Last year my friend gave me a 35 pound kettlebell she wasn’t using anymore as a gift for my birthday. I’ve used it extensively and continue to get work-out value from it on a weekly basis. So, returning the favor, for her birthday I gave her a fancy mp3 player with speakers and a large memory card such that her entire (and extensive) music collection can fit in it. It wasn’t new: I just didn’t use it anymore as it’s been supplanted by my cell phone and its large memory. So, two things good: something that serves her… And one less item of ownership for me. 10 months ago

... other than returning a hundred six dollars’ worth of stuff that I bought at IKEA that I realized I neither needed nor wanted on my credit card. Stuff that you see in the store, you go, “Wow, I really like that!” and then when you get home you realize, “Wait, I have something like that already. True, I don’t like it as much as the one I just bought, but what I have is good, entirely functional, and will remain that way for years.” So, unopened, untouched, a bunch of things went back. That I actually get money for it feels better than giving away those things the new acquisitions were meant to replace or having to go through the hassle of selling them… 19 months ago

I like fannypacks because you can fill them, turn them so the bulk rests on the small of your back, and feel like you’re not carrying anything. I have several of different sizes, and one that I used a lot had some strange logo on it that reads, “Sporn-Way to the top.” Except the S is large and stylized, so when you look at it, it seems to read, “Porn-Way to the top.” Enough people have asked about it (and enough fannypacks have been accumulated by yours truly) that I don’t need to be advertising the upward mobility of the porn industry… assuming there’s any. So, off you go, dirty little fannypack! 19 months ago

What do you call it when something that’s meant to organize actually gives rise to clutter as you’re not using it anymore and you can’t bring yourself to get rid of it?

You call it irony.

I can bring myself to get rid of it. Off you go, clothes organizer thingies! 20 months ago

Well, it’s a trick question. Depends on whether he has a beard or not. :-)

But, seriously, I have two: a cheap one I bought because it was cheap (uh-oh!) and an older, still-functioning one that’s of better quality but now requires something pointy to open and clean, something pointy but blunter to turn on and off, and attention to not spill anything inside it.

I got rid of the first one. It can go to Goodwill and it’ll be purchased and used, whereas I know for sure nobody would buy and use the second one. So there. Adieu, le cheap shaver. 20 months ago

It’ll go with the laptop tomorrow when I give it away. One less thing to sell or find an appreciative home for. 20 months ago

If you’re a fan of roasted garlic and spread it on (organic, sprouted wheat) bread like butter every single chance you get, then this is the thing to have. But I don’t do that and the rare occasions in which I cook something and adorn it with roasted garlic don’t justify the space or the Burden of Ownership associated with this. I’ll ask my friend if she wants it, and if not, it’ll make its journey back to Goodwill, whence it came. Arrivaderci, garlic roaster! 20 months ago

It’s black, it’s cashmere, and it’s a V-neck, which I like because it lends itself to so many variants with what you match it with. I thought I looked pretty damn slick with the expensive shoes and the quasi-dressy black jeans. But I did notice that the sweater in question had a little bit of a glitch right at the bottom of the V. “Ah, I’ll sew it later. Nobody will notice.”

I’ve no idea if my date saw it or not. But I do know that I really liked her, I tried to follow up on the date, and there was no interest in her part.

I always blamed it on the glitch at the bottom of the V. More convenient than pegging it on some shortcoming of mine.

Probably good not to have these associations every time I put it on, even if I fixed it shortly after.

Besides, I bought a few other ones in the meantime that better reflect my colorful personality (ahem!), so, off you go, dear black cashmere v-neck. May you better adorn some undertaker’s trunk. 20 months ago

This was my games computer. Actually, my old games computer, because it can’t handle anything modern. I ran, very unexpectedly, into the young man whom years ago I used to be a Big Brother to (you know, in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters kind of a way, not in the George Orwell sense). I was pleased to see the person he has become. As we chatted, he said he wanted to learn Spanish and I replied I had a program that does this and asked if he had a computer. He said he didn’t. So, I’m cleaning this up for him, adding a few more functional things, and giving it to him. Given that my game-playing days are most likely over, this is an all-around win-win situation. 20 months ago

All right, getting rid of yesterday’s ugly brown shirt that I owned just because it was warm (despite having other ones) seems not cheer-worthy.

So today I’m getting rid of something I like: a very light silk shirt I’ve had for a long time. It’s still good. It’s still nice-looking. It’s just that I have others, and being silk, I can’t wash it in the regular wash. That’s not simple.

So, sayonara silk shirt. Thanks for the memories, and may you be dry-cleaned with joy by someone else. :-) 20 months ago

... which is why I haven’t been around on 43T. Unfortunately, they weren’t 100,000 of my things… they were a hundred thousand of my mother’s things. God rest her soul, she was a packrat and hadn’t moved in 31 years. Here’s me trying to overcome that particular tendency from that part of the family.

Funny how living for 2 weeks out of my suitcase (while I was going through her things and endeavoring to find homes for them) made simplicity easier to embrace. I came back and saw I have a bunch of shirts that I don’t like or need. So, today we put the thick brown shirt in the give-away box. The puke-brown/brown bear look probably is good for some Alaska outdoorsman, which I’m certainly not. So, adieu, shirt. 20 months ago

I’ve never liked owning things… with the exception of toys when I was a kid. Other than that I’ve never understood why someone would like to own a car, for example – nothing wrong with wanting to do so of course, but personally I feel like owning a lot of things just adds stress into my life instead of adding quality or happiness. I’ve thought this would be something that’d change when I become older, and perhaps it will, but right now it seems like I become less and less interested in owning things the older I get. So perhaps it’s not an age thing after all but rather a sitruunapuu thing? :-)

Currently I feel like it’d be nice to own a laptop, a phone, maybe a couple of good books, some clothes and other necessities, and maybe a few extra things (like a kettlebell and a skipping rope). In reality I own a lot of things, both big and small, and I feel the majority of them are completely unnecessary. I’m just in the process of selling one of the biggest things I own and I really can’t wait to get rid of it, but I’d also like to start getting rid of smaller things I own but don’t really need. Which is why I adopted this goal.

So far today I’ve given away three huge bags of stuff… not a bad start and I already feel better! 21 months ago

... I have to say, I don’t know where I got that notion about myself. I packed all my clothes today in anticipation of moving, and two suitcases and three huge boxes were needed for that little adventure. Didn’t have the presence of mind to jettison stuff yet but seeing it all there gave me clarity. In the meantime, the camera tripod that I no longer use goes in the give-away box. And it thought I’d forgotten about it. Ha! 21 months ago

... but I got rid of someone else’s item today. My justification in listing it here is that it was in my possession until such time as I could find a third party to take the aforementioned item (a laptop computer). I did add a carrying case and a few cables to the bargain, so I did technically get rid of something today.

Also, I have been laundering every piece of clothing that I own for the last two days, and holy macro, do I give opera divas a run for their clothing money! Stay tuned: this “seeing it all at once” realization leads me to hone in on the next area of clearing, with a merciless, take-no-prisoners approach.

^{Actually, the prisoner would be me. I’m trying to free myself from under the shackles of ownership… :-)}21 months ago

O tan hooded sweater…
You looked so right when I found you on the store rack
So warm, so fleece-y, so nurturing.
Alas, despite my love affair with you over the last few months
Your shortcomings became evident
In the sleeve-length department.

So fare-thee-well. May you keep warm
Someone chubbier, stockier, and with shorter arms than mine. 21 months ago

It falls in the category of “Just do it. Quick. Don’t look. Don’t look through them. You won’t miss them. Just close your eyes and put it in the give-away box. Besides, you haven’t found anything else to get rid of today.”

So there. Done. Sayonara, CDs. 21 months ago

I love some of Dali’s more outlandish creations – they remind me to be creative and to think outside the box. That being said, I’ve had this book for years ond only want a few images off of it. I photographed the images I wanted and off you go in the give-away-box. Adios! 21 months ago

... okay, it doesn’t technically qualify as “get rid of”... and yet it does when it involves several steps, like getting an RMA and going to the post office to ship it back… This is the best way of getting rid of things: you get rid of the item and you get cash back. Good bye, unnecessary Bluetooth adapters… :-) 21 months ago