Week Nine, Items 67-80

11 of my husband's shirts

I can only see 10 in the photo, but there really are 11 in this stack, I swear—I counted it three times. I could have photographed each one individually and written about all of them, but then we all would have been here for far too long. My paring down is rubbing off on my husband, apparently; he went through his clothes and decided to donate these shirts. He wore the green striped one in the middle of the stack on one of our first dates, and that's pretty much all I have to say about his shirts.

Heart wine stopper

This is a favor from my bachelorette party. I am extremely grateful to my friends for going out of their way to throw me such a fun bachelorette party—I had a blast. The thing is, I am just not a heart person. I've kept this because it was given out at the party, but honestly, I received other gifts and have plenty of memories from it (really!)—I don't need to keep a wine stopper I'm not going to use just because of where I got it or because of who it's from. Giving this away does not mean that I don't love and appreciate my friends.

Wine and food pairing guide 

This was a Christmas gift from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law a few years ago. I've learned a lot from it; most importantly, it taught me which wines are best to pair with spicy foods. I have already gotten everything I can from this book, though. I'm a vegan and my husband is a vegetarian; most of this book focuses on which wines go best with different types of meat. There must be an omnivore out there who would appreciate the information.


Jarhead

I am glad I read this, but it was so intense and depressing that reading it once was enough. In that way, it's like Black Hawk Down. It's valuable, but not something I'll return to. In passing it on, someone else can get something from it; it does no one any good sitting around taking up space in my house. Anyway, an interesting fact for those in the Northwest is that the author, Anthony Swofford, used to teach at Lewis & Clark College. Also, I'd like to take a moment to thank all current and former members of the military I know for their bravery and sacrifices. Politics aside, our troops—particularly veterans—deserve much better support than they get.

Progress: 80 out of 400 items = 20% done.

Week Eight, Items 59-66

Ichiro shot glass

Now, don't get me wrong. I love Ichiro and I love shot glasses. But we have two of these. And while there are many things I think a married couple ought to have, matching shot glasses don't necessarily appear on that list. With the regular season fast approaching, I'm sure there is someone out there who is in need of an Ichiro shot glass.

Alarm clock

Another duplicate item. My husband's workplace gave out alarm clocks a while back, but—like every adult I know—he already has one. This one has been just sitting around, taking up space since the day he brought it home. It's one that projects the time in large numbers, so it might be useful for someone whose vision isn't the best. But we don't need it here.

Plastic hanger

I don't even know how this hanger got into our house. I like to use all the same type of hanger (all facing the same direction, of course), and this is not the type I use. Out it goes, so that someone less particular than me can hang another item in their closet.

Big red earrings

So it turns out that big red earrings just aren't my thing. It's hard to tell from the photo, but these are slightly larger than silver dollars. The size would be fine with me if they were a color I liked, but I'm discovering that maybe I just don't really like red. I don't own many things that are red, and the few red things I do own keep finding their way into my assortment of things to part with.

Shells 1 and 2

These are nice, basic tops that are perfect for a professional wardrobe. But I rarely wear them, and someone else could get a lot of mileage out of them. Seattle has a Dress for Success chapter, so I will stop by there soon to donate these tops and other clothing items that would be suitable for a work wardrobe. (In case you haven't heard of Dress for Success, it is a fantastic organization that provides disadvantaged women with professional clothing for job interviews. Once a woman lands a job, she can return to receive more office-appropriate clothing. They also have mentoring and career development programs.)

Anthropology book

At the end of an academic year, my college's library had a small book giveaway. Not being one to pass up a chance to get books for free (but then, what college student passes up anything that's free?), I picked out a few that looked interesting. Two have indeed been interesting, and I'm quite grateful I got the chance to scoop them up at no cost. But I haven't read this one. I've had it for several years, and if I were going to read it, I would have done it by now. So I will pass it along to someone who will read it.

Grey's Anatomy

I love the person who gave me this, but I have never opened it. I know the show is set in Seattle, but that's just not enough of a draw for me to be interested in the show. Soap opera/medical drama shows aren't really my cup of tea. I feel guilty that I never watched an episode and I feel guilty that I am giving it away, so I am just going to choose the guilt that results in less clutter, and then tell myself to get over it.

And now, please allow me to briefly geek out over how cool the Internet is. Debra Daniels-Zeller, the author of one of my favorite cookbooks—The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook—stumbled across my blog on Twitter. She said my blog inspired her to do some decluttering of her own, and in this post on her wonderful blog called Food Connections, she details how she tackled her fridge and pantry and got rid of items that were going unused. She also talks about food waste in America, which is much more rampant than I realized (researchers estimate that 25 to 40 percent of food that enters American homes goes to waste). Anyway, I just think it's cool that the Internet fosters a sense of community even as the planet's population nears 7 billion people, and I love that this blog has allowed me to connect with people I would not have encountered otherwise.

Progress: 66 out of 400 items = 16.5% done.

Week Seven, Items 51-58

The O.C. seasons 1 and 2

I used to like this show—I thought Seth was hilarious, and I liked his parents, too—but I don't think I ever enjoyed this show enough to actually justify owning it. I haven't seen any of the other seasons, and it's been years since I've watched any of the episodes I do own. These need a home with someone who will watch them. We have enough DVDs that we don't need to keep ones we don't watch.

Tetris for PS2

Years ago, my husband was planning to buy a PlayStation 2. So, when I saw this on clearance at Best Buy, I got it (I apologize, gamer friends; I am a sucker for Tetris). Shortly thereafter, we wound up getting a Wii for Christmas, and we agreed that one gaming console would suffice. This never got used, and now that I've tracked it down, I'm going to donate it.

Pleated blue shirt

I've had this shirt for a few years, but have only worn it a handful of times. I do like the color quite a bit. I just hardly ever reach for it when I'm deciding what to wear, and I'm sure someone else would get more use out of it. I have plenty of shirts, and don't need to keep the ones that mostly go unworn.

Silver sneakers

I used to wear these shoes a lot when traveling, because they slip on and off easily. I got them specifically for a trip to Japan, but they are also convenient for going through airport security. Then I wore them to do yard work one day. That was a terrible idea; these shoes are largely made of mesh, so tons of dirt got into them. I've gotten most of it out, but they need one more good washing before I think they're suitably cleaned up. Then I can donate them.


Sticky notes

Sticky notes are one of the more useful items we get in our Christmas stockings, but we don't use them as often as we get them. We have more than we need, so this unopened package of them can go.

Quiz book

I got this as a gift years ago. It's full of "would you rather" questions. I can see how something like that could be fun on a road trip, or even just at home with a group of friends, so I appreciate the sentiment. The trouble is that this particular book is full of questions that are gross, macabre or both. I flipped through it one more time to see if I could find a question to post as an example, but they're all vile enough that I'd rather not post any of them here. Long story short, this book is just not for me.

Scented sachet

This was also a gift. But some people are scented sachet people, and some are not. I am not. What can I say? I dislike things that remind me of the time I tried to eat potpourri when I was little. (My mom had put some out in a little glass dish. The pieces of potpourri were small and colorful, and they smelled edible, so I assumed it was a dish full of candy. It was decidedly NOT candy.)


Progress: 58 out of 400 items = 14.5% done.

Week Six, Items 43-50

Frog socks

I bought these frog slipper things as a gag gift for someone before I found out that they really dislike that sort of thing (gag gifts, that is. I don't know what they think about frogs). So now I will just donate them. These are quite soft, and I'm sure someone out there would love them (though not anyone who enjoys sliding on wood floors. These have "ribbit" written on the bottom in grippy letters).

Green hooded tee

This shirt is comfy, but I haven't worn it in ages. I think it might be a little bit too casual for me now or something. I just have too many clothes to keep ones that I don't wear, so I'm going to donate this. Someone else might love it, and I don't need it sitting in my closet, going unworn.

Business card holder

Yet another item from the seemingly bottomless box of things from college. (There are some fun & useful things in there, too, but then, that's not what this blog is for.) I keep business cards in one of those plastic file folders with the internal dividers. Somebody gave this to me at graduation, but I've never actually used it.

Mary Higgins Clark book

I read a bunch of Mary Higgins Clark books in middle school. I think I liked them because I was always able to solve them partway through. They really were terrible books, though. Think of all the hours I wasted reading complete crap! It's sad, really. I'm not even completely sure how I ended up with this one, but I think my bookshelf will be happy to see it go.

Invitations

I bought these packages of fill-in-the-blank invitations when I was helping someone out with an event a while back. She wanted "not flashy" fill-in-the-blank invitations, so I found these. Then she decided an Evite would be easier for the guests. These have just been sitting around ever since. I'm not a fill-in-the-blanks invitation person (my handwriting is terrible), so I'm not going to use them. Instead, I'm giving them to someone who will.

Ginormous red earrings

I ordered these, along with a few other things, from Forever 21 a few years ago. I love big, bright earrings, but these are chunkier than I thought they would be. It's an awful lot of red to put next to one's face, so I've never worn them. I'm sure they could work in the right situation, but I don't think I'm the right person for that situation, whatever it may be.

Spiderman

Yes, this is on VHS. Like Black Hawk Down, I bought this used for cheaper than I could have rented it. I typically love movies adapted from comic books, but this is an exception. I have a vague sort of appreciation for it because its success paved the way for a bunch of movies that I do like, but I just was not a fan of this movie.

Movie guide book

I can't even tell you how excited I am to be getting rid of this thing. It's larger than a phone book, and full of little bits of information about movies. My husband has had it for years, and for years he's refused to get rid of it. I've tried to explain to him that there's this useful thing called the Internet, where he could find even more information than is contained in this book. It's seven years old, and just a waste of space. Since starting this blog, I've finally convinced him to embrace the Internet when he wants movie info, and get rid of this waste of space. Hooray!

Progress: 50 items out of 400 = 12.5% done

Week Five, Items 36-42

Orange hair spray

Last Halloween, my husband and I dressed up as Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman. My husband used this stuff to turn his hair red like Adam's, only he looked more like he shampooed his hair with Cheeto dust. It worked for Halloween costume purposes, but it got all over his shirt, jacket and hat. It was a huge pain to get this stuff out of all of those, so I am quite happy to get rid of this.

Pair of pillowcases

Since discovering fleece pillowcases, my husband has gotten hooked on how soft they are, and now that's all he uses. These plain old cotton pillowcases just aren't up to snuff, I guess. They're too big for my pillow, so we can just get rid of these.

Turquoise sweater

I bought this sweater mainly because it's extremely soft. I also liked the color, though I was never that crazy about the style. I shouldn't have bought it, but I guess my husband isn't the only one who's a sucker for soft things. I've hardly ever worn this, but I'm sure someone else can get a lot of use out of it.

Set of plastic organizers

We used these to organize our silverware when we were renting a condo that had really narrow kitchen drawers—a regular organizing contraption wouldn't fit. Since we moved into our house, these have just been taking up space on the top shelf in a cupboard. If we had another way to put these to use, we would've done it by now. But we haven't, so they can go.

Black Hawk Down

I watched this movie once, and while I'm glad I did, I don't feel I ever need to watch again. It is just too damn depressing. I bought it used at a Blockbuster for less than it would have cost to rent it (this was back in the Dark Ages, before Netflix existed), but I am sure someone out there would like to own it. For me, though, this is just the kind of movie that I can't handle watching more than once (and even once was tough).

Saxifrage 1 and 2

Saxifrage is my college's literary journal. I read through each of these when I got them, though I have not looked at them since (these are also from my box of random college-era things). To be honest, I don't read much fiction. I think these would have a better home with someone who loves fiction and poetry. 

Decluttering

In addition to these items, I also tackled another decluttering project this week: our medicine cabinet. I threw out everything that was expired (some things in there had expired in 2009!). I am not counting those items toward my total, though, because some of them will be replaced. Tackling that one project gave me a sense of accomplishment I haven't gotten from just getting rid of a few items a week. I would love to come up with a few more defined decluttering projects like that one—it's so encouraging to see a huge improvement, even if it's just in a small area.

Progress: 42 items out of 400 = 10.5% done.

Week Four, Items 29-35

Set of Sephora lip glosses

Sephora gives a little bonus gift to customers on their birthdays, which is a nice gesture. There is a downside, though: you don't get to choose the gift. I don't wear lip gloss, so these have been sitting around, untouched, for months. Precisely the sort of thing I don't need to keep.

Nail polishes 1 and 2

When I graduated from college, I thought I had to start acting like a grown-up. Buying boring nail polish was one of the first things I did before I started my job—I figured I was too old to continue wearing my favorite super bright and super dark colors. It didn't take me long to ditch that idea and go back to wearing colors I like. These hardly ever got touched. They're several years old, and it's time for them to go.

Sunglasses

I'm not really a sunglasses person. I've owned one pair in my entire life that I actually liked, and they broke one day when we were sailing (I know, I know—first world problem). I've kept the broken pair because I'm pretty sure they're fixable, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I got a couple cheap pairs as replacements, and I like the other replacement pair more than I like this pair, so I won't keep these.

Green earrings

Confession: I own a truly ridiculous amount of earrings. Seriously. I don't even want to count how many pairs I own, because it might not be a defensible number. Still, I wear nearly all of them regularly. Not this pair, though. I have a pair that's similar to these, but in a color I like a lot more. While I hardly ever wore these, I'm sure someone else would love them.

One-shouldered top

I love how one-shouldered shirts and dresses look, but it turns out wearing them is a hassle. So, while this top fits me, I'm not going to keep it. I may not be too old for vivid shades of nail polish, but I am definitely too old for the whole exposed bra strap thing.

Painted sign

I made this to take to Seattle's Rally to Restore Sanity, but it didn't fully dry in time. Damp paint + public transportation + crowded event seemed likely to result in a minor disaster at best, so I decided to leave the sign at home. I stuck it in my office and forgot about it. I cannot think of a situation in the future where this sign is likely to come in handy, so I am just getting rid of it.

Progress: 35 items out of 400 = 8.75% done.

Week Three, Items 21-28

Creepy gingerbread thing

We host an annual party near the end of the year to which our friends wear tacky holiday stuff. We deck out our house in a similar fashion. To do so, we've rounded up some holiday decorations from thrift stores. This thing in particular weirds me out a little bit, and I'm happy to have an excuse to get rid of it. Back to the thrift store it goes!

Star of David tablecloth

We've had this tablecloth since 2006, when we first hosted our tacky holiday party. After several years of use, it has some tears and stains, and I think it's time to put it out to pasture. We certainly got our money's worth out of it; it only cost a dollar. This is exactly the type of item I don't want to bring into our house anymore, though—things that are cheap and disposable, as if they are meant to go straight to landfills. I don't want to be part of the cycle of cheap consumerism.

Dreidel set

I think the idea was that people would actually use these at the holiday party. To my knowledge, though, no one ever has. I don't feel the need to hold onto these in the hopes that someone will use them this December.

Silver flats

I really like silver flats in theory. In practice, I'm not that crazy about this particular pair. I hardly ever wore them. Better to own things I love and use than to own things I think I might grow to like more someday. It's pretty obvious which category these fall into.

Aflac duck

Someone gave me this little duck at an event I worked at as an intern. My internship was awesome, but I don't need an Aflac duck to remind me of it (my internship wasn't even at Aflac—there was just someone from the company at this particular event). There's no good reason for me to have kept this for so long. It's just something that made its way into a box of stuff from college, which has moved with me from place to place, but never been unpacked.

Set of flower magnets

Another item from the box of random college-era stuff. 

I used these magnets on the mini fridge I had in my room, but I haven't used them since. Honestly, I had totally forgotten about them. That's definitely a sign that they are something I don't need to keep.

Headlight replacement bulb

The headlight replacement bulbs for our old car came in a pack of two. We only had to use one. But now we have a different car, so this won't do us any good. It's just one more thing we don't need to have in our house.

Square brads

We used these when putting together our wedding programs. The finished products turned out great (thanks to a few friends who helped us assemble them), but putting them together was a giant pain. I want nothing more to do with these—fortunately, I know a creative, crafty person who could put them to good use. 

Progress: 28 items out of 400 = 7% done.