Science Fairs and dirty dishes;-)

Kirk was really proud of his science fair experiment today - tornado in a jar. All the kids got medals and it was a good experience all around. I'm absolutely sure the time that was spent on this was more important than cleaning the kitchen, but the result was a mess of dishes still waiting to be done at 10 p.m. I'm finding myself a bit stretched as time goes on and deciding that I'm just going to have to be okay with dirty dishes more often. Greg has been a trooper taking up some of the slack - he just offered to do the big weekly grocery shopping, but there is just not time for everything and I've decided to try and be okay with the house not like I'd like it to be. Well that or just a whole lot less stuff at the house. Kirk and I were just reading a little blurb about the Greeks tonight, and the closing paragraph was timely.
"The story of Greek life is the story of both moderation and simplicity. Our material possessions, such as houses, furniture, books, and cars take up a great deal of the owner's time and attention. They have to be polished, brushed, painted, mended, and guarded. The Greeks would probably feel that we are not so much the owners of property as the slaves to our possessions. The Greeks wanted to be free in both body and mind. So that they could keep their liberty and be truly free in spirit, they reduced their daily needs to the lowest possible point."

But what to toss? What is excess? Tonight we watched a video called Science Rock from Schoolhouse Rock, we played a game called Marketplace before dinner and did two puzzles after dinner. All these things, purchased from thrift stores, do add to our lives in education and enjoyment, but admittely, all those things take time to organize, sort, find lost pieces, etc. I don't have a really good criteria list for what to keep/what to toss. Any thoughts? Good wishes! Eileen