That One Little Cubby

I would venture to say that each of us have a place in our house that is a catch-all for the things of life, a place where papers and mail and "things" just get tossed. A place that drives us nuts each time the location is viewed. And it's not a place that is cleaned on a regular basis for one reason or another.

For me, that place is the craft cubby. (Followed very closely by the countertop in the kitchen where the school papers, electrical gadgets, and mail tend to gather.)

This is a decent-sized cabinet near the back door of the kitchen. A picture of a dog paw is on the knob, thus leading me to wonder if the previous owners used to keep their canine supplies located here. In our family, we keep the craft supplies here. Paper, coloring books, hole punches, Play Dough, and egg cartons. And that is just what can be viewed at a glance. The top shelf contains pieces of paper - a forest, really - that have already been used for images of ponies, dinosaurs, princesses, family members/friends, and everything in between. Spencer has discovered the treasures hidden within and loves to pull things out, tasting each item before throwing it on the tile beside him.

Since this particular mess is hidden, I can ignore it for quite long periods of time. Until that one time when I can't. Then out comes the recycle bin and the iPad as I turn on some music and sort through the creations of my offspring. Recycle pile, keep pile, trash pile.

After cleaning it out, I have a feeling of great accomplishment. And then I try not to look as the papers pile precariously on the top shelf, parts of Play Dough sets are scattered abroad, and the egg cartons slowly take over...