Spring Cleaning Tip: A Lesson from a Diaper Bag

We hit a pretty big milestone in our home last week; we threw away our diaper bag!  My 2 year old (soon to be 3) has yet to fully master the “big potty”, and apparently likes the freedom that comes with being able to “go” and play at the same time.  However, he’s taken to carrying around a little backpack, and in a recent light bulb moment, we decided that he could carry his own diapers and wipes going forward.  So, while cleaning his closet the other night, I took one look at the diaper bag and said, “It’s time.”

While to some this may not sound like a major event, but to anyone who’s lugged around the bottomless pit of necessities that accompany a baby will appreciate just how exciting this moment was.  This bag has been a member of our family for the last 3 years.  Wherever we went it had to also go.  It was our bag of “everything we will or might need to take care of our children (both of them) and any other child that might need something due to their parent being in-a-pinch”.  I was ecstatic to get rid of this thing and my husband even commented on the smile that couldn’t have been wiped from my face.  Tossing this bag was like lifting 5 pounds off my shoulder (literally).

Then the next morning, as I was taking something else out to the trash, I saw it there; all alone and cold in our trash can.  OK, so I got a little sad.  I mean this bag has been an important part of our family and has always been there to help us in our times of need.  The memories of this bag being at every major milestone for my son came flooding back; the hospital when he was born, at baptism, vacations, birthdays, holidays, and more.

So, no, I didn’t take the diaper bag out of the garbage (eww).  But, I did have to take a moment to remind myself that all those memories aren’t gone with the trash.  They are held in my mind and in my heart, not in any bag.  What I had thought was merely a milestone for my young son was a lesson of growth for me, too.  The incident inspired me to look at other things in my house a little differently – what else am I holding on to, and for what reasons? 

I have a new mental checklist while I’m cleaning now…Do I use it?  Do I love it?  Does it make me happy?  Perfect...Just in time for spring cleaning!

Becky,
Sister of Soul

Soulspiration of the Week:“Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”  ~Kevin Arnold