Saturday, March 31, 2012

Week Sixty-Three, Items 587-606

Books 67-82




Making good progress toward the mini goal of getting rid of 100 books. The top one, The Poisonwood Bible, is one we both had. My copy is (unsurprisingly) in far better condition than his, so we're keeping mine.


Earrings 17




Down 17 pairs now! This is another area I really ought to concentrate on, because I still have what's probably an unreasonable amount of earrings. I like how this particular pair looks, but the cheap materials are uncomfortable after wearing them for several hours.


Gold cord




Neither of us can identify this beyond the fact that it's a gold cord. We have no idea where it's from. You'd think that by now, we'd no longer have such things in our house, but you'd be wrong. I can't wait until we only have things we need or like around here.


French magnet poetry




Another item my husband had and wasn't using. I don't speak French (and though I'm lucky enough to have read several things I like in the original, I don't see that happening with anything by Alexandre Dumas), so I certainly am not going to use it.


Stash of hair ties


These were sitting in a desk drawer, forgotten about. I used one of the still-new hair ties (the smaller ones), and when I took my ponytail out several hours later, it had stretched out into one of the larger ones. Hair ties that stretch out after one use? No wonder I gave up on these. Perhaps they'd work better for someone whose hair isn't as thick as mine.

Progress: 606 items out of 800 = 75.75% done.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Week Sixty-Two, Items 581-586

Purple shirt




My favorite thing about this shirt is that it's tagless. But I'm not a huge fan of the neckline or the sleeve length, and it mostly got worn underneath sweatshirts on lazy days. I have enough shirts that I don't really need one for that specific and little-seen a purpose.


Gray jeans




I wear jeans a lot, and this pair is the one that gets worn least often. Whenever I wear these, it's a sign that it's time to do some laundry. That is really just a sign that I don't need to keep this pair.


Wallpaper square




I framed a couple wallpaper samples to decorate my office, but I'm not going to keep this one. I don't like it as much as the other one I have, and am going to use the frame that held this one to frame something else we had that I like better.


Discman




Yes, these still exist! My husband still had his, apparently. Unsurprisingly, he decided that this was one of the things he didn't need to keep.


VHS camcorder tape




Another "vintage" item my husband had and didn't need. We don't even have a camcorder, so who knows why he had this. It would obviously be far more useful for someone who has a camcorder.


Reusable tote bag 2




I like hot pink, I like Paris, and I like reusable tote bags. (I don't typically like serial commas, but that one seemed warranted.) This bag was used as gift wrap, which I appreciate, but it just isn't my style. And we're not hurting for reusable bags around here, so it's not something I need to keep.


586 items out of 800 = 73.25% done.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Week Sixty-One, Items 575-580

Buddha tchotchke




Another of the items that my husband had and decided he didn't need. I'm glad that he has gotten in on the de-cluttering, too. Since he started participating, we have gotten rid of enough books that we were able to empty and donate a bookcase as well.


Hanger 4




I had thought we were all done clearing out the mismatched hangers in our house, but then my husband cleaned out the guest room closet (which he had been using). Anyway, now we are officially left with only matching hangers, which makes me a happy camper.


Laptop sleeve




My husband replaced his old laptop with a shiny new desktop, so he doesn't need this laptop sleeve anymore. It's made of neoprene, which seems to me like a somewhat odd choice of material for a laptop sleeve.


Blue sheet




Our bedding rotation includes sheets made of fleece, jersey or bamboo, depending on the time of year. They are all nice and soft. This plain cotton sheet just isn't as soft, and as a result, doesn't get used anymore.


Carabiner




We have a sufficient supply of carabiners, and still will even without this one. This one is a bit of a pain to use, so it is the one that goes.


Wiffle ball bat




It's possible that we will want a wiffle ball bat at some point in the future, when we have kids old enough to play with one. But these bats aren't a scarce commodity, and we certainly don't need one yet. This has just been taking up space. So, while it might someday be replaced, for now this can go. I don't want to go to extremes of getting rid of things only to repurchase identical items later (like this lady, who frankly sounds rather unhealthy), but I think it's reasonable to get rid of a single-use item that we don't use, and wouldn't use for a couple years at minimum.


Progress: 580 items out of 800 = 72.5% done.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Week Sixty, Items 569-574

Rugby shirt




My husband got this as a gift. It was purchased from a thrift store, and has a tiny hole in it. But he used to wear it around the house just because it was warm. It has been years since he last wore it, though, so it will go to yet another thrift store.


Handheld game 5




If you had asked me at the start of this de-cluttering project how many handheld games we had in our house, I would have said none. If you can have five of something and not even know it, you have too much stuff! We're making progress, though.


Board game 4




Until my husband put this in our "donate" pile, I had never seen it before in my life. I'm getting antsy about wanting all of the extra stuff out of our house. Less stuff, more space! I think I am in spring cleaning mode.


Board game 5




It comes in a tube, but I'm calling this a board game anyway. It's another one of the random items that my husband has had for longer than I've known him, yet I'd never seen. (That we had more than one such item makes me want to apologize to everyone who ever helped us move! We should've started de-cluttering ages ago, apparently.)

Towel 2


As I've mentioned before, we have some "alternate" towels that we reserve for drying off our dog on rainy days. They are all old, or have bleach spots (like this one). But having fewer of these would work just as well, so this can go.

Basting brush


We have a silicone brush that we use regularly; I can't remember the last time this one was used. We obviously don't need it taking up space in our kitchen.


Progress: 574 items out of 800 = 71.75% done.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Week Fifty-Nine, Items 557-568

Books 59-66




My husband got the top book back when his brother was engaged because, as best man, he had to make a toast at the wedding. But my brother-in-law and his wife got married a year and a half ago, so this book is definitely not something my husband needs anymore. The other seven books are ones I am getting rid of. They just aren't ones I'm going to read again. If I want to get to 100 books purged, I have to be more choosy about which ones to keep.


Shorts 1-4




More things my husband decided he didn't need. I had never even seen two of these pairs of shorts before, and we've been together since 2005. (I'm so glad he's finally going through his stuff!)


568 items out of 800 = 71% done.