Over the weekend we tidied up our bedroom. On moving our big king size bed, my husband complained at how heavy it seemed. I couldn’t understand it thinking it just full of sheets and pillowcases, however, that turned out not to be the case. Instead we uncovered a complete two large draws of clothes we and the children hadn’t worn in some time. I know that because some of the children’s clothes wouldn’t fit a child older than 5 and my youngest is now 21. It doesn’t take long to do the arithmetic and discover that these clothes must have lain there untouched for around 15 years which is longer than we’ve been in this house!! Obviously we never felt their lack. It made me think though, it’s so easy to let our gifts and talents lay dormant so long that they become covered in dust and rendered virtually useless, forgotten by the world and forgotten by us. We had a good clear out and now have produced two large bags one for recycling and one for charity. What a shame to think that these clothes had lain there untouched for so long when others could have been having the use of them. A good clear out is also the time to prioritise what is really important to us at the start of the year. I’m indebted to an article by Joanne Borrill in the February edition of Writer’s News magazine for these thoughts www.writers-online.co.uk  Joanne says time is precious and we all have the same 24 hours in each day whether we’re Leonardo da Vinci or Mother Teresa. By the end of this year 2013 we will probably find that we have filled our year with the things we have considered important to us. This is a challenge to me. How important is writing to me and how many other things do I let fill my time instead? Even emails, facebook and Twitter can be blamed here. Good to keep in touch with others but not at the cost of leaving those gifts and talents to lie gathering dust!