get rid of unnecessary possessions

Mailed all the Star Trek books I had (10) to a friend whose husband is a Trekkie. Live long and prosper! :-)

Recycling paper is the one thing that I have been able to do and continue to do on a regular basis. Now that we accumulate all the recyclables at one place, it is amazing to see how much junk paper can pile up in a week’s time. I am recycling 5-10 lbs of paper every week!!! And that does not includes bills that I have to keep, school and work papers that I have to file, daughter’s art work that I like, etc. etc. Amazing!

I did sell my daughter’s 2008 Halloween costume on ebay so that was a plus. I have cleaned out her closet of clothes that don’t fit her any more. This weekend they will be gone!

One of the hardest things for me to do is part with any book. Yesterday I took out about 30 books and put them on my bookshelf on PBS and about 10 of them got requested within a few minutes. Maybe not a big thing in itself but a huge change for me. I have started going through my 4000+ books to see what I truly want to keep and what I can live without.

I couldn’t help laughing when I read this:

“No person who can read is ever successful at cleaning out an attic.”
―Ann Landers

We had the carpets cleaned a few days ago and it was the perfect opportunity for me to get a lot of things out of the house. I finally managed to get a few pictures hung on the wall in the bargain.

As usual, the biggest purge was paper. We must have sent close to 20 lbs of paper for recycling, 2-3 lbs were shredded and six garbage bags were taken out. Even though the rooms look much bigger now with a lot of the stuff out of the way, it also made me realize that I had much more stuff that needs to go before I can call this complete.

More stuff out of the house

1. An ARC of The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
2. A paperback book, mailed to a friend
3. 3 lbs of paper for recycling – waiting to be taken out to the school recycling bin

Yesterday, I took some of the school supplies that had stockpiled at home to my office where we were putting together backpacks for some of the poorer elementary schools around Dallas.

1. 12 bundles of wide ruled filler paper 200 ct
2. 10 boxes of crayons 24 ct
3. 10 boxes of thin markers
4. 10 boxes of thick markers
5. 15 composition notebooks
6. 4 black permanent markers
7. 10 pks of 3×5 index cards ruled, 100 ct
8. 4 bottles of Elmer school glue
9. 6 glue sticks
10. 6 pink bevel erasers
11. 8 boxes of colored pencils 12 ct
12. 3 boxes of colored pencils 24 ct

It felt good to be able to help kids get what they needed and also clear up space at home.

1. Four books
2. 15 lbs of paper for recycling
3. 5 issues of Better Homes and Gardens to YMCA

Not much but hope to make a bigger dent today!

Back from my vacation and I am seeing my home with fresh eyes. Too much stuff, specially things which can/should be thrown away. So I am setting myself a goal to get rid of 43 things in August. I will track the progress here. Time to go and see what I can shake loose today. :-)

If I could control three things, life would be so much better – paper, clothes and toys. :-)

15 lbs of paper recycled
100+ kids clothes hangers recyled
Sorted plastic bags into trach can liners and packing/wrapping piles for reuse
2005 issues of BHG recycled
Last 2 phone directories recycled
Two floor lamps on Freecycle

It is amazing how quickly stuff accumulates even when I am trying to get rid of things I don’t want/need.

Tomorrow’s plan – list/photograph clothes for donation