings of the shops and watched us as if we were some sort of parade of idiots. We just laughed. We were so relieved to have found Clay that now we just laughed and laughed. We splashed through the puddles a la Gene Kelly, we danced around, we looked at each other’s hair plastered to our faces and our dripping clothes, and we just laughed. Savannah had mascara dripping down her nose. My sunglasses were perched crazily on my head, half sliding down my wet hair. People must have thought we were insane. But we didn’t care.  We were all together.

020 300x200 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Wheres 7?

021 300x200 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Wheres 7?


023 200x300 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Wheres 7?

Goodnites Twitter Party!

I have a few different writing jobs, but one of my very favorites is writing articles for Goodnites.com. I just love helping parents who have questions about bedwetting! Tomorrow night I'll be participating in a Twitter party about parenting in the post-toddler years, hosted by Goodnites. Please join me! We'll be chatting, answering questions, trading parenting ideas, and giving away some prize packs full of awesome goodies including $100 AmEx gift cards! Who couldn't use that, right?

WHEN: Tuesday, August 2 from 9-11PM (ET)
DETAILS ON MOM IT FORWARD: CLICK HERE

Be there or be square left out and sad and lonely while we all have fun chatting and winning cool stuff. So be there!

Sunday Sound Out

From Orlando, where armadillos roam free, it's your host, the woman who single-handedly broke half her sprinklers while edging with a shovel because she's special that way, Dawn Meehan! Now here are the answers to your questions from the past couple weeks.

Are you and your kids excited about watching the last shuttle launch from you back yard or at least nearby?
The kids were less than excited, so I opted to watch it from my computer instead of forcing them to go and listening to them complain while battling half a million people on the coast.

Also, I have discovered your daughter's celebrity match--Rachel McAdams. Have you heard that before?
Nope, I've never heard that. I don't really see it. Then again, I always hear that I look like or sound like Kirstie Alley and I totally don't see that either.

DId I miss anything, Austin has a gf now? Great! So does it mean they cant see each other now :(
Yeah, he's had a girlfriend since March, I think. They still talk online most days.

I thought of you today. Aren't you glad now that you're here in Florida, compared to being in the heat of the midwest?!
Yeah, but it'll cool off in a week or so back home. Here? Notsomuch. Besides, anything over 90 is hot. It doesn't really matter what the thermometer says when it gets to that point.

Oh..have you encountered any of the local wildlife yet?
Like the alligators? Or flying cockroaches? Or lizards? Or frogs? Or armadillos? Or snakes? Or red ants? I've seen them all and I still think I may have driven farther south than Florida. Like maybe Brazil.

While I have no comment regarding the self-inflicted haircuts (only one of my kids ever did that, and it wasn’t too bad), I have to comment on Brooklyn! When did she get so grown up???? Where’d the little pre-schooler go?
I don't know! I was just thinking the same thing. I've done a double-take a couple of times, thinking she was Lexington. Of course, Brooklyn still acts like Brooklyn. (That's not necessarily a good thing.)

SSO question: My Oldest Boy (8) is just about to start organized sports. Which means practices and meets…all with our 3 younger kids in tow. Advice? Did you feed everyone before you went? While you were there? After you got home? How do you keep the other kids (relatively) happy? This is all new territory for me so any advice (or good humor tips) would be great! I’m NOT a single mom but for all intents and purposes during this phase of the day I will be (my husband works until 6PM).
Good question! Pack a bag with items to amuse the younger kids and keep it in the car. Include coloring books, paper, crayons, art supplies, outdoor toys like balls, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, etc., snacks, bottles of water, sweatshirts, and wipes/hand sanitizer (because they ALWAYS have to go to the bathroom while you're at the game and port-a-potties are gross!) When you feed them depends on when you have to get them to practices/games. I sometimes fed my kids before the game, but they usually ended up hungry afterward and needed a snack when we got home. Sometimes, I just packed dinner and fed the little kids at the game. Oftentimes, there are other kids and playgrounds to occupy the little ones. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Wow, did you take that rainbow picture?
Yep. I take almost all the pictures on my blogs (unless otherwise noted). The sunsets, sky, and rainbows down here are just gorgeous.

Where can we write Sunday Sound Out questions? Wanted to tell you how happy I am for you and the kids, and was wondering if any family from home has been in contact since you're moved?
Sure, I've talked to most of my family and friends from back home. Technology is a good thing!

The kids and I tried out a new church today. I just didn't feel really comfortable going to the huge one we'd been visiting. I mean, I know I could join a small group and get to know people. I know I shouldn't expect people to just come up and introduce themselves to me, but after a couple visits, it just felt like a big, impersonal church to me. So we decided to try out a different one today. And people at this church actually did come up and introduce themselves to us! Members encouraged my kids to attend youth group. People actually went around the room and introduced themselves to me in my Sunday school class. It was nice. I didn't enjoy the worship service as much as megachurch's, but I liked the small, friendly, homey feel of this one. I believe we'll go back next week.

Have a sunshiny week!

You Might be a Mom If . . .

“You know, the root of the word Miller is a Greek word. Miller come from the Greek word “milo,” which is mean “apple,” so there you go. As many of you know, our name, Portokalos, is come from the Greek word “portokali,” which mean “orange.” So, okay? Here tonight, we have, ah, apple and orange. We all different, but in the end, we all fruit.”

I love that quote from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. We’re all different, yet we have many things in common. I’m talking about moms here. Moms are a unique breed and we have much in common with each other. We speak a secret language only other moms can understand. We understand “mom behavior” that may baffle those who have never cared for a child. Moms understand the “Mom Purse”.  They understand how one could go weeks without shaving one’s legs simply because it could be dangerous to take that much time in the shower when there are small kids and crayons in the next room.  Moms get it when you say your maternity clothes are simply your clothes despite the fact your baby is in high school.

So, here, in no particular order, are a dozen things that set us moms apart from the crowd.

You might be a mom if . . .

REASON # 1

…you’ve ever put your hand out to catch something your child spits out of his mouth, or wiped snot from your child’s face – with your bare hand. This is what moms do. I don’t know why this is, but ask any mom and she’ll tell you the same.

REASON # 2

…you’ve ever uttered the phrase “Take the hotdog out of your nose”, “We don’t lick our friends”, “No, frogs do not fly”, or “Because I said so!” Moms tend to say some crazy, inane words and the thing is – we don’t even realize it. To us, it’s perfectly normal to say, “Stop burping show tunes at the dinner table.”

REASON # 3

…you’ve ever updated your Facebook status with “the funniest thing your child just said” or “the cutest thing your child just did”.

REASON # 4

…your favorite television show is a cartoon. I recently wrote on Facebook how much I loved Phineas and Ferb and within minutes, I had over forty comments from other moms admitting their love of kids’ shows. image: DisneyChannel

REASON # 5

…you’ve ever had a conversation about poop at the dinner table. “Hey Mom, I had a sinker this morning, pass the orange juice.”

REASON # 6

…you’ve subsisted a week on nothing but your kid’s leftovers. Lucky Charms, mac-n-cheese, and chicken nuggets. It’s a
health mom thing.

REASON # 7

…you know how to get nail polish out of carpet, permanent marker off the dining room table, gum out of hair, playdough out of clothing, and disposable diaper gel out of the washing machine.

REASON # 8

…you have Barbie shoes, Legos, used tissues, a sucker covered in lint, cookie crumbs, fruit snacks, a Match Box car, a pacifier, a rock, and the handle from the toilet in your purse. And all that seems perfectly normal to you.

REASON # 9

…you have thirty coloring book apps on your phone. The phone that’s covered with sticky, little finger prints. Yeah, that phone. The one you never get to use.

REASON # 10

…you stand by the window, waiting for the mailman (which, incidentally, is the highlight of your day) just to
see what he brought you have a little adult conversation.

REASON # 11

…you’ve ever pretended to be asleep when a child comes into your room at 5:00AM just to buy yourself another five minutes of sleep.

REASON # 12

…you’ve ever sat through a baseball game in 30 degree weather, put together a science project at midnight, sewed a Halloween costume, forgotten to play Tooth Fairy, potty trained a child, taught a child to drive, taught a child to swim, fed your kids ice cream for breakfast because you were just too tired to fight about it, or found a toy dinosaur in the toilet.

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

Tomorrow night marks four weeks that we’ve been here in Florida. In some ways, it seems like we just got here. In others, it feels like we’ve always lived here. I don’t know how to explain it. I really thought I’d be spending my nights, curled up in bed, sobbing over how much I miss my old house. I haven’t done that even once. I thought I’d have moments of melancholy as memories of good times with friends flashed through my head. I haven’t experienced that either. I mean, I do miss my friends, but I haven’t had any gut-wrenching feelings of loneliness. I want to breathe a sigh of relief that this move is indeed a good thing and the reason it seems so easy is because it’s an improvement and a much needed change. But I’m afraid to let my guard down and relax because Murphy’s Law dictates that everything will fall apart in that instant.

It just seems somehow wrong that we could adjust this easily. We should be struggling more, right? We should be wrestling with mixed emotions. And we just aren’t. I mean, the kids have had a couple brief moments where, in missing their friends, they yelled out that they hate Florida, but within minutes, they’ve changed their minds and they tell me they love it here.

Other than a handful of boxes in the garage, things are unpacked and put away. The walls are still bare, but it definitely looks like a family lives here. A very messy family with half a dozen kids, that is. A very messy family that’s spilled nail polish on the floor. A very messy family with wet towels lying all over the lanai. Yeah, that family. I have a new license, my plates and registration have been switched to Florida. Savannah has her permit and Austin will be getting his later this week. I found a place to get low cost physicals for the kids (since I don’t have medical insurance) and as soon as that’s done, I can get them signed up for school. I’m learning my way around here and know where the important things are – the pool and Target. One by one, I’ve crossed things off my mile-long to-do list. I’ve taken care of things, paid bills, put furniture together, ordered appliances, spent time with the kids, gotten cable, internet, and phone hooked up, bought birthday presents for family and friends, opened a UPS box, written dozens of articles, taken care of my lawn to please the HOA, tackled the mountain of paperwork needed to register kids for school in a new state, and gathered estimates to submit a claim to the warranty company.

But I can’t shake this feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m so happy that I’m happy about the move. So when will I be able to sit back, relax, and be confident that I’m not going to wake up one morning, suddenly miserable?

I Tried Childproofing my Home, but They Keep Getting In

I recently viewed this short video with tips on babyproofing your kitchen so it’s safe for toddlers yet still aesthetically pleasing. The expert in the video recommends putting those little plastic latches on the inside of your cabinets so as not to create the ugly eyesore of a big white lock on the outside. I wonder if the expert has kids? Or has ever been around kids? Or knows anything about kids?

I know, firsthand, that it takes an average of three tries before a toddler figures out how to depress those little childproof latches on a cabinet. There are other options out there for locking your cabinets. One that I had in my old house was a sturdy lock that could only be opened with a strong magnet. I thought it was great! Until my child found the hidden magnet and lost it, but not before using it to turn the TV all sorts of pretty rainbow colors.

CONTINUE READING HERE!

Just a Little Off the Top, Please.

In my book, Because I Said So, I wrote a section on haircuts (or more specifically, the haircuts kids give themselves and their siblings). I think every one of my kids has had at least one self-inflicted haircut over the years. I’ve given up all efforts to stop it from happening. There is no stopping it. It WILL happen. Once you resign yourself to this fact, you can breathe a little more easily. When it does eventually come to pass, you’ll need to remind yourself that hair grows. Practice now. Repeat after me – Hair grows, hair grows, hair grows. It’s no big deal; it’s hair. Hair grows back. So she’ll look like a freak for a while. It’s okay. All kids do this. Buy a copy of my book for reference and bookmark this page because I guarantee when you first see those strands of hair on the ground indicating that your little one has found the scissors, you’ll forget that it’s just hair and you’ll freak out. At least for a minute or two.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to deal with the situation when your young child takes it upon herself to cut her hair.

CONTINUE READING HERE!

Driving me to Drink

I took Savannah to get her permit today.  Part of me was hoping she’d fail her test so I could put off teaching her to drive for just a little longer. But unfortunately, she passed.  I mean, yay! She passed her test and got her permit! I’m so proud!

I guess I’ve had it easy with Austin who will be seventeen in a couple months. He doesn’t have his permit, nor does he have any real desire to drive. Maybe I should encourage him to get his permit, but I figure the longer he waits, the less insurance will cost and the more mature he’ll be when he starts driving. Savannah, on the other hand, is more like I was when I was her age. She’s just chomping at the bit to get behind the wheel.

My dad taught me how to drive. We went to the big, empty parking lot of a college near our house. I don’t remember my mom taking me out driving often. Now I think I know why. It’s freaking scary! My mom knocked a Fred Flintstone-like hole in the floorboard, trying to use the non-existent passenger side brake. Tonight, I did the same thing. I also caused some nerve damage in my right hand from gripping the door so tightly. It’s okay; I’m starting to get feeling back in my hand this evening. Tingling is a good sign, right?

Savannah did a fine job. She drove around the parking lot for a while, she practiced parking and backing up, and then she drove the couple blocks home on the little side streets. I, on the other hand, didn’t do such a great job. I mean, I pretty much stayed calm and kept my cool even when she hit the curb, but inside I was fuh-reak-ing out. People make mistakes when they’re learning something new. It happens. But, in the case of driving, making a mistake could cost you, and/or others, your lives. That’s some serious stuff.

I think part of the reason I’m having such a hard time with this whole driving thing is because I have a huge car. I mean, I drive the “church van”! It’s a big ole Chevy Express 200 passenger van! It’s hard to maneuver and park. There are many blind spots. It was an adjustment when I started driving this van and I was an experienced driver.

I know, in my mind, that the only way for her to learn is to practice. The only way for her to gain the experience and wisdom required to be a good, defensive driver, is by putting in many hours of driving practice. I know this in my mind. But my gut? Well, my gut says, “Pull over so I can throw up! Here! Pull over here! Slow down! Watch out for that armadillo in the road! Ohmygosh, did you hit it? Pull over now! Don’t hit the curb! Put it in park! Park, not reverse! Aaarrgh!”

And then I blow up like Mrs. Puff.

Just Another Day in Paradise

I took the kids to swim this evening. I didn’t bother to put my own suit on, but instead grabbed a notebook and pen to take notes for some blog posts. It was a long day. I was feeling tired and down, and was looking forward to watching my kids play in the water while I lounged in the shade with my notebook. Fate, however, had other plans.

Brooklyn was playing with her facemask and snorkel. She has no clue how to use a snorkel and I’m just waiting for the day the lifeguard has to rescue her from the water-filled breathing device.  It’s futile trying to teach her how to use it too because she’s five and knows much, much more than I do, so naturally, she’s insulted if I dare to suggest something crazy like keeping the end of the snorkel above the surface of the pool.


Clay kept asking her for a turn with the snorkel. Brooklyn refused to share. Clay came to me with his complaint. I told Brooklyn, “Take turns and share or I’ll give the the snorkel to Clay for the rest of the evening.” She took that very well. I believe her exact words were, “NO!” as she swam away from the edge of the pool. The one time I hadn’t put my suit on, of course, and she was swimming out of my reach. I enlisted Savannah’s help in catching her and bringing her to me poolside. Brooklyn took that very well too. I believe her exact words were, “I hate you!”

At this point, we’re a freak show that has gained the attention of everyone at the pool. All eyes are on the bratty child and the mom who obviously has no clue how to discipline. I wanted to throw her in the car and take her home right then and there so I could grab a beer, but my other five kids were behaving beautifully and they’d waited all day for the chance to go to the pool and cool off. I didn’t want to punish them for her attitude. Instead, I grabbed up Brooklyn who kept making a bee-line back toward the pool and held her. So much for relaxing. So much for writing. So much for staying dry.

I quietly told her to get a grip and calm down. She screamed. I calmly told her she could go back in the pool once she got control of herself. She kicked. I whispered that she needed to take a deep breath and settle down. She tried to bite me.

I knew everyone at the pool was staring at me. I could feel their eyes burning into my back, but I dared not look. I know I might have seen a friendly ‘been there, done that’ look from another parent. But I still wasn’t willing to look up because I knew there was just as good a chance I’d see a disapproving, shake of someone’s head who was judging me as completely incompetent.

I held my ground and kept my screaming, crying child out of the pool. When the pool closed, soon after the whole Brooklyn extravaganza began, Austin, Savannah, Jackson, Lexington, Clayton, and I gathered our things and started walking to our car. Brooklyn, on the other hand, stood there pouting and crabbing. So we left her. We knew she’d give up and follow us. Eventually. But the darn lifeguard, needing to rescue someone, came to her defense. I briefly thought of running to the car and burning rubber, leaving the lifeguard to take Brooklyn home with him, but he seemed like a really nice guy and I didn’t want to do that to him. So we took her home with us and it only took me a quick ten minutes to buckle her writhing body into her car seat!

She’s in bed now. And I’m grabbing that beer.

Donating Your Old Stuff is a Win-Win!

The cool thing about moving is the chance, nay, the obligation to declutter. I was ruthless in getting rid of anything and everything in my old house that hadn't served a specific purpose. If it was packed away in my attic and hadn't been touched in years, it was discarded. If it was old, outdated, broken, useless, it was tossed. After all my cleaning, I ended up donating fourteen garbage bags and several boxes full of clothes and household goods to Wings. I had less stuff to move, Wings got some great stuff that they can sell, the people who buy the items will get a terrific deal, and the money raised will go to support programs that help women and children fleeing domestic violence. Everyone wins!









You don't actually have to move to clean out and donate either. Back to school time is perfect for going through old clothes and taking inventory before buying new. And when you donate to a place with a retail shop, you can shop for new clothes there, saving money! And don't forget to keep track of your donations for tax purposes!