Week Seventy-Four, Items 691-700

Jewelry boxes 1-4

I was given several necklaces that came in these boxes. But the necklaces have long since been stored in my jewelry box; I didn't even realize that I still had these. These would be great for taking necklaces on a trip, but my travel jewelry box has a necklace section, so I don't need them.


Pillowcases 8-12

Yet more bedding that was going unused, just taking up space in our linen closet. I really don't know how we accumulated so much, but the linen closet looks so much better now that we've been getting rid of the extra.


Bible

This was given to me as a present, even though I am not Catholic. I would actually hate to be a Catholic in the Seattle area. The archbishop here is involved in both the attack on nuns whose efforts are focused on making the world a better place, rather than spreading discrimination and hate, as well as trying to get Washington state's marriage equality law overturned. Suffice it to say that I don't think this belongs in my home.


Progress: 700 items out of 800 = 87.5% done.

Week Seventy-Three, Items 685-690

Padlock

Certainly this is a functional item, but it's just not something we need. If memories and information were as easy to purge as items, I might choose to forget my locker combination from seventh grade. That's not something I need, either. Unfortunately, I've yet to figure out how to selectively de-clutter my brain.


Novelty lighter

Things like this are why I'm glad I got my husband on the de-cluttering bandwagon. I have no idea how he came to own this, but there are few things that we could possibly need less. We don't smoke, and we don't like guns.


Greeting cards 1 and 2

I don't know why we have these two blank and unused greeting cards sitting around. I would just keep them until a suitable card-giving occasion rolled around, but these are both so far from our style (they feature faded photographs of roses) that I would feel strange giving either to anyone.


Ribbon spools 1 and 2

I generally put gifts in gift bags, rather than wrapping them in paper. And even when I do use wrapping paper, I don't use this kind of ribbon with it. Stick-on bows are just so much easier. So we don't need to keep these around.


Progress: 690 items out of 800 = 86.25% done.

Week Seventy-Two, Items 677-684

Fleece vest

This vest is so lightweight that it only adds negligible warmth, and the collar comes up high enough to be kind of annoying (though I'm sure it wouldn't bother someone who likes turtlenecks). As a result, I never really wore this, so it can go.


Shirt 105

Several years ago, the Dodgers and the Padres played each other in China. I didn't go to the game, but I  was given this shirt by someone who was there. I do love baseball, so I appreciate the thought. The shirt is an extra-large, though, and I am not an extra-large. I also have more than enough t-shirts.


Pillowcases 5-7

As with sheets, we have more pillowcases than we use. The pillowcases we use regularly are ones made of bamboo, jersey or fleece. None of these fit into that category, so they were just taking up space in the linen closet.


Holiday window clings

This is a strange combo of Christmas, Hanukkah and Christmas-y WSU football window clings. We put them up on the back door, which is glass, during our annual tacky holiday party. But that's always at night—which means that you can't really see these very well. So, as much as I love the Cougars, these can go (besides, I do have several Wazzu ornaments. And they always get prime real estate on the Christmas tree).


Venice picture

Italy is one of my favorite countries on the planet to visit. But Venice is actually not among my favorite cities in Italy. I like this picture, though, and always had it up in my room in college. But there isn't really a spot for it in our house, so it should go to someone else.


Earrings 18

This is a pair of earrings that I never really wore that often. I like the shape, but I'm not especially fond of the color. I much prefer to wear dangly earrings that are bright. So these can go.


Progress: 684 items out of 800 = 85.5% done.

Week Seventy-One, Items 671-676

Shirt 101

Well, we've passed the 100 shirt mark! I can't believe we (okay, mostly me) had so many clothes that we weren't really wearing that we can donate so many and only make a dent in what we have to wear. Anyway, this lace-covered tube top was great when I was younger, but my 30th birthday is approaching far too rapidly for me to keep it.


Shirts 102-104

These three shirts also reflect what I wore when I was younger. But the casual/athletic combination isn't really my style anymore, so these haven't seen much use in the past few years.


Skirt 2

This skirt was a hand-me-down, and while I like the colors, the pattern is just a little much for me. So this didn't get worn very often. It should be handed down to someone who likes busier patterns than I do. (I'm really pretty boring, pattern-wise.)


Sunglasses 4

Seattle supposedly sells more sunglasses per capita than any other major city in the nation. Maybe it's because we can go so long without using them that we forget where they are and have to replace them. Anyway, I do have some sunglasses that I like, and these are not them. This pair can go.


676 items out of 800 = 84.5% done.

Week Seventy, Items 665-670

Striped scarf

I love stripes, and I love that some of the stripes in this fabric are shiny. But this scarf is just too short. The combination of the ruffles and the short length feels too much like I'm wearing a Shakespeare-esque ruff. Not really a look I'm ever aiming for.


Cropped cardigan

I've had this for several years. But I own a number of cardigans, and this one probably gets worn less often than any of the others. Between the cropped length and the sleeves with the double ruffles, it just has more going on than I typically like.


Belt 1

I am not really a belt person. But I liked the colors of this one—I actually bought it just because I liked the colors, not because I needed a functional belt. I can't remember the last year I even wore it, though, so it can go.


Belt 2

This one was a gift, but again, part of this process is recognizing that gifts aren't obligations. It's another belt that's more decorative than functional. I also can't remember the last time I wore it.


Belt 3

I suppose this one is more functional than decorative. I remember it coming with either a pair of pants or jeans that I bought, but I don't remember ever using it.


Belt 4

This one is all about function. To be honest, I didn't even recognize it when I pulled my belts out of my closet. I did have a brief phase several years ago (2004ish, I think?) when I wore decorative belts on a semi-regular basis, but I never wore belts like this. I even checked the length to make sure this one wasn't my husband's.


Progress: 670 items out of 800 = 83.75% done.

Week Sixty-Nine, Items 659-664

Beaded necklace

I got this necklace from Target. Obviously, it cost very little money. Unfortunately, I got what I paid for—I only wore it a few times before one of the beads fell off. It's not even particularly noticeable, but it bothers me, and I haven't worn it since.

Jeans 3

My husband has two pairs of jeans that fit him well, so he is keeping just those two pairs. This pair goes.

Can opener

Turns out, we actually had two can openers. The other one doesn't look like most can openers, so I didn't realize what it was. The other one is much easier to use, so this one goes.

Sheets 3 and 4

The words "she was good at folding fitted sheets" will not appear on my gravestone. Oh, well—I'm okay with that. We have a small rotation of sheets that we use all the time, and these are not among them.

Jewelry pouch

Well, I suppose this could hold something other than jewelry, but that was its original purpose. I have enough jewelry storage, though, so I don't need this.

Progress: 664 items out of 800 = 83% done.

Week Sixty-Eight, Items 653-658

Air fresheners 1-2

Some people really like this style of air freshener, so I thought they were worth a try. And they were fine, but we never bothered with going out and finding replacement scented oil stuff to use with them. The only air freshener we really use is some baking soda in the fridge, so it doesn't make sense to keep these.

Pipe cleaners

These were in the cabinet with our office supplies (which might make sense for an elementary school teacher, but doesn't make sense for us). My husband used them as part of his Halloween costume years and years ago (he was a newly-discovered type of sea creature). I had no idea we still had these, but we definitely don't need them.


Shirt 97

I have tried on tons of shirts since I started this blog, deciding which ones to keep and which ones to donate. In the process, I've learned that certain colors look great on me. This is one of them. I have also learned that I like certain things in theory more than in practice. Cowl necks fall into that category; I like them on other people more than I like them on me.

Shirts 98-99

Well, we will definitely be getting rid of more than 100 shirts in this process. I have plenty more that I'll be going through at a later date, but these two t-shirts (it's hard to see the black one on the bottom, but it's there!) might be my husband's last contributions. I knew we had more stuff than we needed, but I didn't think it was an egregious or abnormal amount at all. But having gotten rid of 99 shirts between us, with more still to come, makes me feel pretty ridiculous. Why do we have so many things?

Progress: 658 items out of 800 = 82.25% done.