In the Home Stretch

Yesterday was a day off for me. Not because I'm a lazy slacker, but because I'm living the dream in Blacksburg at a work conference with the hubs. I talked to my father-in-law, who has been taking care of Chicken and Monkey, and heard that Chicken is on day two of a nap strike. This is the girl who usually naps 3 hours per day. Hmm... He heard her talking yesterday during naptime and went in to find her stripped naked and standing on the changing table. And Monkey was up from 2-5:00 during the night.

But I digress. That is currently not my problem.

I'm almost done with my 5 things project for the month of January. Admittedly, I have lost some steam. But here's a few things that have been pitched or given away recently:

1. Plug in air freshener. One that has not been used for over a year. I haven't replaced that oil thingy that should actually make it emit nice smells. Instead, I take it out of the socket every time I need to use my blow-dryer, then put it back in and think "I should get more of that oil stuff next time I'm at Target." Then I don't. Enough of the plugging and unplugging and replugging! Trash it!

2. Old eyeliner. Like- I might have used it at my wedding. (5 years ago). Or even at my high school prom. Whatever. Can't you get some kind of eye fungus from that? I'm not chancing it anymore. I splurged on new eyeliner at the Kroger for $2.50. For that price I got a nice, new, sharp eyeliner pencil and peace of mind that I won't get eye fungus.

3. Old mascara. See number 2.

4. Pink shirt with a wide neck. It sort of looks Flashdance-esque. Doesn't flatter me in any way and I don't know why I've kept it so long.



5. Bunch of stuff off of the fridge. Notes, schedules I can get online if I need to, instructions for the babysitter (which are 3 months out of date), etc etc. We have a small kitchen and any attempts to have clear space really help. It easily looks cluttered and messy and even getting the fridge cleared off creates a little more breathing room. Or at least the feeling of less chaos.

6. Stationary. This is a common gift, and one that I love to receive. Well, when I like the stationary. But I have a lot of stationary that I've accumulated over the years that was a gift, was on sale, seemed like a good idea at the time, or just reproduced on it's own when my back was turned. So I cleared out a lot of that stuff, putting it in the Goodwill box. I have to remember not to hold onto all of this "just in case". I mean, if I don't love it (or even like it), then why would I use it as a note to someone else? However, someone else might really love it so why not pass it on to them via Goodwill?

I also need to keep to a certain rule when it comes to stationary, and that is "one thing in, one thing out". I have plenty of stationary, so it is not like I'm going to run out. I don't need to accumulate any more than what I have. When I get a new little box of stationary, that means I should get rid of another box that I don't like as much. This keeps my storage space organized, and it means that when I am picking out a card for someone I am picking out of a stash that I really love.

Same rule applies with clothes. Or kids' toys. Or almost anything. One thing in. One thing out.

7. Old journals. I know this is iffy for a lot of people. But the other night the hubs and I went through a bunch of old journals and got rid of a few. Many of them were pretty mortifying to look through. My 16 year old rants? Yiiiiikes. The ones we trashed were the ones where only a few pages were filled up, or when most of the journal was filled with notes. Not worth the storage space.

8. Games. I hate games. The hubs likes them. We got rid of a few. Now we have room for the new ones he has acquired the past few months. Everyone wins.

Next project: the laundry closet.