The new year has begun. Time to clear out the old to make way for the new. But while sorting through a cupboard, you come across your son's old baby clothes. You stop, take down the box and pull out a newborn's vest. It's tiny. You can hardly believe he was once so small. How on earth can you throw this away? Back in the box it goes. "I'll sort it out another time," you tell yourself.
Parting with baby gear can be a key moment in a mother's life. It means accepting that the children are growing up and moving on and, for the mother, admitting that perhaps the defining period of her life, the childbearing years, is over. For some, this can be a very difficult, emotional event. For others it is simply a practical task - throwing away obsolete toys and sterilisers, making room for Game Boys and tennis rackets.
Lina Grizi, who has two daughters aged seven and four, has been selective about what she has kept since her children were born. She bought each girl a big box and has filled it with what she calls "small memories". As Grizi explains, "I put in each box every first thing they had: their first clothes they wore in the hospital, and at Christmas. Their first shoes, pacifiers, birthday cards, that sort of thing." She even kept a tiny newborn nappy - "an unused one! Just to remember the size they once were". The boxes provide her with lovely memories. "All these little things are very dear to me. Pictures are not enough."
If she had another child, Grizi says she would buy everything new. "The baby stuff I had would be over eight years old, and things change so much, I would prefer to buy them new. Plus, I might have a boy, and he would need different things." She gave most of her baby kit to friends, the Red Crescent and to a charity working with orphans in her native Lebanon.
Like Grizi, Lizzie Tricks, mother to George, 13, and Lydia, four, is phlegmatic about getting rid of her baby kit. "Storage space in Abu Dhabi is a real issue. For a start, I have no attic, so I had to clear out George's baby things," she says. "It was hard to give things away, but it's bad enough finding room for suitcases, let alone bags of baby clothes." She gave away clothes and toys to her sister and to friends.
Happily, some of those toys and clothes came back to Tricks when she had Lydia. "Children's clothes don't get much use as they grow so quickly, so the clothes were all still in good condition." Tricks has sold a few things at tabletop sales. "It works well. I sell the things they no longer need and then put the money I raise towards the equipment they need for the next stage."
Lizzie bought two Omani chests to use as keepsake boxes for George and Lydia. "They can take the chests with them when they leave home. What they do with them then is their decision. Perhaps they'll show them to their children." Every now and then she will go through the chests and pare down the things she has saved. "George loves going through his. He gets a real kick from remembering things from when he was little."
Some of us are natural hoarders, and find the idea of throwing baby stuff away too traumatic: we are not ready to cut that metaphorical umbilical cord. Lindsey Herse, whose two boys are aged nine and seven, admits as much. As well as the hospital wristbands and paper tape used to measure their heads at birth, Herse still has the boys' pram, cot, highchair and most of their clothes. "Part of it was thinking that we might have another, so we kept it. But even now that we know we're not going to have any more children, I just can't throw anything away." Herse did have one attempt to clear out the cupboards in Australia, before they moved to the UAE just over two years ago, but some things were just too full of sentimental value to part with. "I got rid of some stuff at a garage sale, but when people started looking at the toys, I had to sneak some of them off." There are positives to being a hoarder though, as Herse points out. "Having the baby car seat has been very useful when my little niece came to stay."
Admittedly, Herse's clearing out is on hold as most of the baby kit is now in storage in Australia, but her youngest boy was already five years old when she put it in storage to begin with. "I'm not very good at the different stages," admits Herse. "I do find it difficult letting go of their younger years."
Tangible objects can sometimes have more powerful recall effects than photos. "I haven't got a great memory, so these things are really special," Herse says. "I look at a T-shirt one of the boys had and clearly remember him at that age."
Moving on and letting go can be hard, but getting rid of a cupboard full of old toys, or passing on a steriliser really shouldn't be laden with too much significance, argues Romaine Lowery, the author of The Clutter Clinic: Organise Your Home in 7 Days. Lowery has had several years of experience of going into people's homes to help them de-clutter. "I point out the difference to my clients between saving items such as the odd piece of clothing or a christening gift, which have sentimental value, and other items to which they have attached sentimental value but really shouldn't, like a car seat."
Lowery encourages her clients to put all of their baby equipment into one pile. "This way, people see what they have been squirrelling away, under the bed, in cupboards, in the garage." Once people see the sheer volume of baby stuff they have saved, it shocks them into action. "A lot of people put off making the decision to throw things away, or don't want to make a decision on their own." Lowery has noted that many mothers need to have her there to validate what they are doing. "Some women want permission to get rid of things so they don't feel they are bad mothers. They ask me, 'Am I heartless if I get rid of this?' I say, "Do you really think that when your child is 12 and you drag out their plastic baby bath, they are going to say, 'I'm so glad you kept this'?"
Having put all the kit in one place, Lowery encourages her clients to select the items of real sentimental value - "the things you would run into a burning house to save" and put them in a lidded box. "This way, you look after the best things properly rather than stuffing them under the bed." Lowery also arrives with several big plastic sacks - one to fill with things to throw away, one to give to that relative who has just had a baby and one to give to charity. "Larger items they can sell and use the money to buy the children one thing they really need." But she warns that holding onto things for too long will diminish their resale value. Romaine takes away the plastic sacks the same day. "Clients make the decision to clear it out. They follow through and it's done."
Significantly, Lowery emphasises what a positive experience clearing out the baby stuff can be. "It's completely positive," says Lowery. "You de-clutter and reorganise, then look at your new space. It's a very cathartic experience." There is also the positive aspect of giving helpful things to new mothers and to charities. As Lowery sums up: "Get it out of your life and let it be useful for someone else."
Company%20Profile
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Company%20profile
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The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
LEADERBOARD
%3Cp%3E-19%20T%20Fleetwood%20(Eng)%3B%20-18%20R%20McIlroy%20(NI)%2C%20T%20Lawrence%20(SA)%3B%20-16%20J%20Smith%3B%20-15%20F%20Molinari%20(Ita)%3B%20-14%20Z%20Lombard%20(SA)%2C%20S%20Crocker%20(US)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESelected%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E-11%20A%20Meronk%20(Pol)%3B%20-10%20E%20Ferguson%20(Sco)%3B%20-8%20R%20Fox%20(NZ)%20-7%20L%20Donald%20(Eng)%3B%20-5%20T%20McKibbin%20(NI)%2C%20N%20Hoejgaard%20(Den)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Fixtures
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The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
The%20Sandman
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
