More books than Amazon

Day 18 Saturday

I've appreciated the help from G and his mum over the previous couple of weeks, but this weekend I decide to do it alone with the sister. We need to tackle the girls’ bedroom and it's going to take some sensitivity, not that I feel I have much at the moment but I'll give it a go.

We sort out the book shelf corner of the room where toys, clothes, drink bottles, sweet rubbish and other 'stuff' is piled high. More books appear, so many books Amazon should be worried about the competition! As we've now cleared a space and actually got to the book shelves I ask the sister to sort ones to keep and ones that can go.

She's making good choices until I come across a book where all the pieces have been pushed out. It's one of those where the pages are cardboard and you take out the clothes pieces to hang on a flat cardboard girl to dress her up. The book has no pieces left and there's no story or anything that goes with it so I think it's for the bin. The sister disagrees and thinks it should be kept as she has the pieces in a folder somewhere. That's great but why do we need the book then? I ask her. She just does! I completely lose it at this point: is this book more important that having your girls return to you?! You can't keep all this crap, they don't miss any of this stuff while they're at my house!

The sister starts crying. I tell her I'm upset too, but things can't go on like this. She wins that battle and keeps the book. She sorts the rest of the books in silence.

I continue there for another few hours, sorting 2 built in cupboards and other toys into boxes, and manage to empty 3 other large plastic boxes. There's quite a few bags of things she has said can be sold or thrown away, so progress is being made, the only thing is we gave nowhere to put things to be sold so for now they must stay in the bedroom.

I tell her to brace herself for tomorrow as I'm coming round to sort soft toys and at least half need to go! I can already see her getting anxious and worried about this prospect, but it must happen. I can't think of a better way to spend my May bank holiday weekend!

Books nicely sorted in the right place