DD8 is a packrat!!

[bettyann29]

My kids are at their dads this weekend.. We bought our home in May and I still have alot of stuff packed in boxes in the garage and have been unpacking here and there.. I am having a garage sale in a few weeks and I figured while I am unpacking I can go thru the stuff and decide what to keep. I knew I needed to clean the girls room before I can put anymore stuff in there because it was a mess.. I decided to do it myself this weekend while they are gone so I can go thru it and get rid of what is not needed.. My DD8 is a packrat!!.. I thought DF was bad but geez not until I saw what DD8 was saving.. She has 7 bricks under her bed.. What does an 8 yr old need with bricks?? I found her library book that has been missing for 2 weeks under her bed... a bunch of her stuffed animals were stuffed under both beds.. I found cut out papers everywhere.. You name it I found it.. She had about 9 blue balloons blown up and stuffed in the bottom of her closet..

I already decided when she gets home we are going to have a talk.. my new rule will be if someone wants to give her something she has to ask permission first to see if it is something she needs or can use.. All the time people will give her stuff that they dont want anymore and of course it ends up in her room until it goes to my garage sale box or the trash..

 

[Mom21]

Yep got a 9yo one of those myself. Drives me batty That's me everytime I venture into her room. So I feel for you.

 

[Ready to go in Ok]

I found cut out papers everywhere..

Why do they do that? DD12 does the same thing. Cutouts from magazines, pages she made, etc. Some end up taped to her wall, some end up scattered around the house. I don't get it?

 

[Brianne]

I don't know if it would help but if you get into a routine of clearing things out, it might cut down on the clutter. I usually use Sunday mornings for everyone to clean things up because I hate starting off the week with a mess. Plus our trash day is Monday so none of it is sitting around long.

Clutter is one of those things that drives me insane.

 

[Stepharoonie!]

Yep got a 9yo one of those myself. Drives me batty That's me everytime I venture into her room. So I feel for you.

Another Mom like that here! I am always scared of what I'm going to find in my dd's room!

 

[momrek06]

I have a 20yo DS! Last year we were moving into a new home! DS is a BONAFIDE PACK RAT!!! He came home from college and in late May (with a June 1st move date) I told him to get himself organized and between all my household stuff and DH's few outside/garage items and all of his items we would have a garage sale.

WELLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! I made $75.00, DH made $25.00 and DS made OVER $400.00 on this garage sale. Now mind you, DH & I probably bought him everything he sold BUT he was GLOWING. Running all around screaming, waving the money and running into and out of the house getting more and more of his STUFF!!!

WELL WE FINALLY GOT DS ALL CLEANED OUT!!!!!!!!

This past year, he was away at college and when he returned in May again he had HIMSELF his own garage sale and again did very well!!!

I will do anything to keep the CRAP from piling up even if it means he gets to keep all the $$$$$$!!!!!

 

[FreshTressa]

We just moved in a couple of weeks ago and I feel your pain!

I swear half of the boxes belong to my DS, just turned nine!

 

[WDWfan36]

Yep got a 9yo one of those myself. Drives me batty That's me everytime I venture into her room. So I feel for you.

LOL

 

[tmt martins]

DD is a 3rd generation pacrat .

I'm bad but will just throw everything out in one swoop.

DM is the worse she has JUNK from when I was a kid that has no meaning to it at all.

 

[momrek06]

To all you Mom's posting on here with DD's and DS' having loads of JUNK, I have been doing some thinking re: JUNK and KIDS!!!

I would just leave them alone!!!

Seriously, sometimes that is a child's personality. My DS#2 who I posted about on here...his junk was harmless...he did have a ton...but it was HIS and he had a STORY behind everything. On occasion I would make sure there was no moldly food or filthy clothes hidden deep under his bed, but really he was always trying to find himself in all (what I called junk) he called COLLECTIBLES.

Today he is an outstanding ART student just completing studies at the The American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece and now he is at the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

I think sometimes, kids have a comfort zone with what is actually THEIRS and items they have bought, received, given to, all have very special meanings to each and every item (to them)!!

I used to clean his room and take items and PUT THEM ASIDE, if he did not mention those items for several months OUT THEY WOULD GO, all in MY effort to keep the Board of Health from showing up at my front door!!!

I don't know...just thought I would share that little tidbit with you all!!!

 

[Hannathy]

momrek06 I agree with you! I'm a pack rat and so is my DD. You can not even see the floor in her room and every surface is full and piled up but you know what I don't care. She is an absolutely wonderful teenager. She is very active in school and community activities, is a straight A student in AP classses and is 2-3 grade level above in everything else. I have never had to ground her or even really punish her. If this is her bad fault I'll take it! I really think you need to pick your battles and to me this one is not worth it.

 

[momrek06]

momrek06 I agree with you! I'm a pack rat and so is my DD. You can not even see the floor in her room and every surface is full and piled up but you know what I don't care. She is an absolutely wonderful teenager. She is very active in school and community activities, is a straight A student in AP classses and is 2-3 grade level above in everything else. I have never had to ground her or even really punish her. If this is her bad fault I'll take it! I really think you need to pick your battles and to me this one is not worth it.

Hannathy, !!!!!