Finding Beauty

Kate finds beauty and value in everything she sees. This quality is also known as hoarding. She is constantly taking paper and cardboard out of the recycling bin to make "crafts." I often find pictures cut out from advertisements or small stacks of discarded coupons (this has been a favorite lately). Last week she made a "scolpchore" (sculpture) of a friend in our ward out of a marker lid and a red pom-pon.

After weeks of looking at her messy closet I decided it was time for an intervention. I started under the doll bed. I noticed it was getting a little crowded under there a few weeks ago when I found her ballet shoes stuffed among other things...like the cake mix puzzle box. This was originally designed as a Family Home Evening activity. She had drawn a picture, cut it into pieces, then jammed the puzzle pieces through the new top opening of the box. I regret we never did build the puzzle.

Along with the tissue box with the taped-over opening (???) I found a bug catcher made from a cardboard tube and some shelf liner. Ideally the bugs climb in through the small, jagged opening on the side and dance around for your viewing pleasure through the plastic mesh. This was on her nightstand. Ready and waiting.

Under her bed were plastic fairy wings, the valentine's day box from last year that had been converted into a "home," enough pearler beads to choke a small monkey, rocks, baby toys, books, dirty socks, and the new box of valentines that has been missing for several days (and this is just the stuff that wasn't in the storage bins under the bed).

When I unloaded the top two shelves of her closet I had an entire laundry basket of stuff. Four more arm loads cleared out the bins under her bed and all the papers and books stacked on top of her in-closet filing cabinet. Unfortunately the task was too large and I didn't get it all done before she came home from school. I was going to have to enlist Kate's help.

I was worried this would severely limit the amount of items going to the garbage can...and I was right. My sister keenly suggested I have her pick out a few things we could donate to the children in Haiti (Kate has been very concerned about them). Kate didn't take the bait.

Instead, each time we found another small meaningless trinket she would cry out, "I love that!"

To which I would reply, "But you never play with it!"

Her clever response? "That's because I couldn't find it!"

Soon I had resorted to the regular question, "Then where are you going to keep it?"

After asking this question about a tiny, 1/2" plastic baby she told me she wanted to keep it in the baby's home. This was a Ziploc Bag box complete with wooden bench, a car, drawn in rooms, and a portrait of baby's parents (cut out from an ad). That was a little too much. I soon resorted to sneaking stuff into the garbage bag while she was busy playing with something she couldn't live without that had just been rediscovered at the bottom of a large junk pile.

I managed to get rid of the glitter pens I foolishly gave her for Christmas a year ago. I chucked most of the McDonald's toys and all the broken costume jewelry. I tossed a garbage bag worth of paper, while keeping and filing any particularly adorable art projects or writing samples.

After several hours of work everything was organized and put back in its place and the closet shelves were clean. I rushed to take the garbage bag out before Kate noticed and attempted to retrieve any items. Just as I got to the big black garbage can I noticed a large yellow container next to the garage.

I had just found the outside stash.

If she couldn't sneak it out of the recycling inside, there was still hope before reaching the final dumping site. Between the garage and the fence I found a yellow jug from Shem's protein powder, several dozen rusted canning rings, and a square plastic lid. Sigh.