I really do try to be thankful all year, although sometimes it seems that I do more complaining than I should, I truly am grateful for so many things. My list of “thankfuls” is probably a lot like yours; I am thankful for my family, my faith, my life, my home and my freedom.

But today I would like to express my thanks for clutter. I’m thankful for the clutter in my life because it means I am lucky enough to have stuff. I am so blessed, that I have devoted one whole bedroom in my home as a shrine of sorts to the things I have that I haven’t gotten around to putting away.

Some people might look into that room and consider it a lost cause, a junk room or the black hole of Kepner Hill.

It’s the room where all the Christmas gifts are stored. Wrapping paper for all occasions waits to turn a plain box into a present. All the leftover thread and patterns from dozens of stitching projects are hidden under the bed until I have the time and patience to categorize, organize and systematize.

The bed is there somewhere–I can see the legs– but the lovely bedspread is camouflaged by a pile of clothes that need to be sorted into a keep-and-donate piles.

The other day I added to the ever growing disarray of the clutter room and I swear I saw a wooden duck decoy perched on the bed. I’m not sure how long Mr. Duck has been nesting there, but he should be relocated to a more appropriate resting place.

Some of you probably have a junk drawer or two in your homes that you plan to sort through one of these days. Well I have a room full of stuff I plan to get around to. I am thankful for that room. I am thankful to have family and friends that will receive the gifts that are stored there. While I am not quite as thankful for the clothes that have shrunken in size from one season to the next, I am happy to find them a home where they are needed. I might even be thankful for the wooden duck if I knew what to do with it.

While the economy has us stressed and the future seems uncertain to many, I am very thankful for all that I have. A wonderful family, a warm happy home and just enough clutter to make me realize that I am truly blessed.