Week Thirteen, Items 103-109

Italian cookbook

I am not sure how I wound up with this cookbook. As you can clearly see from the cover, it is neither vegetarian nor vegan. I do love Italian food, and can veganize just about anything, but I have never found this particular cookbook that useful. With the number of cookbooks I do love, it seems silly to keep one I don't.

Boggle book

This is another one of those single-purpose items I'm trying to cut back on. I feel like we've got too many items in our house that have just one function. This seems like the sort of thing that's meant to be used to pass time when traveling, but my husband likes to nap on planes and trains, and I like to read. So neither of us would use this.

Floral skirt

This was a hand-me-down, and I, in turn, am going to hand it down to someone else. I wore it once, and while it fits, the floral print just doesn't suit me. I rarely wear prints, and when I do, I prefer simpler ones. But I'm sure someone else can get some good mileage out of this skirt.

Gray shirt

This is one of four long-sleeved gray shirts I own. Four! One is light gray, one is dark gray, one has an interesting neckline, and then there's this waffle-textured one. I love gray and live in a climate where it's cool much of the year, but I still just can't justify having four items that are so similar. Of the four, this is the one I wear least often, so it can go.

Curtain ties

These go with a set of curtains that we have hanging in a little nook in our house. The opening is an odd size (it's basically a short closet), so hanging curtains seemed a much easier solution than installing a door. Because we use the nook for storage (for holiday decorations and some camping gear), the curtains are always closed. Always. So we don't need these.

Yellow tie

My husband has had this tie since before I knew him and I have never, ever liked it. I just dislike the pattern. He has plenty of other ties (fortunately, someone with good taste started buying them for him!), so he certainly doesn't need this one. Happily for me, he agreed that it could go.

Scarf

We have friends who host an annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society called the Hick Party. Last year, it was an incredible success, raising $18,080 (every penny of which was donated to the cause). As for the party itself, it's a ton of fun. People wear hick-themed costumes and eat hick-themed food and compete in hick-themed games for amazing (and yes, sometimes hick-themed) prizes. Anyway, in coming up with our costumes last summer, we were on the hunt for as much red, white & blue as we could find. We grabbed this scarf at a thrift store, intending for one of us to tie it like a bandana or something, but we wound up finding better ones to use. So, back to the thrift store this goes.


Progress: 109 items out of 400 = 27.25% done.

Week Twelve, Items 95-102

Pastel Seahawks hat

This was given to me as a gift, and I know it was with the best of intentions—I love the Seahawks and I love the color blue. But frankly, I resent the trend of sports teams making pastel items specifically for women. As a lifelong sports fan, former sports editor (back in my college days) and a person who argues with my husband about the best picks we can make in this year's draft to bolster our defense, I think I've earned the right to not be condescended to because of my gender. I refuse to perpetuate the idea that women will only support their teams if they can do so in cutesy, dainty pastels. The best way I can support my team is by being a knowledgeable fan. I don't need to wear a pastel hat to do that.


Green headband

Another headband that I purchased on impulse, apparently paying no attention to the fact that I dislike wearing headbands. I won't wear this, so it does me no good. I'm sure there's someone out there who likes to wear headbands, though, so at least someone will benefit from my impulse buy.


Blue shell

This shirt looks a bit odd in this picture. It's a sleeveless shell with a collar that folds over. It looks great once it's actually on, but it's a distinctly professional/office type of top. Working from home, I just don't need as many office-appropriate clothes as I used to. This is one of the things I didn't wear during my year of participating in The Great American Apparel Diet, so it can go.


Mat board cutter

This was only sort of an impulse buy. I did go into the store intending to buy a mat board cutter, but I had my eye on a different type. This one was marked down so far, though, that I couldn't resist, and I bought it instead. I wish I hadn't—I wound up using this for just one project. It's pretty frustrating to work with, and I am not sorry to see it go.


Pillar candles

I had totally forgotten that I bought these. I got them a long time ago, intending to use them for wedding decor, and just found them today. That means they've been languishing in my closet since the spring or summer of 2009, then. That's kind of embarrassing. Fortunately, I know someone who can put them to good use.


Candle holder sets 1 and 2

I bought these candle holders to go with the pillar candles. Apparently sets of candle holders come in different amounts than sets of candles—just like hot dogs and hot dog buns, I guess. Unlike Steve Martin in Father of the Bride, though, the mismatched numbers did not send me off the deep end. These candle holders will go with the candles to a good new home.


Small purse

I haven't used this purse in a long time; it's been sitting in a dresser drawer since we moved into this house. I definitely haven't missed it, so I don't need to keep it. Besides, I know someone who likes to use small purses like this one (it doesn't hold much more than a wallet and a phone), so I will pass it on to her.


Progress: 102 items out of 400 = 25.5% done.

Week Eleven, Items 88-94

Headband

I bought this in Japan because I liked the color and the pattern. It was an impulse purchase rather than one I thought through. I love how headbands look on other people—I think they're cute. But I can't wear them for more than a few minutes before I find them too irritating and give up. I've kept this because I got it in Japan, but it's silly to keep something I am not going to use. Especially because I'm sure someone who likes to wear headbands could get some enjoyment out of this one.

Three Dots shirt

I got this shirt as a gift years ago, and loved it. I wore it a lot. But, after years of being washed and worn, it's too short for me now. I'm sure I could go out and pretty easily find a similar shirt. In the meantime, this goes to someone else.

Pink striped shirt

So far, during this project, I've realized I'm not really a big fan of red. Turns out I'm also not really a fan of pale pink (or pastels in general, actually). Anyway, while this shirt still fits, I do feel like I've outgrown its look. But someone out there with a slightly different style could get a lot of use out of it.

The Economic Naturalist

This book has an interesting premise: answering questions about quirks of everyday life using economic reasoning. Questions include "Why do baseball managers wear uniforms?" and "Why are hotel minibar prices so exorbitant?" Sounds interesting, right? Unfortunately, it's not. The execution of this book is laughably poor. It's a compilation of essays written by college students, who were limited by their professor to about 500 words. It's not at all the fault of the students that a series of essays lacking any detail whatsoever made for an awful book; I would gladly have read a full-length version of any of their essays. But reading this felt like talking to a person who is easily distracted and incapable of deep thought. Terribly frustrating. It was a huge disappointment, and this is something I am quite happy to get out of my house.

Dog grooming items

Last year, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law asked what I wanted for Christmas. Because I am generally pretty terrible at coming up with things I want, I just jokingly said "less dog hair" (we have an adorable dog who, as most dogs do, sheds a lot). They took me at my word, apparently, because they had my husband's parents get him these two dog grooming tools for Christmas. The thought was appreciated, but it left us with two dog grooming tools we don't need. We have a FURminator (really, that's how they capitalize the name), and it's 100% awesome—it's effective and our dog doesn't mind it at all. So we just don't need any other sorts of brushes. I'm going to call the shelter we adopted our dog from to see whether they could use these.

Iron

My husband and I each had an iron of our own before we knew each other. For whatever reason, we've kept them both up until now—even though I haven't ironed anything since we moved in together. That was in 2006. Since then, I've either asked him to iron things for me (he doesn't hate it as much as I do), or just hung them up in the bathroom while I shower. The steam gets the wrinkles out, and it requires as close to no effort as is possible. So why in the world would I bother ironing? Frankly, I'm not sure we need one iron, let alone two!

Progress: 94 items out of 400 = 23.5% done.

Week Ten, Items 81-87

Scrabble card game

One thing I've noticed is that we have a bunch of things that serve only one purpose. (It reminds me of wedding registry checklists that tried to tell us that we needed an apple slicer, an avocado slicer and a mango slicer, instead of just, you know, a knife.) This is one such item, and I want to concentrate on reducing the number of them that we have.

Handheld games 1 and 2

Two more single-purpose items we don't need. I loved watching Wheel of Fortune as a kid (largely for Vanna White's dresses), but that doesn't mean I need to keep a handheld version of the game. I hadn't seen these in ages, and didn't even remember that we had them (look how dusty they are!). That definitely means we can part with these.

Extra windshield cover

This goes on a windshield to cover it up in case of snow or ice. But because we only have one car, we don't need to keep this one. (Seattle winters are generally quite mild, anyway, and a quick scraping or dusting will suffice. I'm so glad I don't live in a place with real winters!)

Napkin sets 1 and 2

These came in a gift basket we got. While the other contents of the basket—including wine and chocolate—were very much appreciated, we won't use these. We have enough cloth napkins that we can use those when we have guests over (though—don't tell!—not all of them match).

Pinstriped capris

These would work in an office setting during the spring and summer, but I work from home and dress casually most of the time (note: casual ≠ sloppy). Should I need to dress professionally on a warm day, I have plenty of other options—I much prefer skirts or dresses to capris when it's warm, anyway. I don't need these, and someone else could get good use out of them.

Progress: 87 out of 400 items = 21.75% done.

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.