get rid of unnecessary possessions

Our television was taking forever to turn on. It still worked fine once it was on, but by the time it would start up, I’d be out of the room and on to something else, and the waiting annoyed my Dearest, so we got a new TV.

The old one was a big square monster that fit in a large square hole in the entertainment center. We couldn’t find another tube television anywhere, so we got the smallest flatscreen we could find. We wanted it to fit in the hole left by the old one. No such luck. We had to buy a new table for it. It’s a pretty piece of furniture. It has shelves for the peripheral equipment and movies, so it’s all good.

So the old TV and the big entertainment center went out for the charity truck. Also picked up today was a giant box full of toys, clothes, and household items.

I recently asked if the Dearest could just remove an old, overgrown bush in front of the house, and extend the porch a bit, so I could sit out there and do my morning reading and writing.

Somehow that turned into removing the entire garden and replacing it with a large, gorgeous courtyard. It is great. The wall around it, of course, needed to be painted and to my surprise, the whole house would then need to be painted! I was so delighted. :) I even got to pick out the paint colors. Yay!

My Dearest just got done building a 10,000 square foot mansion, so he has some time off and a little money to finally do some work around here. BUT ALL AT ONCE?!!!

Once he got the house painted, he and his crew came INside the house as he decided to tear out the carpet and the pergo and put in wood floors!

So yeah, now we see why this entry is in this category. Everything had to be moved to put new floors in, so EVERTHING in my house is now either lost or covered with dust.

As I find things, instead of just putting stuff back where it was, I am going through pretty much everything I own as though I were moving house. If I haven’t used it in a few years, it’s going. If I don’t need it anymore, it’s going. If I have no place to put it now, it’s going. There’s a ton of stuff out on the driveway already, waiting for the truck, and there’s bound to be a lot more out there by the time they come to get it.

I’ve been a little overwhelmed by all of this, but as I get a chance to settle in with it, I’m loving it and it makes me want to keep it all nice and pristine and to get rid of even more junk.

Another big bag of stuff and some camp chairs, but the bag had been full for a while and I didn’t even check it before it left, so it was a mystery load. Hope the Upward Foundation needed it, whatever it was.

In going through my big closet this afternoon, I tossed at least a dozen pairs of shoes in the giveaway pile, along with some random toys (children’s toys) that had been dragged in there sometime in the past 13 years.

Now the wardrobe is ready for another overhaul, so there will be lots of clothing going to the local charities.

There is a favorite dress in my closet. It’s one of those skirt things with the undertop, so you have to have something really long to wear over it…

Anyway, the only top I have that is long enough to cover the undertop is a thigh-length peach sweater. It has always been too hot and a little itchy, so I never wear it, even though the underneath skirt is so pretty.

Well, today I finally found a short sleeved peach sweater to replace the long hot one! It was only $5 at the thrift store, but it looks brand new. I can even wear my fancy necklace with it. Yay!

The hot, itchy one was only worn once, and the new pretty one will get worn a lot, so it wasn’t that hard to part with the old one.

A box of clothing and cocoa mugs is going out in the morning. I think I’ll put at least one pair of shoes in there, too. And some cereal box toys and some plastic Easter eggs.

Oh yeah! I just keep finding things now!

“The Truck” came again, this time for the Upward Foundation.

Out went a giant bag of games, holiday decorations from all seasons, and a few kitchen accoutrements; a big bag of clothes and shoes; and a large working television without its lost remote.

Another 24 cubic feet of space in my house. Yay!

This was actually kind of a hard parting. We got them when we built a house and at the same time had our second child. The new ones are so much nicer, though, and I’m really not that fond of laundry (hence the huge pile of clothing in my giveaway pile!), so out they went without looking back.

Anyway, I wanted to remind myself of the story of their departure, so I’m writing it here.

The machines have been on the driveway, between the cars for a week, in preparation for being donated to a thrift store.

Yesterday, a little boy came to our door and asked if the washer and dryer were for free. My husband told him yes and he went away.

Then I went outside to see what was going on. He had gone to a van and told his dad, who didn’t speak English that the machines were free. How surprised that little man was when my husband went out there, speaking fluent Spanish, and helped him load the washer and dryer into the van.

When they tried to lift the washer, it was really heavy. I had unloaded it myself, so I knew there was nothing left in it. My husband opened it. It was full of water.

It rained twice this week and filled the washer! =D

The Foundation for Montessori Education called me today to let me know they would “have a truck in my neighborhood” on Friday.

What a great way to celebrate Leap Day! I get to have at least 90 cubic feet of perfectly good stuff leave my home and help a non-profit organization at the same time. Yay!

Golf clubs, games, toys, clothing, kitchen accoutrements, small appliances, music books, silver goblets, Easter baskets and a hamster cage. Farewell old junk! Go be someone else’s treasure!

The give-away pile is gynormous. There are a dozen golf clubs in there now, a pile of piano music books, a bunch of winter jackets, a big bag of plastic cups, some dishes, and a stack of plastic “inboxes” that I may actually decide to keep.

The washing machine that matches the dryer I mentioned in my last entry is also up for grabs now. We got new frontloaders but the 21-year-old machines are still going strong. In fact, I had to unload them so we could take them out of the house. I was going to put them on FreeCycle, but the Dearest already has a place to take them, which is fine. Either way, I’M getting rid of stuff and it feels great!