my Monica-closet house

My house is not the unbelievable, disastrous mess you see as the "before" in the show Clean House. But just like Monica (see more of my Friends obsession here), I've got a closet... okay, a corner... fine! corners and drawers... that are shamefully piled high with category-less clutter.

Now that I have time on my hands (see related post here), I've been cleaning out those closets, corners & drawers that have accumulated clutter since we moved in 8 years ago. Am far from done but so far, I've unearthed 2 VHS players, 3 telephones, 3 vacuum cleaners - all in the storage cabinets under the stairs.

I also found my Advantix rolls, so organized in their special box. 

This, together with film negatives and "developed" photos, are now in the box of photos here.

I also found these casette tapes... 

I have always been an OST lover. Do you remember Ally McBeal and Reality Bites? The Apo & Michael V ones are my hubby's. No one has owned up to owning the Randy Santiago tape though. Amazing how we still have a brand new tape (which has a price tag at the back of P47, just in case you wanted to know).

The Basia CD isn't even mine! Borrowed it from my friend S in college and turns out, I never returned it! Eeep! 

Notice the masking tape label on the Workshy CD? That was for our wedding - to guide the music guy on which tracks to play and when. How primitive huh? The hubby and I scrambled to put these labels on our CDs the day before our wedding! When wedding coordinators and digitally-organized-playlists didn't exist yet.

I also found stacks & stacks of Isabella's childhood books and VHS tapes. After taking out those that can be handed down to Noah and my nieces, I gathered everything up for donation to the Philippine Toy Library. I have to admit I was teary-eyed the day I said goodbye to my baby girl's books & Veggie Tales movies. But the idea that they would now make other children happy felt pretty good.

So far, this de-cluttering has been a dusty yet delightful trip down memory lane. :)

Photos are my own and from here.

Click here for the ofdotsnthings version of this post. Click here for another ancient thing about my wedding. 

Philippine Toy Library is a group of volunteer-friends who provide the experience of play to Filipino children living in cramped, congested areas. PTL transforms idle spaces in barangays/schools/parishes into fun & educational playrooms to keep kids off the streets. Drop-off point for donations is near Ateneo, behind Kenny Rogers, at 56 Esteban Abada Street Loyola Heights, QC (zip code is 1108 in case you want to send them a box of toys just like a friend of mine from Singapore recently did). So go and de-clutter your homes, donate to PTL & bring joy to more Filipino kids.