Monday, June 20, 2011

Another new blog

What, what?! I switched to a new blog because I'm crazy like that... you can find me & all my archives (from {enjoy more} BLISS & 33etc) at violetviva.blogspot.com

Monday, May 16, 2011

(minus)365 :: Day I dunno, I lost count

It is the mofo middle of May already. What. Is. With. That?


145. This mirror is one of those "hang over the door" dealies. Or as I like to call it: the "bang against the door every time I need in my closet" mirror. So now this mirror lives at Goodwill. The End.

Monday, April 18, 2011

(minus)365 :: Day 108

Giant things. Giant things people give you that you don't need but it's nice of them so you take them. Like this:

144* - This is a GIANT TV that my dad gave me a few years ago. It just sits there on the floor. Because I can't lift it. I was using it up until tonight when I switched it for my old 25" TV that I can lift and won't collapse the stand I have. Plus the 25" TV has more than one video input so I don't have to crawl around on the floor to switch out my DVD & Roku all the time. Eventually I'll get an LCD TV. I'm saving up like a good girl.

As for the tank TV, my brother said something about his friend wanted one so I'm hoping he'll come pick it up. Soon. Because otherwise, I have no idea how I'm gonna get it out of my house.


*oops, I forgot to put a number on this but I don't feel like editing it now... just pretend it's there, mmkay?

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Hike #3 :: Chuckery Trail

This week is when spring decided to stick around and this is when I kick my trips to the local parks into high gear. When I looked at the weather report for the week, I knew there would be one or two after work hikes. Today seemed like a perfect day after a kinda chilly day yesterday. So me & a friend & 2 pups headed to the Signal Tree to hit the Chuckery Trail. This is one of my favorite local hikes, even though it includes my nemesis THE REALLY STEEP HILL. Hee. Nah, it's good for me, right? Plus, that hill is secretly why it's one of my favorites. I've even taken to attempting these uphill battles without my asthma inhaler. (wheeze wheeze wheeze breathe)

Anywho, I forgot to snap any photos or take any videos. So this is all you get. Words.

The trail is posted at 2.4 miles but my Nike+ tracked 2.6... perhaps my shoe doohickey needs re-calibrated. But either way, nature rules. :D

Just Say No... to Garage Sales

I've decided to not have a garage sale. I've been going back & forth with it since I started this de-stuffing project and finally today I said, "Enough. Just donate it ASAP & get it out of your face."

I have had a successful garage sale before. One. Out of... 10? And by successful, I mean I made a few hundred bucks *because* I sold one big item for a few hundred bucks. But *most* sales, I'm lucky to get $50 out of and they are a lot of work. And then at the end, you either haul the junk back into your house for the next sale (bad) or you take it somewhere & donate it right away (better). When it comes down to it, there are much more fun/useful things I would like to do with my free time this summer. And while I could always use a few extra bucks, I simply don't want this stuff anymore. And having it sitting around waiting to maybe be sold is frustrating me. So to me it's a much better deal to give it away sooner then hope someone will give me a tiny fraction of what I originally paid for it later.

Now, there may be exceptions... for instance, Powells.com has started offering credit for used books online. So maybe some of my nicer/newer books that I don't want anymore, I could sell & pick up something (used) to read. Also, there are things, like the GIANT record player (spoiler alert! hee) that came w/my house that may just head to the curb. It will probably be more likely to get picked up by the Sanford & Son metal people for it's internal bits then bring any money to Goodwill. And the hassle of getting it to Goodwill doesn't seem worth it. And maybe, maybe, there will be a couple of things I will deem worthy of trying to craigslist or ebay away. But I kinda doubt I'll even go to that trouble for bigger items.

I actually thought of setting it all in my driveway & advertising as a Free Market type of thing but even that is a lot of work on top of a trip to donate it.

I just want it gone & I don't want anything to stand in my way! Bwahahahahaha... hehe.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

(minus)365 :: Day 102

112. Tablecloth that made me dizzy when I put it on a table
113. 2 curtain panels
114. doggy cone that's too small for Goyle
115. xmas card box I thought would be a cute gift box
116. frame
117. headband & cross necklace
118. shot glass from Portland... I've never been & have no idea who gave me this
119. bikini that I found in a bag of clothes... I didn't even wear bathing suits when I was tiny
120. men's dress shirt - i was gonna make it into something girly & cute
121. sun & moon ornaments
122. blank books
123. agility ball

124. stuffed koala
125. belt
126. tablecloth
127. Cabbage Patch Kid w/half eaten arm (you'll never guess who did that)
128. 5 little angel boxes
129. makeup bag
130. Neil Diamond concert program
131. Madonna - Like a Virgin cassette tape
132. shower curtain rings
133. blue's clues magnet
and in the back... more Tony Robbins CDs (#93)


134. messenger bag
135. water bottle
136. pilates video
137. file folder
138. hair dryer attachment
139. door knocker - I LOVE this and am conflicted about giving it up but my doors have windows... I may attach this to my mom's front door so it'll still be around (totally counts!)
140. 2 more curtains
141. over the door hooks
142. watch box
143. panty hose - I hate panty hose, always have & haven't even worn them in 10+ years... no idea where these ones came from.

I'm gonna have some bigger items this weekend when I'm ready to put stuff into my car (or to the curb). :)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

(minus)365 :: Day 100

Spring cleaning is in the air & I'm back to moving unwanted things out of my face... let's see what we have today, eh?


80. decorative box - I have so many of these, I must have really love them at some point
81. espresso maker - one of those stovetop ones, I rarely make coffee & when I do I cold brew in a french press
82. promotional martini glass & random ramikan
83. candle holders
84. 2 cafe curtain panels - nowhere for these in this house
85. another purse!
86. another lock!
87. more random remotes
88. gift bag & random cloth bag
89. 4 little decorative tea lights
90. wrist cuff & pair of earrings
91. sleep monitor - little gadget that you latch on to every time you wake up to measure your sleep... I learned I sleep like crap. Which I already knew.
92. pom pom maker - I think I bought this to make pom pom for hats I knitted, but I never learned to knit hats
93. Tony Robbins CDs - there are more of these... I never even finished the 1st week. heh
94. piggy bank - I have at least 3 piggy banks so goodbye to this dollar store one


95. giant martini glass - this was a gift & I think it rocks but I can only think to put ornaments in it & I haven't done that in 7 years
96. exercise DVDs - I don't use these ever
97. Italian language CDs - found the CDs for this set
98. lunch box - I don't tae lunch to work anymore
99. unused xmas cards
100. picture frame - there are more of these somewhere too... thought I liked them, changed my mind but broke one before I could return them
101. Really random pile - magnet, barbie blanket, arm band for old mp3 player, sewing kit case
102. pencil sharpener - so excited to find this only to find it's broke - boo
103. Kabbalah deck - from that time I thought I might like to learn about Kabbalah because Madonna does - hahahaha
104. sewing pattern


105. towel holder - I really like this but have nowhere to put it in this house
106. Shoes! Decided to count each pair seperate because, well, I make the rules! This is a terribly cute but uncomfortable pair of tennis shoe flats
107. faux uggs - super comfy & useful for NEO but worn out & no longer keep my feet dry
108. cute & comfy vintage heels but worn out & at the end of their life
109. pile of cheap worn out flats... my favorite shoes for work even though my doctor says I shouldn't wear such unsupportive footwear... these get buried when I buy new ones & I forget to throw them out
110. Another pair of tennis show flats - this pair was also not comfy & the dog pretty much killed them anyway
111. Super cute but horribly painful vintage heels - I remember I wore these out right after I bought them & made my friend go back to my apartment 20 minutes later because my feet hurt so bad

And that's it for tonight... really thinking about compiling as much as possible for a huge Goodwill drop-off this weekend because I am so sick of all this junk. So hopefully, there will be more updates on this project this coming week.

Hike #2 :: Goodyear Heights Metro Park

It's been a slooooow start to Spring here in the NEO, so this weekend of gorgeous weather was mucho appreciated by moi. Even though my to-to list is 88 miles long, I HAD to spend part of today in some woods. So the pups & I headed over to Goodyear Heights Metro Park to check out their trails. I chose this park because I had never been there (except for ballet in the park) & they have 3 different trails that intersect which is great when you want more than a 1.5 mile hike. I did the Adler trail & the Piney trail but I detoured a bit & ended up on the Parcour trail a little too... all total, we walked 4.11 miles. I definitely want to go back to this park when the tree fill out... here are some pix (including obligatory puppy porn):




Monday, April 4, 2011

How do you solve a problem like (gar)goyle?


Have y'all met my dog, Goyle? Have I told you how much he loves to chew & defluff things? Things like shoes, blankets, sheets, couches (yes, plural), chairs, dog beds, toys, underwear, socks, ironing board covers, and anything else he can get his teeth on? Yeah. Look closely at that photo. It pretty much sums up his persona... An adorable cuddle monster who eats up all my money. :D

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Hike #1 :: Gorge Metro Park

Went for the first hike of the year today. Yea! It was a gorgeous day for it. Did the Highbridge Trail at Gorge Metro Park w/a little detour onto the Glens Trail. 3.84 miles total... w/lots of stairs. Felt great! Uploaded this not-very-fancy video to YouTube to commemorate the day:

Monday, March 7, 2011

New Challenges

I fell off the healthy eating wagon the past couple of weeks. A busier than usual schedule & not enough planning ahead did me in (as it does every time). But I'm back at it starting today... I've got healthy vegetarian foods at the ready. I have been keeping up w/my (minus)365 challenge though I need to snap some photos & take all the piled up piles to Goodwill. Good news is that I have emptied about 15 more boxes... the bad news is that there's still a ridiculous number left. Ha. I did find something I have been looking for for the last 5 years so that was nice. :)

This weekend I came up w/a new challenge. Yea! Every spring I go full throttle into hiking around all the awesome parks in & around Akron. I LOVE hiking and can walk in the woods for hours and hours. It's the nature, stupid. :D But by the time summer comes along, other things start to get in the way. Oh, I still go for plenty of walks & stuff but pretty much just around the neighborhood. And, usually on those walks, I'm thinking, "I should go for a hike soon," but don't do it nearly enough. So I was thinking about that & how I'd like to keep up the spring momentum into summer and fall (and maybe even winter). Thinking, thinking, thinking... oh hey, challenge!

And thus, the 100 Hikes challenge was born. Bam.

The goal is to go on 100 hikes between April & October. That averages to 3 per week, which should be completely doable no matter how busy I get. Of course, I would love to hike a different trail every time but should be realistic about that probability. I have some favorite hikes in the area but will definitely branch out & explore new trails. I'd like to spend more time exploring Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I'd also like visit all of Summit County's Metro Parks & check out more of the little trails off of the Towpath. Regular walks that stay on the Towpath won't count (though I would like to explore more then the same 5 miles I usually stick to). There's also neighboring counties & the rest of Ohio & the world! Heehee.

But yeah, lots o' hikes coming down the pipe. Yea for new extra fun challenges!!

Friday, February 11, 2011

(minus)365 :: Day 42

Whoa! Look who's back... it's the girl who wants to get rid of a lot of stuff. Decided to suck up being so sleepy & get something done tonight. This was the easiest thing on my list. Heh. So here's more stuff I'm kicking outta my house:


61. Candle holders - these used to have mesh covers but one broke & then I was gonna craft up something new. But never did.
62. Hanging star candle holder - This used to have a stand & a glass in the middle... no idea what happened to them.
63. Paper towel holder - it holds paper towels.
64. Canisters - these are cute & I thought about taking the decorative stickers off but then I saw that your not suppose to put food right in them. WTF?
65. Cocktail shaker - For the holidays when your regular cocktail shaker isn't fancy enough!
66. More candlesticks
67. A book on conscious eating & a repair guide to the car I donated last year.
68. Photo snow globes - These were all the rage in 1997!
69. Little decorative box - too many of these around here.
70. Trivial Pursuit - I've only played this once w/my old friends who gave it to me.


71. Another little pile of clothes - there will be so many more clothes. Trust.
72. Two more bags - and prolly more purses.
73. Snoopy hook rug kit - Another craft that I'm probably never gonna do.
74. Wine rack - the wine bottles don't sit centered on this... I'm like Monk about stuff like that.
75. Workout video - I gave this weight bar to my brother so I don't need the video. Also... video.
76. Book - I got this for graduation. From high school. It's bible-ly. I am not.
77. DVR remote - no more DVR so I don't need no remote for one.
78. iZone Polaroid camera - I was sooo excited to find this & with film (1 photo) still in it. Little mini Polaroids. I switched out the batteries and well, it didn't work. :(
79. Manny Ramirez beanie bear - Bought this when the Indians were really good & still had good players. Manny broke some sort of record the night I bought it.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

I like you

Someone asked me recently what my favorite personal blogs are but I totally blanked on all but 2 when I tried to answer. So I promised a little list... and now 3 weeks later, here it is!

Now, before I begin, let me say: I'm horrible at expressing, in coherent words, what exactly I like about stuff (people, movies, books, art, etc). Or why I like it. Unless, "it's awesome," "it's cool," or "it's really interesting" are good descriptors. I am a woman of few words, I guess. Not surprisingly, I really hate being described by other people, because I usually feel people are missing the nuances & complexities of my personality. And the nuances & complexities are the best part of people, IMHO. So, I'm not even gonna pretend to know everything about the people behind these blogs. Blogs are just a peek into people's lives & personalities... and usually a carefully edited peek. For whatever reason, I like these blogs best. They are the blogs that I scan Reader for first. And I'm usually not disappointed.

Yeah... so, without commentary, here's a list:
I feel like I'm missing a couple but it's hard to make sense of my Reader in it's 600+ blog current state. Maybe, I need to organize a bit. :)

    Saturday, February 5, 2011

    Your Daily Cholesterol

    You may have heard that the government people put out some new dietary guidelines this week... Eat less food. Eat more veggies/fruits/whole grains, yada yada yada. Your basic common sense stuff that many Americans (including me quite a lot of my life) choose to ignore. The government will also ignore this data by continuing to subsidize crops (like corn & soy) that are mostly broken down & added into cheap nasty (but often delicious) overly processed foods. And by green-lighting any GMO thing some gross corporation I will not name comes up with, which will spread around & make life harder for the organic food industry. But, I'm not here to bitch about our broken food industry. I'm here to share with you a little sandwich I invented* that laughs in the face of the gov's recommended daily cholesterol consumption (< 300mg/day).

    Now on a daily basis, I don't eat a lot of high cholesterol foods (meat, dairy, eggs). So I think it's perfectly reasonable to splurge a little on the weekend, as long as you're aware that it's splurging. (side note: I just realized my shirt is on inside out - go me!) And this sandwich is my Saturday brunch splurge.

    Let's look at the ingredients:


    Simple enough, eh?
    • Onion ciabattini (from West Point Market)
    • 2 eggs (organic free range - local if you got 'em)
    • Smoked hot pepper cheddar cheese (shredded) (from West Point Market)
    • Oh, and butter (I use light butter)
    Sometimes, I only use one egg. And you could easily just use eggs whites. There are many ways to vary this to make it a bit less heart-deadly. But this is the way I originally made it, so this is what I wanted to share w/you. Here's what you do... fry your eggs (or scramble them, whatever you prefer). When I first break the eggs onto my griddle, I sort of corral them into a rectangle shape w/a spatula until they set. While the first side of the egg is cooking, slice the ciabattini bread in half (1 sandwich is only half the size of that bread in the photo above) & then slice it down the center lengthwise to make it 2 pieces of bread. Butter the outside of the bread & shred a little cheese. Flip your egg to let the other side cook & sprinkle the cheese on top of the already cooked side. When the egg is done, fold it over so that the cheese is in the center, all melty & delicious like. Now grill the buttered side of the bread & build your sandwich. The end result will look something like this:



    It's DIVINE. Trust. Don't even think about the cholesterol, just enjoy it.


    *it sounds so dumb to say you "invented" something that is essentially 3 ingredients... but I guess there's a million ways to make a breakfast sandwich & it's all how you vary those simple ingredients, right?

    Thursday, February 3, 2011

    Foodz

    I'm still going strong w/my vegetarian weekdays, here are some meals I have made in the past two weeks:

    Spiced Lentil Tacos from Self Magazine - I have made these before and I highly recommend them. I don't miss the meat at all. The taco shells I already had in my pantry were unfortunately stale so I ate this like nachos instead. The sour cream mixture is great but for the most part, I left it off. Very delicious.

    Quick Chickpea Curry from Everyday Food - Another recipe I've enjoyed before. Last time, I made couscous to serve it over but this time I picked up some whole grain naan bread to go with it. I refuse to use HFCS-tainted ketchup for anything other the occasional hot dog, so I substituted regular tomato sauce. I also used a pinch of cinnamon instead of the cinnamon stick, and no cloves (cause I didn't have any). Oh, plus extra curry powder & some cumin. Delicious.

    Sweet Potato & Quinoa Salad from Mark Bittman - I made this tonight. My first Bittman recipe! Which is odd, because I read (and loved) his book, Food Matters, which is full of recipes. And his old NYT column, which was full of recipes. This is super simple to make & soooooo good. I did the balsamic vinegar in the dressing. Fresh, light, just pure YUM.

    Wednesday, February 2, 2011

    Oh... hey.

    I swear I haven't forgotten about my (minus)365 challenge. I have a pile of stuff waiting to be photographed but I've been busy w/work, shoveling my driveway, playing ball w/puppies, cooking delicious food, & other junk. Plus I bought a Roku so I've been busy watching things on Netflix. Hee.

    Anywho, I'll try to get some photos up this weekend and get back on track. I'll also be posting more bathroom inspiration and a list of my favorite blogs. Sure, I could have just done one of those things instead of writing this, but where's the fun in that? I am also still working on closet makeover #1.:P

    Oh, and I changed my template (again) & haven't finished adding/adjusting things. I'm trying to decide what to add to the footer... there's room for 4 lists. So, I'm mulling that over in my frozen brain.

    Sunday, January 23, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 23


    58. Lamp frame for an IKEA rice paper lamp
    59. Candle holder
    60. Big box of clothes & linens

    Thursday, January 20, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 20


    57. Ten VHS tapes - Again, I don't have a VCR anymore (I think). And Muppets/E.T./Cinderella/Under the Rainbow/Star Wars extras - I have all these on DVD. Anne of Green Gables - it's on my wish list. The Princess Di video was pre-car tragedy & it's not on DVD. But I get the gist: she was awesome & stylish. Other random video is a benefits explanation tape from my mom's job. No idea why it's even in my possession.

    Delicious Things

    So I've been doing this food thing so far this year... I eat a lighter vegetarian diet M-F and then can enjoy my usual carnivorous self on the weekends. I plan on doing this for, oh, the next 6 months. At least. This easily keeps me away from fast food & (most) overly-processed foods. And the best way I've found to keep it up is to make a fall back weekday meal (or two) on Sunday.

    The first week, I made a chili w/black-eyed peas & this Sundried Tomato Risotto. Week two I made baked tortellini to which I added many veggies & mushrooms. I also "invented" the most awesome breakfast sandwich ever that week. I will share that at a later date. And this week, I made a hacked version of this fantastic Sweet Potato & Black Bean Mexican Lasagna. It sounded delicious just the way she made it, but in an effort to "use what I have," I made a couple of adjustments.

    I used two bags of Alexia Chipotle Roasted Sweet Potatoes that I already had which I added a can of black beans. So I used that for the veggies & beans. I left out the spices because the frozen potatoes come w/a spiced olive oil mix. I couldn't find green chili sauce at the grocery so I just substituted 2 cans of diced green chilies. And, as much as I wanted to will a "hard sharp cheddar goat cheese" (OMG that sounds awesome) into existence at Giant Eagle in NEO, I ended up settling for a crumbled goat cheese.

    But other than that, it was exactly the same. Ha! No really, this is one of the most delicious things I've ever had. I would have never thought of a dish like this on my own.

    So go check out Kathleen's recipe (and gorgeous photos) and, seriously, try it. YUMYUMYUM.

    Wednesday, January 19, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 19 Part 2

    But wait there's more!!


    56. Express bag. This had all the nail polish in it... plus a bunch of other random beauty products. The nail polish I'm keeping is now in the linen/product closet. Everything else was expired or stuff I don't use anymore. Trash! And now the bag can go too.

    (minus)365 :: Day 19

    Argh, will try my best to get back to doing this everyday... it's nice to be ahead & I don't want to fall behind. :)


    55. 15 bottle of old nail polish. Weeding thru my collection & these were the standouts (dried up, too thin, never liked to begin with, etc.) that could go right away. Gonna start making my toes pretty again, so I'm sure I'll find more to throw out as I test them out.

    Monday, January 17, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 17


    54. Six little candles I bought for little gifts/stocking stuffers.

    Sunday, January 16, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 16


    51. An old rug.


    52. Another purse
    53. Some drawer pulls I never used & don't like anymore

    Friday, January 14, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 14


    48. Lamp
    49. Super comfy shoes which unfortunately are just a smidge too small... also Goyle ate part of the insole but they are still so comfy.
    50. Golf glove - I hate golf.

    Thursday, January 13, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 13

    Whoops, I missed a day! It was bound to happen sooner or later. Good thing I'm many items ahead of schedule. :)


    44. This old trunk used to hold my Cabbage Patch Doll clothes. It had photos in it when I snagged it from my mom's on Turkey Day.
    45. A Streetcar Named Desire VHS tape - I do not have a VCR anymore. At least, I don't think I do. Ha.
    46. Another of locker locks... unknown combination, of course.
    47. Random books - TV 81 is literally about what happened on popular TV shows in 1981. WTF? Bedknob & Broomstick which I always thought was plural... but no, just 1 bedknob & 1 broomstick apparently. And Return of the Jedi - no explanation needed.

    And finally, I found this Star Wars/Burger King watch (Luke Skywalker) that goes in the tin (#22) from day 1. I kept the Princess Leia one. Natch. I'll pop this back in it's tin before donating it.

    Tuesday, January 11, 2011

    (minus365) :: Day 11


    43. Decorating/craft books
    Found these 4 books all in a pile, ready for the heave-ho.

    Think sometimes that maybe I will regret occasionally grouping things & only counting them as 1 item... but I sadly think I'll still make my goal. Plus some. Scary.

    Monday, January 10, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 10


    40. Tissue cover
    41. Little lamp
    42. Another purse

    Sunday, January 9, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 9


    39. Music stand
    I used to use this to display a framed photos or prints. But I haven't used it since 3 homes ago so it's time to let it go.

    Saturday, January 8, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 8


    38. Window air conditioner - I bought this used & used it 2x maybe. I don't really like A/C but I live in Ohio so sometimes it's necessary for sanity. But now I have central air so I don't need this.

    (minus)365 :: Ground Rules

    I'm a person who believes in the Golden Rule of Organization, "A place for everything and everything in it's place." Unfortunately, just believing doesn't make things magically happen & I've rarely been a person who has followed that rule. So while my organization systems are superb in my imagination, they are rarely implemented in my real world. And well, I just really fucking over that. Thus this project. And my closet-a-month project (closet makeover #1 starts today). I realize that this sort of change will take lots of time & energy, which is why I set these smaller spaced out goals for myself. My overall goals might be simplifying & getting organized but not having a realistic plan of action will leave me exactly where I started. Getting rid of everything you don't need sounds big & intimidating. Getting rid of one thing a day sounds reasonable.

    One of the things I'm trying to do when I go through all the boxes & rooms is to immediately take things to where they will live permanently or at least put them with related items. Craft/art supplies go into a box in the room where I hope to eventually craft & art things. Gift wrap & supplies get piled together. Home improvement supplies & tools go down to the project room in the basement. Etc. My hope is that when I'm done going through things (or even during the process itself), that I will know where all the things I kept are. These things will still need further organization but at least I'll know what I have. And I think when trying to get organized, knowing what you have is the first place to start.

    One place I'm already running into a problem is with the stuff I'm getting rid of... it's just sort of cluttering up my living room right now waiting for judgement day. So here are a few rules I'm setting to keep this problem in check:
    • Immediately decide which catagory the object fits into: keep, trash, recycle, sell or donate
      • Keep - Put it where it goes or will go. Keep related items together.
      • Trash - Bag smaller items. Place larger items that are accepted at curb next to trash bins in garage.
      • Recycle - Items accepted at curb go into bin. Electronics go into a box until I find programs to accept each item. Misc. items will be dealt w/on a item to item basis.
      • Sell - Garage sale items go into designated area in basement storage room.
      • Donate - Goodwill box in garage. Larger items next to box.
    • Deal with items immediately or on schedule.
    • Shred pile goes into box. Shred entire box weekly - Monday night.
    • Take trash/recycling out weekly - Tuesday night.
    • Empty boxes get broken down & added to recycling bin.
    • On the last Sunday of each month, tag new garage sale items with price.
    • Take donations to Goodwill on weekly trip to Dad's house - Saturday or Sunday.
    • Everything that isn't sold or given away at the garage sale immediately goes to Goodwill.
    They aren't much, but these little rules should help me along in my organization goals. Right now momentum is on my side but it'll wane, then pick back up, then wane again. The important thing is that I keep taking steps in the right direction... no matter how small the steps are.

    Friday, January 7, 2011

    Look...

    I just like to take pictures of my puppies, OK? Can you blame me?


    (minus)365 :: Day 7

    Whoa, day 7? I want to say, "already?" and, "that's it!?" at the same time... Heh. So I went thru boxes again tonight. A lot of trash. A lot of, "WTF do I do w/this?" (electronic graveyard?). Mostly little things. Here we go:


    30. This is the necklace that my HS boyfriend brought me all the way from Australia. I have never worn it. I thought maybe I should keep it because it was a sweet gesture & maybe one day it would be something I'd wear. Uh. It's been (doing scary math)... 17 years. I think it's safe to say, I will never wear it. Just like the relationship, it was not meant to be.
    31. 2 little wooden giraffes
    32. photo clip
    33. makeup or pencil case
    34. this is one of those wraps for boxing
    Oh and look! I found another napkin to match the one I found on day 1!


    35. Nintendo Gameboy w/case, light & 2 games
    36. over-the-door hook
    37. door knob & deadlock set (haven't found keys yet though)

    Well damn. 37 things in 7 days is not bad, right? Looooooong way to go, but a nice start.

    Thursday, January 6, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 6


    29. Fireplace tools
    These also came with the house but they are not really my style. And since expensive chimney repairs are keeping me from using my fireplace for awhile anyway, I think I'll add them to the donation pile & spring for new ones when I can finally use them.

    Wednesday, January 5, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 5


    28. Italian language CD's & book
    Yeah, so I have 3 sets of Italian CD's & have for 5-10 years. I think maybe it's time to admit that this is not a good way to learn (for moi*) and get rid of them. I'm not sure how I ended up w/3 sets... I think I bought this one, then a more expensive one (sure, why not?) and then some friends gave me another one. I'd probably chuck them all but 1 is AWOL & the other doesn't have all the CD's in the box. So... just this one for now.


    *A hardcore language class or immersion language vacation is what I really need.

    Tuesday, January 4, 2011

    Imaginary Decorating

    I'm still in the long, drawn out stages of planning a bathroom makeover. Here are a couple of things that caught my eye today...


    Two of these Raindrop Sconces from Barn Light Electric on either side of a mirror? Sweet.


    And this sink & console are quite adorable & just the kind of look I'd love. Unfortunately, they are also out of my price range. But it gives me ideas to work from.

    Maybe not these things together, but hey, I've got two ugly bathroom so it's good to bookmark lots of things.

    (minus)365 :: Day 4

    Woo. Back to work 1 day & I almost forgot all about this. But I was kindly reminded, walked into the room of doom (where all the boxes live), shuffled thru a few things, & voila!


    27. 5 little purses I haven't used in many years & won't ever use again. These were all stuffed inside 1 purse, so I'm gonna just count this as 1 item.

    Monday, January 3, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 3


    26. Old dehumidifier
    This is one of those things. Those things that come with your house. Here we have a dehumidifier that was left in the basement. Just like that... sitting on top of 4 rusty old paint cans. I knew it worked because it was running every time I looked at the house. And since those things are expensive, I ignored the fugliness & kept it thru the winter until it would be useful. Summer came along & indeed it would have been handy in our humid little state. Unfortunately, instead of draining thru the attached hose, it deposited all the water it collected on the floor below it. Thus the fancy paint can trick, I guess. I tried a couple of fixes to no avail... so when fall came around, I picked up a shiny new dehumidifier on sale. You can see it in the background sneaking up on the old one to stab it in the back. Tomorrow, the old broken one is heading out to the curb.

    Sunday, January 2, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 2


    25. magnetic organizer w/mirror
    I bought this a few years ago for my old place but never hung it up... it's cute but I don't really have a place for it in my house. So out it goes.

    Saturday, January 1, 2011

    (minus)365 :: Day 1

    Day 1 of my year-long-purging-of-material-crap challenge started off iffy... as in, I didn't even remember the challenge until about 4:00 in the afternoon. But I rallied. Hell yeah, I rallied. Here's what I subtracted from my life today:


    1. buttons from old jobs
    2. angels from old collection
    3. pedometer
    4. watch
    5. necklace
    6. pile of bobby pins


    7. mini Peanuts lunch box


    8. picture frame
    9. candles
    10. shelf w/key hooks
    11. vinyl tablecloth
    12. Dune trading cards
    13. Post-it holder
    14. playing cards
    15. puppy seat belt
    16. double showerhead holder
    17. locker lock


    18. wireless mouse & keyboard
    19. napkin


    20. mail/desk organizer
    21. unopened pack of underwear
    22. Star Wars watch tin
    23. unopened 2001 Peanuts calendar
    24. tree topper

    Um. That's not bad, right? Like I said before, the goal is *at least* one item a day. But when I'm going thru boxes, I'm not gonna stop at one thing unless there's only one thing I can find. In addition to these items, I also filled a trash bag w/misc paper, junk & broken stuff.

    As for what is getting donated, tossed or sold... it's a big goal to try to not to throw a lot of usable things away. But, there are some items that I don't want even wanna bother with at a yard sale. Bigger stuff like the tree topper, desk organizer, etc., I'll stash in the basement for my spring yard sale. While clothes and knick-knacks will prolly get donated ASAP. But little random things like buttons from old jobs will just get tossed, because who would want those?

    Alright, 1 day down... 364 to go.