Week One, Items 1-7

Snowflake garland

When I was in college, I used this to decorate my dorm room for Christmas. Now that I'm an adult, my tastes have evolved. These days, I decorate for Christmas by putting a large dead tree in the living room.

The Royal Tenenbaums on VHS

My husband and I have lived together since 2006 and are just now getting around to consolidating our movie collections. He owns The Royal Tenenbaums on DVD, while my copy is on VHS. Because I'm not really a big fan of antiques, the VHS copy goes.

Dodgeball

I'm sorry, Ben Stiller. I will always love Zoolander, but I don't feel the need to own any of your other movies. This was a gift from a favorite family member, so I felt obligated to keep it. It sounds obvious, but this is a fairly recent epiphany I've had: Giving it away doesn't mean I don't love or appreciate this person. It just means my house will be a little less full, and that's a good thing.

1984

My husband and I are also just starting to consolidate our book collection. Turns out we each had a copy of 1984, and both were Signet Classic editions. In this case, my only option was to judge a book by its cover. One copy will suffice for our household, so I kept the one with the cover I like better.

Headband

In theory, this stretchy headband would be great for keeping flyaways from escaping my ponytail while I'm working out or playing sports. In reality, it's too big. It won't stay in place, and that totally defeats the purpose. Why keep something that doesn't work for me?

Brown heels

I can't remember the last time I wore these shoes. Years ago, they were the only brown heels I owned, so I think I've kept them out of habit. They didn't fit me that well to begin with, so I'm happy to let them go. They're not doing anyone any good just sitting in my closet, going unworn.

Mug with no handle

Some mugs might be designed without handles, but this one wasn't. It had a handle once, but that ship has sailed. I don't know why we've held onto it—we have enough mugs, and we don't use them that often, anyway.

That's it for this week!