Cutting Corners

Two little things that have made my life easier:

Did you know you can make things using fabric, and not sew at all?  A few weeks ago it was Chicken's third birthday.  She really got some great gifts, including a little kitchen play set.  Look at all the little pieces to play with!  And step on!  And lose!  And drop in the bottom of the toy basket and never find again!

I am not opposed to toys with little pieces, but in my experience if the pieces don't stay together than they don't get played with.  She won't pull out the one spoon at the top of the toy basket and have a blast with it.  She will play for a long while, however, when she pulls out the the spoon AND the teacup AND the teapot AND the plates.  All the pieces together- see? 

I usually store all these pieces in big ziploc bags but then I saw some cute napkins when I was having dinner at a friends' house and decided to make some fabric drawstring bags instead.  Just $10 at Bed Bath and Beyond (minus 20% because of course I had a coupon).

Start with these and pick your color:

Cue the Heat N Bond.

Just iron this stuff on, fold the fabric and iron again.  No sewing necessary!  (More detailed instructions on the back of the packaging- but seriously it couldn't be easier).

A few minutes later, a cute fabric bag for the various kitchen toys.  (Or puzzle pieces... or blocks... or whatever).  

I say "cutting corners" because it is so very simple.  And you can watch your shows on Hulu while you do it.  And you know you'll always have more toys with little parts to stuff in these little drawstring bags, so just get comfortable and make a few.  This is also how I made the curtains in our bedroom and in the kids' bedroom, just so you know.  The beauty of this product does not start and stop at childrens' toys.  

Finally, another way I like to cut corners.  My husband suggested this the last time one of the kids was teething or had a fever or something that required frequent medicine administration from those little droppers.  You know- when your kid is coughing for a few days in a row and you're handing out cough medicine left and right?

Keep those little droppers, which tend to get sticky and leave sticky messes on surfaces, in a glass until the sickness has passed and you are ready to wash them once and for all and put them away.  I guess this reveals the truth- that we don't thoroughly wash them every time we give the medicine- sort of just rinse them off until next time, then wash them really well when the sickness has moved on for good. 

Now go in peace, enjoying your drawstring bags and medicine-free surfaces.

 

What to do with all that Spinach and Beer.

CSA killing you with all the spinach these days?  Feeling tired of trying to come up with another creative spinach salad idea?  Try spinach pesto.  My friend Erin introduced me to it, as a way to use up a bunch of spinach that is on the verge of getting wilty.  We have pesto pizza with a little feta and mozzarella and it is killer.

image from greenbabyguide

Spinach Pesto:


2 cups fresh spinach leaves, washed and de-stemmed
1/2 cup fresh parsley [I didn't have fresh, so I used dried parsley]
1/2 cup walnuts or pine nuts, toasted [walnuts are cheaper, so I used those]
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, fresh and not canned  [umm... totally used canned]
3 garlic cloves
2 tb extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground pepper


Blend the heck out of it all in a food processor.  Taste it, add a pinch of that, a touch more of that, etc etc.  Store in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent discoloration, or freeze. 

My friend Erin also adds olives to hers for a little extra olive-y goodness.

image from recipes4us

Additionally, if you have one lone beer hanging out in your fridge that you aren't really partial to drinking, try beer bread.   (From "Come on In"- a cookbook from the women of Mitchell Road Presbyterian in G'vegas, SC). 

Beer Bread:

1 can of beer
4 tb sugar
2 2/3 cups self-rising flour
6 tb butter, melted


Pour beer into a large bowl.  Let fizz.  Stir in sugar.  Add self-rising flour and blend.  Dough should be lumpy and coarse.  Do not mix until smooth!  Spoon dough into a greased loaf pan.  Pour melted butter ON TOP of dough.  Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to an hour.

Enjoy warm.  If you eat it while standing in front of a mirror, you can actually see your bottom half getting bigger.  You might wonder if it is worth it.  You might eat half of the loaf while pondering this.

Enjoy!

B & A: The Dreaded Laundry Closet

I am so far off the wagon with my March goal that I can't even remember what the wagon looked like. I can't motivate to do much. I am devoting some mental energy into figuring out why I feel compelled to "produce" or "accomplish" things with my days. Maybe having something to show for my days (a new light fixture or a cleaned out cabinet) is a necessary balance for having so little to show for the majority of my time. I mean, raising kids doesn't really come with a report card or something to "show" for how I've spent most of my day.

Now before you get all "but you're doing the most important job of all" and "you have beautiful, perfectly behaved children to show for your time" (oh, stop. really) just hear that I do not really think that I have absolutely nothing to show for spending all day with my kids. It is valuable time and they are better behaved with me mothering them all day than if, say, the feral cats in the neighborhood raised them.

Sure. But most of the kids' awake time is spent in repetition- change diapers, wash diapers, serve meal, clean up after meal, and so on and so forth. And some days it is hard to feel like that adds up to much but crazy-making.

So periodically I like to tackle projects with a definitive "before" and "after". A finished product. Cue the laundry closet.

You threatened to defeat me, oh laundry closet. Oh yes you did. But in the end I prevailed.

The laundry closet has been the bane of my existence for several months now. We have open shelving on the right, the stacked washer and dryer dead ahead, and tons of crap on the floor at all times. When it is time to load the washer, picture me standing in the doorway to this laundry closet, trying to chuck various clothing items into the washer from about five feet away. There's always so much stuff in my way that getting to the actual washer is not really an option.

See how this is ripe for a good cleaning? And would give me such a feeling of accomplishment?

Here's a few tips when you decide to clean out an area. It doesn't matter if it is your bedroom or the top of your dresser. These rules apply:

1. Start in one place and work your way in one direction. Start at the top and work your way down, go left to right, or (if you're tackling an entire room) work clockwise. For this project, I started at the right side of the bottom shelf and worked my way to the right, then moved up to the next shelf, and continued the process. Don't move onto the next area until you have finished the one you are currently working on. Do not move onto shelf two until you have finished shelf one. See?

2. Stay the course. Don't take this opportunity to empty your vacuum bag, even though you move the vacuum and see that it needs it. You're not doing that right now-- you're organizing your laundry closet.

3. Get rid of as much as possible. Recognize that you don't need a good percentage of what you have, and getting rid of things frees you up to enjoy what you hold on to. Some things I got rid of: old medicines, cleaners I don't use, the bleach container that held about 1 tablespoon of bleach, ratty old towels (some repurposed for rags, some tossed), dvd's we haven't watched in years, and cd's.

4. Leave space so you can move things around on your shelves. This applies to dressers and closets, as well. If you have to stuff things onto your shelves, balanced precariously so it all stays put, chances are that you're missing out on lots of things that have gotten jammed to the back of the shelf. So get rid of some stuff so you can actually access all that is in/on your drawers, shelves, and closets.

5. Resist the temptation to buy lots of storage containers before you organize. Purge as much as is necessary, organize, and then see if you still need containers. I ended up with two spare containers at the end of this project, to be used elsewhere in the house. Score!

6. Keep in mind that the space you have right now is all that you've got to work with. Don't buy clothes or linens or cleaning supplies as if you live in 3,000 square feet with too many closets to count when, in fact, you are actually in 900 square feet with one closet. As my friend Carolyn said- "get real with yourself". This applies to the things we hold onto, and the space we are actually living in. Get real with yourself. For real. Like, seriously.

Behold the "after":

60 Minutes

Theoretically I'm 11 days into my March goal of keeping my online time to 60 minutes or under.  I say "theoretically" because I started a few days late... and I haven't been doing a great job of sticking to my goal.

I'm not sure how long I've been browsing aimlessly, but I'm sure it's been longer than an hour some days.  Some reasons why this is true:

1.  I have had two sick kids.  Sick kids means lots of time on house arrest, unable to leave our apartment and do things.  This means I feel like I'm going to lose my mind a lot, which means that I want to escape mentally.  Which leads me to browsing here and there, to avoid the reality of being on house arrest.  See?


2.  I can't get myself motivated to do much else.  I was with my friend Megan yesterday and she phrased it something like "I just couldn't make myself find any new projects".  Yup.  The daily necessities are done, but I can't make myself gather up my energy to tackle something else.
Something that would ultimately feel more purposeful and enjoyable.

See, I'm not opposed to good time zoning out on the internet, looking at blogs for inspiration and whatnot.  But I don't like using it as a way of escape or procrastination.  Not when I know that's not what actually feels good to me.  Take yesterday.  I was tired and should have napped.  That's what I really needed.  Instead I bopped around online, using up the precious naptime that I had, until my kid woke up and puked on me.  If I had napped, I might have had more energy reserves to deal with this.  I hadn't.  So it was just puke on a tired person who wished she had napped instead of frantically reading blogs while thinking "I don't really want to be doing this."

Follow that?

All that being said, I did start off the week with a little more gusto and adherence to my goal.  Here's what I did on Monday:

A close up:

Idea came from here.  With a few modifications.

See what awesome things happen when I get my tail off the internet? 

How To Curb Your Book Addiction, Part II

It's time for the exciting conclusion of "How To Curb Your Book Addiction!"

I wrote to my friend Carolyn, asking for help when I was in the middle of my 5 Things challenge for the month of January. (Go here if you want to read Part I of this piece, and here if you want to know more about what I'm talking with the whole "challenge for the month of January" thing).

In Part I, Carolyn had some great advice for whittling down some of the books we have in our apartment. I wrote to her because the book collection can feel a bit out of control at times.  We have books under the bed, books in the attic, and books in stacks on all surfaces of our bedroom. We aren't enjoying most of the books- I mean, who wants to venture up to the attic and cuddle up with an old paperback? Not me, Jose. If you have room for the books and continue to enjoy the books, then by all means keep them around. We don't have room for all of them, and need to move some out.

Here's the rest of Carolyn's advice on paring down and organizing your book collection.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

She also includes some reaaaalllly good advice for how to stick with my February goal and not cut corners.  Two bits of advice in one letter- that's gold. 
-Katherine


How To Curb Your Book Addiction, Part II:

After slimming down your collection, it’s time to move on to step four, reorganizing your books. Think about what is efficient in where you place your literary collection. Is there space for your personal books in your bedroom? Can books that are read before bedtime and naps be in bins in the kid’s room? You see where this is going….cookbooks in the kitchen, and so on. I recommend looking at apartmenttherapy.com for inspiration, although it can be overwhelming—who knew so many people had ideas as to how you can arrange your books!

           (You don't think this is my apartment, do you?  Ha!  If it were, would I really be soliciting advice on my book collection?  This person has it made!  This image is from the aforementioned apartment therapy.  So is the one on top).

 

Finally, the organizing of books endeavor should end as it started: spending time thinking about the future of your book collection. For step five, think about what kind of books you would like to continue keeping in your house. What processes can you put in place to keep the book supply manageable?

I hope that helps!

And here’s one last piece of advice for you that actually goes with your fitness February fun- work out wearing only your underwear in front of a mirror. Whenever I do that, I never feel tempted to drop that last bicep curl or skip out on lunges. Plus, the lack of clothing keeps me moving around to stay warm. 

-Carolyn

I wish I could take credit for this

After getting rid of so much stuff during the month of January and my 5 things challenge, my apartment sometimes feels cold and barren. Picture this, but with even less crap and clutter all over the place:

Sometimes we let the kids play with the big glowing egg in our living room. But only if they're good.

Anyway, I could use a few Precious Moments figurines or general knick-knacks to warm the place up. (Am I pulling all of this sarcasm off? I'm trying really hard and laying it on really thick).

I came across this list (courtesy of this page), which I hope will really help me clutter things back up.

20 Ways to Create Clutter

1. Whenever you stay at a hotel, take the tiny shampoos and soaps home with you. Don’t use them, though. Hoard them in your bathroom for the coming zombie apocalypse.

2. Treat your home like a museum. Be sentimental about everything, from your first-grade report card to family heirlooms.

3. Agree to store things indefinitely for other people, including your children.

4. If someone offers to give you something you don’t really need, like an extra set of dishes, say yes. It’s free, isn’t it?

5. Combining households with your sweetie? This is the perfect opportunity to bask in the thrill of double ladles, DVD players and litter boxes. Don’t be tempted to get rid of a single object; you never know when you might need those extra dining room chairs.

6. On to your wardrobe. Don’t weed out old things when you buy new ones, and keep clothing in a wide range of sizes in case you shrink or expand like Alice in Wonderland.

7. Solve all of your organizational issues in one fell swoop with a quick trip to The Container Store. Buy loads of stuff, but don’t measure spaces beforehand or create a clear plan for how you’re going to use them.

8. Deal with every stray emotion by going shopping. Spend more than you planned to so you can get the free gift at the cosmetics counter, even if you never use eye shadow or flavored lip gloss and already own enough toiletry bags to last a lifetime.

9. Take your “miscellaneous” pile of papers.
Sort papers according to category/subject/urgency.
Label each pile as such with a sticky note.
Paperclip each pile together.
File under “miscellaneous” in your filing cabinet.
Voila!

10. Instead of appreciating what you have, dwell on the nagging feeling that you’re missing something important.

11. There’s nothing in a “free pile” that can’t become your new best friend. Broken TV’s become objects d’art, and rain-soaked couches transform into guest bedding for the in-laws!

12. Buy sale items because they are such an amazing deal, regardless of whether you actually need them.

13. If you can’t sell your old things for what you think they’re worth, keep them instead of donating them.

14. Take up a hobby or activity that requires lots of specialized gear or supplies, like ice hockey or scrapbooking. Oh, sure, it seems innocent now. Just wait until an entire room in your house has been devoted to your spouse’s model-train collection.

15. Out of sight, out of mind. If it’s tucked in a container or hidden away in a cupboard, it’s not clutter.

16. Speed up your impulse shopping by signing up for “flash sale” sites like Groupon.

17. Value quantity over quality.

18. Subscribe to half a dozen weekly magazines and a couple of newspapers, and refuse to get rid of anything until you’ve read all of them. Stack them until you can get there, ideally on tables that are slightly too small for them, enhancing the likelihood of landslides.

19. If you have a yard sale, put everything you can’t sell back in the basement until next year’s yard sale. Repeat annually.

20. When in doubt, box it up and put it into paid storage!

Happy Cluttering!

How To Curb Your Book Addiction

Hello out there- 

A few days ago, this lovely letter landed in my inbox from my friend Carolyn Pinkerton.  In January, I wrote her to ask for help in reining in my book collection.  She's a doctor, so you should probably listen to what she says.  

I'll begin by sharing steps 1-3, which focus on assessing your book collection and embarking on the weeding-out process.  (Not easy at all, if you are committed to holding onto every single book that has ever come across your doorstep!).  Then stay tuned for steps 4-5, where we will discuss organizing your books.   

-Katherine

Dear Full-Time Stay at Home Mom Who Does a Little Other Stuff on the Side as Well,

In January, you shared with me the troubling news that your book population had become out of control. It is now February (perhaps I should set a monthly goal of dealing with my procrastination), but I’m betting your book situation is about the same. Never fear, dear friend, you can do this!

Before jumping into action, take a moment to assess and reflect upon your current situation. Step one involves you asking yourself these types of questions: Why does your book collection feel unruly? Is there not enough space for them all? Not that we’re trying to point fingers here, but are the books mainly Chicken’s and Monkey’s? Yours and/or the hubs? Are you regularly buying books, getting them as gifts, borrowing them from others? What types of books do you see when you look around?

Now that you’ve pondered long and hard on these questions, you can start step two, getting rid of books. This is not for the faint of heart, but as you spent January getting rid of things, you are a seasoned pro. Think of your criteria for determining which books stay and which ones get the boot. Perhaps you only want to keep books that you would reread, have deep sentimental value, are rare, or are used for reference materials. When weeding through possessions, I like to repeat the phrase “get real with yourself.” Yes, that cookbook might contain lots of pretty pictures, but if I’ve only made one recipe from there in the last two years which wasn’t even really that good, it’s time to get real with myself and let it go.

So now you have a big pile of books ready to exit your home. Step three is deciding just how you’re going to get them out the door. One possibility is to set popular and recent paperbacks to the side and become a part of the paperbackswap.com gang; this is a good website if you’re flexible with what you’re reading (not the best for trying to find a copy of your book club’s pick) and if you’re willing to buy the materials to package books and ship them out for the swap. Another option is to sell your books. During my most recent book sweep, I made about $200 selling books on Amazon, but it was a time consuming process. If there are cookbooks in the “gots to go” pile, consider selling them to The Seasonal Cook. They’ll pay you for your used cookbooks or give you a bigger sum if you take a store credit. The rest of the books can be donated to groups such as libraries, schools, and the Goodwill.

(To Be Continued...)

So we're off to a good start, aren't we?  Who's ready to purge some books?  Anyone else out there have a hard time getting rid of books? 

*image courtesy of hgtv.  you didn't think that was MY lovely home, did you?  please. 

What I Know For Sure*

So I was sitting around thinking last night...

And it dawned on me that this project (the 5 Things project) has been both easier and harder than I anticipated. We're 21 days in now, with no thoughts of turning back. I'm committed. But there have been some surprises along the way.

Here are a few:

1. Because I'm doing this for one month, and one month only, I started off with a ton of momentum. Areas of my apartment that I've been ignoring for months or [ahem] years are suddenly getting the attention I've been meaning to give them. Easy projects that I just had not made time for are getting time. I know that this project is finite, so I'm sort of blitzing it and leaving no item unturned. With a definite beginning and a definite ending, I have remained pretty motivated.

2. I am surprised that I cannot remember a lot of the stuff that I've gotten rid of. I mean, it really is out of sight and then out of my mind. I even try to make a mental note when it goes in the outbox (a literal cardboard box) of what it is, so I can blog about it later. But then a mere two hours later I can't recall what I put in there. I'm serious, ya'll. That's how little this stuff means to me. Really begs the question as to why I brought it in the house in the first place. But that's another topic for another time.

3. I need motivators. Like I said in point 1, sentence 5, the beginning and the end of this project motivate me. But that has not been enough at times. Oh no. Not near enough. Sometimes I am holding something in my hand and I know I should get rid of it.

I haven't used this in four years. It is ugly. I get a rash from even looking at it.

But I still can't let go of it.

But I might use it this year. It's sort of vintage-quirky. I can buy hydrocortisone cream for the rash.

Allow me to use point 3, subpoints a-d to tell you a few motivators when I am in those moments:

a. It will be nice to have this space (that the object takes up) for something else that I love more, or for nothing at all.

b. "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." (William Morris). I believe that. I really do.

c. Someone else might really really LOVE this thing when they stumble across it at the Salvation Army store tomorrow afternoon, or are given it through the Pregnancy Center. Like really LOVE it. And here I am, trying to talk myself into liking it? That seems trifling.
[Example: I had a changing pad cover that I really really liked at one time, but it doesn't match the new vibe I have going on in the kids' room. I was keeping in my closet; for what I don't know. The only thing that pushed me to pull the trigger and get rid of it was thinking that some other mom would see it and get really excited to have it for her baby and her little nursery. If the thought of a secondhand changing pad cover grosses you out, then this whole story is lost on you.]

d. I have to get rid of something (well, 5 somethings) because I said I would and now that I have a blog I cannot let down my adoring public. How would they go on?

Just a few "aha moments" for you. Motivating, no?


*thanks to the Queen of Talk for the post title

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

I tackled the under-the-sink area this weekend. It was a tough battle, but I believe I came out victorious. Observe, first, the "Before". What exactly is being housed under this sink? What it that big black wad? Was everything just thrown in there haphazardly, with no concern for rhyme OR for reason?




So I pulled everything out, and first off got rid of a few things.




Two ant traps that were lurking in the back. Totally unnecessary in the middle of January. Toss in the trash.

Jumble of reusable grocery bags. Put a hook up in the laundry closet and that's where they hang now. (And I put to use a spare hook I had just lying around! Bonus!).

I may or may not have had a bb gun under the sink. It may or may not have been brought into this house to address the stray cat problem on our premises. Sick and twisted? You can ask the hubs all about this. Or PETA. Whatever. Whether this item existed under my kitchen sink or not, certainly the proper place for it is locked in the shed, no? That's all I'll say (or not say) about that.

Other items: big old bottle of liquid Ivory soap, which only had about .5 ounces left in it. I emptied the .5 ounces into the soap dispenser by the sink and-viola- that big old 30 oz container could go in the recycling bin. Also relocated an all-purpose cleaner to the laundry closet with the rest of the cleaning supplies. (Just wait until I clean out and 5 things the mess out of that laundry closet. All of that crap is going to find it's way back under the kitchen sink!). I had a container that was neatly holding the Ivory and all-purpose cleaner, which I could get rid of.

Surely that's 5 things, right? I mean- and check out the "After", will you? Don't you just want to curl up in there, between the compost tupperware and the trash bags, and take a nap?

The Secret to My Success

I know a lot of you have been affected by this whole "5 things" thing. Words I have heard are "inspired", "motivated", "revolutionized", and "changed my life forever". I know, I know. It is really an intense process that is happening here. There have been times over the past 10 days that I have faltered. That I have wondered if I could go on, getting rid of 5 things a day. Some of you have wondered the same thing.

Here's the mantra I repeat to myself in those moments:

Stay the course.

Here's why: Often I start in one room, with one thing that has been in the back of my mind that I know I want to get rid of. Say it's the magazine on my bedside table. So I pick up that magazine and, while there, decide to straighten up the books that are there. Then I notice how many books are on my bedside table, gathering dust. Goodness I should really dust this thing. Where are the dusting rags, anyway? Didn't I mean to make new ones out of old burp clothes? I should do that... It will just take a minute. Then I notice how many books I haven't read that I need to. That one that I borrowed from someone but haven't returned. I notice how I have barrettes and receipts and an empty water glass there. Don't the barrettes belong in the medicine cabinet? I'll just take those to the bathroom really quick. And then I see how I have three pill containers and gosh wouldn't it look nicer to have those pills in sweet little glass jars, instead of blue and white Kroger containers?

Twenty minutes later I'm shuffling things around the bedside table, and I'm in what the hubs calls "analysis paralysis". I've forgotten why I ended up staring at the bedside table in the first place. Barrettes are everywhere and now for some reason I have a ratty burp cloth in one hand and glass jars with mismatched lids in the other. I've pulled scissors out of the junk drawer (for the burp cloths) but in doing so noticed a few more things that need to be organized and put in a different place. So I have a half-emptied junk drawer calling my name as well. And no movement or progress has taken place.

That's when I call on my mantra-- Stay the course. Don't be sidetracked by the dust, the potential to organize the mess out of that tabletop, or the idea of little glass jars. Just clutch that magazine to you like your life depends on it, walk over to the recycling bin, and drop it in.

And there's my one thing. Four to go.

Toys, toys, and more toys

Both of my kids are still asleep- at 9:30 a.m. This is very unusual and very awesome. I took the opportunity to go through some of their toys, paring down a little. We got a very generous onslaught of toys and boys for Christmas, so getting rid of a few to make room for new ones seems appropriate.

Now, I love books as much as the next person. I think I always imagined I would keep all of my books and my kids' books. Because they're books! And books are good! They make you smart! You learn things from books! But. The reality is that we live in a two bedroom apartment. We cannot use books as furniture. They don't cook us dinner. They don't dust themselves or arrange themselves neatly back on the shelf after use. And seriously if I kept every book we have acquired since Chicken was born...well, we'd have no room for clothes or toys in her room. And maybe she'd have to sleep on a mattress of books.

So- out with several books. Some are looking worn, so they were easy to toss. Some were just...lame. Like I didn't enjoy reading them to either kid. So why keep them around when we have plenty of other options? And we just got a few good Dr. Seuss' for Christmas? So I think I put 7 books in the "get rid of" box.

Then, toys. In my experience, my daughter does not actually play with her toys when they are a mountain that will fall on her if she dares pluck one out of the mound. But when I periodically store a bunch in her closet and her toy basket is easy to get to and easy to pull out of- surprise!- she plays with her toys. So that was my goal. Get her toy basket easy to get stuff in and out of. That meant tossing about 5 little toys that she doesn't play with anymore, or that she got new and improved versions of at Christmas. I also came across several little baby toys that Monkey used to play with when he was in the lie-on-his-back-and-doesn't-roll-over stage. But that has come and gone. He is crawling and pulling up on furniture, so we don't need little mobiles and rattles anymore. Out with several of those.

It feels much calmer now. And I'll bet that Chicken is much more interested in her toy basket this morning.

January's Goal

My goal for January:

To get rid of 5 things per day.

Now, originally I started out aiming for 10 things a day. But some haters out there rained on my parade, convincing me to whittle it back to 5. Fine. They may be right. We'll see as the month marches on.

Here's what it means to get rid of things:

Put it in a bag or box, and get it out the door. There can be things that have needed to be returned to their owners, things that I sell on Craigslist, and things that go to Goodwill. I'm not being too nit-picky. But-no- trash does not count. As in, crumpled up paper or a pen that's out of ink. That kind of trash. But if something is not suitable for Goodwill, I will throw it out.

Here's a few things that have gone out the door so far:

1. The trash can lid. We have an open-top trash can with a lid that is supposed to easily push open, down into the trashcan. Like the one pictured. However, once the trash bag is in the trashcan, the lid doesn't really open into the can very well. So trying to throw stuff away, particularly when I am making dinner and throwing away gross pieces of chicken or the ends of onions, is a pain and means I get chicken or onion pieces on the lid. Aren't you grossed out by that? I am always taking the top off it and laying it by the wall, behind the trashcan. Then I might put it back on top of the can once in blue moon. But between the blue moons, my son will come crawling over and try to gnaw on the trash can lid. I am not overly concerned about germs, but this one gets even me. I mean- the trash can lid. Where I just threw out those leftovers that had grown new life in our fridge. Or emptied out that mesh thing that catches out all the gunk in our sink. Gross!
Imagine my relief to throw that trash can lid into the recycling bin. No more looking over to see Monkey playing with a trash can lid that is not remotely sanitary.

2. A mug with a chip in it. I held onto this mug for a while. It was a gift and the shape was really nice. But it was too big. And we never used it. So- out it went.

3. Two purses. I got a new one for Christmas that is really beautiful. And really- does a woman really need three fairly similar, dark brown leather purses? I think not.

4. A cheese slicer. I argued to buy this years ago because that is what we always used growing up. I thought it was a standard kitchen item. The hubs informed me that his family always used a regular old knife. I laughed at him. Told him how this cheese slicer would change his life. I used it faithfully for several months. Then it ended up at the back of the drawer and I forgot about it. Started using a knife. Realized maybe it wasn't such a necessary kitchen item. Out it goes.

5. An alarm clock. The hubs uses his watch. "What happens if your watch dies?". "I'll get a new one". Oh.