(minus)365 :: Day 23

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

(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.

(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.

(minus)365 :: Day 17

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

(minus)365 :: Day 16

51. An old rug.

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

(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.

(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.

(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.

(minus)365 :: Day 10

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

(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.

(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.

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.

(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.

(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.

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.

(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.

(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.

(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.