What do you find when you clean out a closet?

So here's the boys' closet before shots. You can see attempts of trying to get them organized but obviously unsuccessful. I had a bookcase on one side but somehow the books always were on the floor. The top of the bookcase became a dumping spot for Timmy's basketball, his uniform and sneakers. I had purchased some bins from Target to help organize the one shelf in the closet, but they just weren't enough. I also had some Container Store drawers on the other side of the closet, another attempt to get them organized. But it wasn't enough.

...And so we emptied the closet and pulled out that one shelf. 

...We then painted the closet. Molly helped just like she did with her closet and Shannon's closet.

The elfa shelves from The Container Store made their way to the boys' room...their messy glory.

On Sunday, Chris finally got the shelves in and the cleaning of their room began.

The whole process of reorganizing their closet has led us to uncover little treasures of their past, present and their future. We started with their books. I asked the boys to sort their books, make a pile they want to donate, books that can be passed down to Molly, and then make categories of the books they were keeping. I found out that there are really only two categories, sport books and non-sport books.

These are the books that they read now. These are the books that they have read in the past and want to reread. There are times I have asked Timmy, "Haven't you read that book before?" He will respond with a "yes," but then explain how it was a while ago or last year and he forgets the details of the story but he remembers enjoying the characters, he remembers how the book made him feel when he read the story the first time. This then reminds me of what I tell my kids all the time, people may not always remember the words you say but they will remember how you made them feel. Did you make them feel welcome, did you make them feel included, did you make them feel like you were their friend? Books are the same way. We may not always remember all the details of a story, but if it was a good book, you will remember how you felt when you read it. For my boys, Mike Lupica, Dan Gutman, Matt Christopher books are the books that they read over and over again.

My boys love sports books. Not only can they tell you about today's athletes, but they can tell you the stories of the great players of the past...Ted Williams, Satchel Paige, and Lou Gehrig. Timmy is especially touched by Shoeless Joe's story and it breaks his heart that he was banned from baseball and couldn't enter the Hall of Fame.

This is a glimpse into the future. These are some of the books that have yet to be read, books that have been given to them from my brother who also enjoys a good story about sports. 

And here is the finished product...only the clothes that they wear today, only the things that they use today and we now know where everything is.

We found a home for Nealon #3 jersey so that I won't hear, "Mom, where's my jersey?"

We found a home for Nealon #2.

We also found a little something from the past, this adorable little sock, size 12-24 months. How could this still be in their stuff all these years, but it was.

Oh, how they have grown.

More stuff from the past, we found lots of clothes that were either too small or they just weren't going to wear anymore. The best way to organize is NOT to organize, but to get rid of your stuff.

We found some of their team baseball shirts from years past. They said they didn't want them anymore but I couldn't just throw them away without taking a picture. When Timmy saw the picture, he said, "Thanks, Mom!"

The best thing we found while cleaning out their closet are these empty drawers. The room feels lighter not having every space occupied. A little room for the future.