Purge Day 10 (The Last One!!!)

Ok... so the goal for the final 10 items is for everything to be of the clothing variety...
This is going to be difficult, but I can do it.

1. 1 pair super cute gray tweed shoes... too small :(

2. navy blue fitted t-shirt (that I have worn since junior year of high school... no biggie)

3. 1 pair pajama pants

4. v-neck fitted t-shirt

5. Obama fitted t-shirt that I never wore... I have another one that I'll keep for posterity's sake

6. Ugly Srat t-shirt with creepy children on the back

7. super worn srat t-shirt that has unfortunate associations with it

8. srat t-shirt from a formal that was before my time (and is also a size medium). Generally I found that by getting rid of t-shirts that weren't really mine or weren't size small, I was able to cut out several... I still need to get rid of many many many of them though.

9. Bread Loaf T-shirt from my summer in Santa Fe. The back of the shirt is awesome, and the front of the shirt is super lame / awkward. I only wish that I had been in the computer lab when WWIII broke out over how to do the logo on the front. I would not have been on the winning side, but my opinion would have been heard nonetheless.

10. 2 non-fitted polo shirts!

FINISHED!

Purge Day 9 - Wednesday (aka Saturday 10 days later!)

Usually when I sit down to blog / purge (I do them simultaneously) - I usually know where I'm going to start, what I'm focusing on / something that is DEFINITELY going today, but today, I have NO clue where I'll be starting - I think that although this is where the process gets more arduous, it's also where I'll feel the most alleviation from clutter / too much stuffedness.

1. 2 pairs of underwear that I do not like

2. 2 pairs of sunglasses that I do not wear / use / need (of course as soon as I say this I'll lose the pair I do use - can I then count them as an additional item purged?)

3. shirt with a hole in it :( - I was actually wearing shirt today, and noticed the hole. How convenient.

4. 1 pair of gym / painting shorts

5. 2 pairs of boxers to be mailed to a friend in a far away land

6. an ill-fitting "going out" type top

7. 2 glass milk bottles - I used one to keep change in, but I cashed that in, and now I've been using a smaller piggy bank - so the bottles can go away.

8. one long-sleeved t-shirt from a srat formal that was not mine

9. "old" school pictures from my first year teaching.

10. old pair of tennis shoes

And it took me over a week and a half to find these ten items - MUST DO LAUNDRY - MUST PURGE CLOTHES - I think the goal for the last ten items will be for it to be ALL clothes - (and to have them posted by Wednesday... we'll see)

Purge Day 8 - Tuesday

I definitely thought Monday was only day 6. It's a bit of a relief to know that I'm well into the downhill stretch (only 30 items left...).

1. bra that I do not wear (I could do something awesome like take a picture of me wearing it, but I'd probably get fired and feel like a major slore for doing that - so I'll pass).

2. bra that I do not wear

3. fuzzy slipper socks - If I had to choose between my slippers and these socks, I'd take the slippers - so I'm choosing, and the slippers are staying - bye-bye socks!

4. package of rubber bands (hair ties) not strong enough to hold my hair up to my preferred standard (ever since I had really long hair, which I no longer do, I haven't been able to go back to the smaller rubber bands - and when I run I use TWO of the jumbo ones, so I go through those rather quickly too).

5. assorted half-used cosmetics that I'm not sure why are still in my bathroom

6. THIRD box of books for classroom library!

7, 8, 9, box of reading quizzes from another teacher - One set of quizzes for Romeo & Juliet, one set of quizzes for the Odyssey, and one set of quizzes for Animal Farm. I'm definitely a hoarder when it comes to teaching materials, but I figure that by the time I'm teaching high school again (if that even ever happens), I'll be completely ready and wanting to create my own materials.

10. a very gross, very dirty (in the dusty sense) doll. I always have issues getting rid of "toys" - but this really has no sentimental meaning, and is beyond the state of being clean-up-able such that I might allow any future as-of-yet non-existent child of mine to touch it.

OK this is officially hard - I definitely need to go through all of my paperwork and purge files, but even if I do bank account, IRA, and student loan purges, that's still just three items... then there's also the matter of the VHS tapes - maybe I need to just resolve that WHEN I buy a new TV (hopefully soon), I will get rid of the entire box? (If I had the cash flow to purchase the TV now, I'd make the old TV & box of VHS tapes items 99&100 as a present to myself!)

Purge Day 6 - Sunday

1. old car kit for an iPod

2. Computer security lock (never used - no clue how to use it)

3. rain jacket (I'd get rid of a second one if the one I took to England with me were a size smaller - can I use this to justify purchasing another rain coat and then getting rid of TWO???) - probably not.

4. Two pairs of glasses frames / lenses (these go to the Lions Club right?)

5. travel cosmetic bag

6. old contact lenses

7. backpack

8. sewing basket

9. belts x2

10. vera bradley wallets (two of them!)

forty items to go... it's starting to get difficult - I think I'll be better if I can do all of my laundry and look over things with a rather discerning eye...

Purge Day 7 - Monday

Confession: I'm posting Monday's list on Tuesday, but I'm posting Tuesday's as well, so I'm not technically behind...

1. jeans (I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this pair of jeans, but I'm never going to shrink the two inches I'd need to shrink to make them an appropriate length - damn shrinkage)

2. corduroy jacket

3. bunny rabbit piggy bank - given to my mom who was eying a bank at the store today! This is like double purging because we didn't have to buy something new.

4. gloves

5. gloves

6. gloves

7. black scarf - do I really need three of them??? (no)

8. grade books from the 08-09 school year (pretty sure I don't need these again since I'm at a different school, and if not, oh well).

9. Confusing word posters made by my class when I was student teaching... except I kept three that I need to laminate and put in my classroom now.

10. fitted t-shirt; it's just old - it will likely be replaced, but for now I'm down one item, which is nice!

I won't lie - today was difficult, perhaps more so because I know that this is actually yesterday's post, and I still have to find 10 more things to get rid of!

Purge Day 5 - Saturday

1. Computer Monitor

2. ANCIENT firewire cord for a very early iPod (and the iPod)!

3. Sweater

4. Sweater

5. Sweater

6. glass block separators from a craft / construction project - I wonder if Habitat takes stuff like this?

7. Beginning Teacher books - donated to one of my mom's employees who is going back to school to be a teacher (yay)!

8. hooded sweatshirt

9. long sleeved US Ski Team t-shirt (one of my first ever online purchases!)

10. dell computer software

HALF WAY! (I'll also admit that the pile of stuff in the hallway looks rather impressive)

Purge Day 4 - Friday

I'm house sitting this weekend, so I'm hoping to be successful on Friday and Saturday. It's actually Thursday night when I'm starting this, so hopefully it won't be too difficult. (I might need to catch up on Sunday, but I'm feeling optimistic!)

1. James Taylor t-shirt (too big)

2. assorted magazines and newspapers to recycle! (prompting the creation of a "recyclables" box for this project - does the box count as one object? or can I count all recyclable items from one day as a single object for that day??? I might give myself some leeway here)

3. discman (why do I still have this?)

4. TWO old cell phones! (and the requisite chargers, etc.) I guess I put these in one of those bags to mail off and be recycled?

5. old laptop - again, the questions about proper disposal have kept this around for WAY too long

6. Box of books to take to school (for classroom library) - I consider this purging because they're all books which could "walk off" and I'd survive.

7. A second box of books for school - definitely counts as a second item!

8. "Teacher Planning" type books to take to school - WILL NOT return to my "home" until I am in possession of my own office type space - definitely not anytime soon.

9. the box my digital camera came in... yes, this counts. yes I am this bad. (and yes the box did go into the previously created "recyclables" box)

10. two packages of "Christmas" peeps - I was letting them "age" (and I had one yesterday - they are definitely aged to perfection) but I A) don't need to eat them and B) am tired of looking at them - GONE!

WOW - two sets of purging in 24ish hours! well done, emily!

I was also thinking that perhaps it was fitting that today Oprah's show featured hoarders... I'm certainly not one, (and I don't watch the show regularly) but it definitely made me feel a little less terrible about the crap I keep - and realize that if I don't get rid of stuff like the aforementioned camera box it could get really ugly!

Congratulations!

so propose a toast
"to love's eternal glory"
Congrats Jim & Pam

It's entirely possible that I was more excited for their wedding than any of my friends... (and simultaneously depressed because yet another fictional crush has married... damn you Edward Cullen)

20 Items

I'm curious as to whether or not I can get my list of necessary toiletries (meaning what I keep in my bathroom, not what I travel with) down to 20 items...

1. shampoo
2. It's a 10 (10-in-1 leave in treatment)
3. facewash du jour
4. acne topical ointment / product du jour (yes, even with 27 looming on the horizon this is still a go to product)
5. moisturizer
6. body wash
7. loofah
8. mascara
9. eye liner
10. eye liner
11. eye shadow
12. eye shadow brush
13. lipstick / gloss / whatever it is
14. tweezers
15. concealer
16. toothpaste
17. toothbrush
18. saline / contact case
19. perfume
20. razor

So could I take this list, and go through my bathroom and throw out everything else???

EDIT: no, because I fogot deodorant (and I use TWO different kinds of that)...

EDIT: just more proof that I have WAY too much stuff.

Purge Day 3 - Thursday

1. large wicker basket - we've had these forever, I'm just not sure how / why this one is in my room

2. two "free" teacher tote bags - do not use = do not need

3. two canvas type purses - used to carry them all the time, they've both long been replaced by others

4. tooth brush holder / caddy thingy

5. one pair of plaid pants

6. 1 teacher-type t-shirt

7. lunch box

8. lobster flip-flops

9. costume pom-poms

10. old / dysfunctional make-up mirror (will not be replaced either!)

Today was easier than I expected... 30 down! horray!

Purge Day 2 - Wednesday

1. Intelliboard software (and other crap CDroms I don't / will never use) - we never got them - we got smart boards instead (and if I might editorialize, the Smart Board is not as "smart" as it claims to be) - / Assorted CDs (mostly mixes) - I have HOARDS of them - they're all on my computer and backed up twice over... I can get rid of ones I don't listen to in my car, right???

2. Corner suction shower caddy - does not fit in my shower (which makes me sad on a daily basis, because I would love for it to fit / work)

3. Student projects - I kept them anticipating having my own classroom at some point in my career. Now I have my own classroom, and I don't want them. gone.

4. DVD of Child's Play - I had a student give this to me my first year teaching - I don't want to watch it. It scares me.

5. Assorted education text books

6. gym shorts that I don't wear x4 pairs!

7. 1 necklace purcahsed from etsy.com which I love, but don't wear.

8. Plaid tote bag

9. 1 pair of shoes

10. Not spatially effective travel toiletry case.

this is getting more difficult - but it also seems senseless to count each individual CD or book as one item, so then I wind up counting all the shorts as one item... BUT at this rate I'll get rid of more! and isn't that the goal in the end? This will also hopefully lead to getting the stuff to school that I need to get into my classroom (e.g. boxes of old classroom materials to be filed, and ALL of my educational books).

Potential candidate for tomorrow's purge: box of VHS tapes - the conundrum: I still have a VHS player in my tv! eek!

Purge Day 1 - Tuesday

1. Hair dryer - It's been with me for several years (maybe since freshman year of college). It gets WAY too hot when it blows, and I actually like the way the travel dryer dries my hair better, so there.

2. Bag of trash - confession (ok not really): I'm messy. This bag of assorted paper trash has been in my room since school started - It's an easy candidate for the great purge.

3. Curling Iron - A) my hair does not hold curl and B) I didn't even realize I had it - gone.

4. Green Purse - I have not used it in years - away.

5. Old sports bras x2 (only counting as one item because I put one in a pile to go away several weeks ago).

6. WV Power baseball

7. Race for the Cure T-shirt - seriously, I don't need anymore - is there a way I can decline the free t-shirt from stuff like this and ensure that the $5 saved goes to the cause instead???

8. Basket from night stand - it's been ill-fitting on the bottom shelf holding lots of useless crap for a while now - nothing in the basket is in use, and the basket doesn't fit in its location (I'll make sure my mom doesn't want it before I permanently kick it out of the house though)

9. VIP remnants from AIP fashion show

10. Universal Remote Control - The tv this was for is LONG gone... I have no clue how it survived - again, evidence of too much stuff!

That was easy! (and I already have #1 for tomorrow... yay!)

Holding Myself Accountable...

I have too much stuff; I use most of it, but I really just have way too much stuff. A while back I had this grand plan that if I could just get rid of 10 things everyday for 10 days then after 10 days I'd have 100 less things... all I need to do is start getting rid of the stuff...

So here's the idea... Rather than just contemplate mathematical ways to get rid of my crap, I actually get rid of the crap and document the process in hopes that this will A) make me accountable for the purging and B) enable me to see patterns in what I have too much of and make subsequent purges less painful.

No restrictions on what goes - I have too much of everything, so this is really one of those time when truly anything goes. The only rule is that it must actually go - I can't just relocate it to somewhere in the house; unusuable items will be pitched, everything else goes to Goodwill. I'll provide lists and rationales and maybe pictures when necessary... (perhaps one big picture at the end???)

Time to start cleaning...

Failure to Launch

I'd be disappointed to learn that my parents receive catalogues hocking classy children's clothing because I'm supposedly old enough to have produced an heir. (I'd be equally disappointed to discover that said publications are not intended for my parents, but rather intended for me and my invisible children.)