Gelonious Assault

What:  Hair Gel
Origin:  The fantasy that I might spend more than 30 seconds a day on my hair, combined with an actual attempt to paste it into place in order to avoid spending much more than that trying to tame it.
How long kept:  Oh, probably 3 years?   No parabens, but no expiration date either.
Usage:   Uh...not so much.
Why kept:   I Might Need It; It Might Be Useful.   And as a denizen of the medicine cabinet, Out of Sight Out of Mind...in plain sight.
Destination:   Bottle was recyclable.   Gel...uh, eew, see confession.

Confession:   I attempted to flush this stuff.   It was unflushable.   Even when I poured boiling water on it -- undeniably sanitizing my bowl -- it clung relentlessly.

Based on this empirical evidence, it's possible that there still might be some of this in my hair from the last time I used it in 2007.

Bonus digression:   I spent two intense days at a conference.   I'm home now.  No new pens.   No new tote bags.   No tchotchkes.  No swag.

(I gave my pen and a weird rubix cube thingie that folds out into different views of the campus of my grad school alma mater to a man who needed two "gifts" to take home for his kids.)

In that moment, I totally ruled.

Confession:  "M"s son, The Boy, already has one of those rubix cube thingies, courtesy of Aunt "A".   Sigh.

Green Cred

Green Cred
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Well aged cloth napkins.
Origin: I broke up with most household paper products in the early 90s. (About when I bought these...)
Last used: Within the last couple of weeks. See confession.
Why kept: They're Perfectly Good. Kind of. See confession.
Destination: Textile recycling of some ilk, see confession.

Confession: Casual cloth napkins weren't so easy to find in the early 90s, and I recall scoring these on deep discount in a mail order catalogue, back before it seemed possible to stem the flow of that time suck! I loved them, many of which are now too stained and/or worn to be put out for guests.

When I left on vacation, I put these in my suitcase. (Thus they are out of my house, albeit still in the bottom of my suitcase at this moment.) My thought was to repurpose them into something else...we'll see what happens to them in the next few days.

(I feel the siren's call of the tote bag, along with the possibility of Good Crafting Intentions that could go either way.   It's either that, or off to textile recycling somewhere in the Midwest. They will not be toted back to NYC.)

Stuffing, You're Leaving

Stuffing, You're Leaving
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Some kind of polyfill stuffing, about enough to fill a shoebox.
Origin: I think that I got this from "M", or my mom. See Confession.
Last used/How Long Kept: Hmm. I might have stuffed the spider with this, that was last summer? Maybe the summer before. And I'm not sure how long I had the darn stuff, but not too much longer than that.
Why kept: Of course, It Might Be Useful if I were to make any stuffed toys for my nephews or niece. And it was in my fabric stash, where I came across it rarely, so Out Of Sight, Out of Mind.
Destination: Textile Recycling.

Confession: I probably toted this stuff back from Chicagoland to NYC. Aargh. And I've actually stuffed things with shredded pantyhose and old t-shirts, so I don't really "need" it.

The Last Shopping Bag

The Last Shopping Bag
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: The last shopping bag in my apartment. (See confession.)
Origin: Addiction to beautiful paper products.  Desire to tote stuff around.
How long kept/Usage: Uh, 4-5 months? And not at all.
Why Kept: It Might Be Useful. (See confession.)
Destination: Housing Works, containing a few items...

Confession: There are a couple of gift bags remaining in a separate stash, but they seem like they shouldn't count as shopping bags. And one very pretty bag from the MOMA Matisse exhibition in the 90s (?) that seems to require a more respectful dispensation.

And I confess that the beautiful folds, combined with design elements, made me think of hacking this bag up and making it into a birthday card for someone in my life named "Kate". Good Crafting Intentions Gone Bad. Almost.

Free

Check out this NY Times article about Brooklyn's Free Store.   It's a store in name only, a place where people can get other people's unwanted items.   An ongoing Freecycle Free For All, only not run by the good folks from Freecycle.   (The woman who runs the NYC Freecycle group is some kind of genius bodhisattva, in my mind.   But I digress.)  From the article:

Caryn Prescott, 41, donated some clothes and cosmetics, and Eddie Ballard, 34, from Crown Heights, who came across the store by chance, contributed a recyclable tote bag he happened to have with him, mainly out of a sense of admiration for the project.

“There is something about the communal aspect of this place that appeals to me,” Mr. Ballard said. “I felt like I wanted to give something just to be a part of it.”

How much do I love Mr. Ballard?   Instead of taking something as a souvenir, he gave something in order to participate.   Awesome.  

(Photo:  Free Texture 24 Bokeh by ShironekoEuro via flickr, used under Creative Commons License.  Thank you!)

Guest Post: Adios, Amigo!

Adios, Amigo!
Originally uploaded by heywattsky

"This is a Mexican tote bag that I got in Nogales in 1980 (when travel to a border town only came with the fear of purchasing too many cheap souvenirs). This held all of them, and much, much more over the next three decades. It finally split at the seams, and is heading for textile recycling. I hope they take vinyl! That will be the last haul por mi amigo."

Thanks for dropping by, "S."

Guest Post: Elvis, and these hangers, have left the building

Elvis, and these hangers, have left the building
Originally uploaded by heywattsky

"A friend just moved and needed hangers because hers are MIA. I have a stash right at my finger, or, toe tips. And I don't have to "Reconsider, Baby"--good riddance to sticky hangers that have been in the Memphis tote bag for over 5 years. (The bag itself is from 1986's trip to Graceland. Hmmm. Well, it's no longer hanging around either)."

"S," I know you won't be Lonesome Tonight for any of this! Thanks for posting.

Another Stack O'Books

Another Stack O'Books
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: As noted, a stack of books.
Origin: Business, self improvement, and literary impulses.
How long kept: From 16 years to less than 6 months.
Why kept: I might read them, and thus They Would Be Useful. Also, Out of Sight Out of Mind.
Destination: Housing Works.

Confession: I picked up a couple from the Bitch and Swap sometime last year.. Should Have Said No, as I never read them. Oldest book was Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy, just as dull as when I bought it in 1994. Most recent acquisition was a book that "M" blogged to me..I think we both thought it would be a book about Buddhism or meditation. Instead, it was a science-fictiony parable with eastern religious themes, as possibly written by L.Ron Hubbard under a pen name.

Bonus: I took everything over in a shopping bag, buh-bye bag! My Bag of Shopping Bags is the next to go, now that the totes are (mostly) gone.

What A Crock!

What A Crock!
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Crock pot, v. 1.0.
Origin: Mom's desire for me to have a hearty meal, circa 1984? (So old that it was made in the USA!)
Usage: Some. But the last time I recall using it was for a party I had in 1998, when a very spicy chili was on the menu.
Why kept: It's Perfectly Good. I Might Need it. And, of course, It Might Be Useful.  (It still works perfectly.)
Destination: Housing Works, in what I think is the last of the b-school branded totes.

Confession: I last thought about using this when a friend told me that she had been making yogurt in her crock pot some time last year.   But I recently learned how to make yogurt using nothing more complicated than a stove, thermometer and 1 quart jar.   (I'm in crunchy hippie heaven, even though it's not my demographic.)

Time to let this go. Thanks, Mom, I loved all of the soups and various one pot meals I used to make in this!  (Nostalgia.)

Guest Post: Green Bagging it for Earth Day

Green Bagging it for Earth Day
Originally uploaded by heywattsky

"A fuzzy, scratchy bag that contained gifties from a friend, long ago used and enjoyed. As a tote, it is tote-ally cute. But not too practical, as I tend to tote a lot when tote I must. So, into the mystery collection of things that will be part of Something. Bigger. Than. Goodwill."

"S", I somehow missed this item the other day, too. Or maybe not. Isn't today Earth Day? Have a good trip in!

Tribes and Tote (ems)

Tribes and Tote (ems)
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Another one of the tote bags, this one bearing the tribal brand of my b-school...plus some random books, CDs, a soap dispenser and a few other thises and thats.
Origin: Various. (And on the tote bag and the CDs, Should Have Said No.
How Long Kept: I'm guessing that the oldest items in the bunch are the CDs, which I took from one of those piles of stuff from a friend who was moving in around 2002 ("hey, do you want any of these?") Maybe one of the books was from the 90s.
Why kept: Might partake of the books or music...might dispense some soap...might carry something. In other words, It Might Be Useful.
Destination: Housing Works.

Confession: After seeing the beautiful workspace chez "S", my items feel a bit scattered! But one thing, one day, one breath, one step at a time!

Confession, part deux: I resisted an impulse to take all of the remaining totes over to Housing Works. I know They Will Be Useful in toting other stuff over there.

Tote This

Tote This
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Shower Curtain in tote, along with other misc.
Origin: Home decoration and baggage cravings.
Last used: Shower curtain, not since the late 80s, maybe early 90s. Tote, hmm. Probably not in this century.
Why kept: The shower curtain was one of many things in the suitcases formerly stored in my closet. Out of Sight, Out of Mind. The tote? It's Perfectly Good. And I Might Need It.
Destination: Housing Works.

Confession: Aargh. The shower curtain moved from Chicago to Hoboken to NYC. In 1987. I can't remember it ever hanging in my bathroom on the East Coast. The tote does have a special feature, a waterproof lining, great for toting damp swim gear.  Clearly, It Might Be Useful -- to someone else.

Getting Rid Of My Baggage

Getting Rid Of My Baggage
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

Don't worry, I won't overshare!

What: Luggage of the last century.
Origin: My parents got this set for me in the late 1970s so that I'd look smart when travelling.
Last Used: Late 80s or early 90s.
Why kept: They were on the top shelf of my closet, so Out Of Sight Out Of Mind.   Also, some Nostalgia.
Destination: Housing Works

Confession: I loved these! (Sticky.) Thanks, Mom and Dad. They were made for a different type of travel in a different time. This luggage was meant for long trips, where you tipped people who helped you with your bags. (Like a late century version of Ginger Rogers in *The Gay Divorcee*, which my dad and I quote from time to time: "Oh, Porter! Oh, Porter?!" Though she had an awesome steamer trunk.) Even walking over to Housing Works with these, I found them heavy and difficult to carry, and they were empty.

Confession, Part Deux: I had stuff in these suitcases: I couldn't even believe some of it. Storage Boxes Are Evil. Stay tuned, I'll be blogging some of this stuff.

And bonus:   I have to pat myself on the back, slightly:  yesterday I was at an alumni function.   I was offered a tote bag, which I declined not once, but twice -- after I dodged the bag at registration, the event organizer said, "Oh, did you get a tote bag?"   I still have 4 bags from my b-school, two of which I'll be keeping...the other two must go! 

Knitting, My Brow At Least

What:   Probably 20 or so knitting magazines.  (In my enthusiasm, I sealed them into packages before counting.)
Origin:  Former knitting habit, which was accompanied by an even bigger habit of reading about knitting.
How long kept:  The oldest ones were from the early 1990s.   Newer magazines were from around 2005.
Why kept:  I might decide to knit something, and of course They Might Be Useful.   Because they sat on a shelf neatly and all together, they were more or less Out of Sight, Out of Mind.  And a teeny bit of Nostalgia.
Destination:   The Carter Burden Center for Aging has a program called Making Art Work, and two of the great women I know from the quilt shop work there.   I asked if they Might Be Useful, and was told that they would!

Confession:  Two magazines, on top of that box?  I'm keeping them.   The top one is from 1992.   (It has a sweater pattern I've used.   I swear, it's classic.)

Confession, part deux:   I may knit again, I have a newborn niece -- and some crochet is definitely in the picture.

Bonus:   This package fit perfectly into one of the tote bags I'm keeping, a nice one that "M" and her family gave to me for Christmas.   I only have one or two more that must be purged.  (That said, I have two conferences to attend this spring.  Sigh.)

Guest Post from "S": More than I'll ever know, need, or want

More than I'll ever know, need, or want
Originally uploaded by heywattsky

"A perusal of my bathroom magazine rack stash revealed an era before magazines started tanking...Sigourney Weaver has aged 3 years since this issue (and still looks fab). I was saving it not to see what I could aspire to at age 57 (coming up in a couple months), but because of an interesting article on "things you should know how to do by now." One I ripped out and saved (how to write a query letter), the others (i.e. how to swim ashore in a rip tide) I read and hope I remember should I ever need it! Toted to recycling "transfer station" in town. More is less."

And less is awesome, as are more posts! Thanks, "S".

I'm Not Giving Up On Hope

I'm Not Giving Up On Hope
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Stack of Books, and yet another tote.
Usage: Some, to not much, to none.
How Long Kept: This is one of my first totes, probably from the mid-90s. Barack's book is the most recent in the pile, from late 2007, book club.
Why kept: Mostly inertia, and Out of Sight, Out of Mind. Some of the books, aargh, I recycled from our trash room a while ago, they were Perfectly Good and one of my neighbors was dumping them. Aargh.
Destination: Housing Works (conveniently between here and where I'm getting lunch.)

Confession: Book Club is one reason I'm thinking of getting a Kindle at some point down the road. This apparently wasn't the better of Obama's books, and I'll never re-read it. And I've truly disliked some of the books we've read. Some aren't available at the library, though I'm also too lazy to try this option...it would also be nice to have "all" of our past books with me in a book club discussion.

Confession, cont.: I'm almost done with the totes I have to "blog". I have several laptop cases that also must go...

Classing Up The Wastepaper Stream

Classing Up The Wastepaper Stream
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Materials from a business journalism course.
Usage: Not since the course ended.
How long kept: Since late 2007.
Why kept: Out of Sight, Out of Mind. All of the stuff was in a binder (Storage Boxes Are Evil).
Destination: Recycling.  Binder will probably go to Housing Works the next time I take a tote bag's worth of stuff over there.  (Sigh, the tote bags will never end.)

Confession: This was from an excellent short class with a former WSJ editor and really nice guy. I saved some of the course materials.   I Might Need Them.

Sigh.

Though Perfectly Good, It Was Never The Right Fit

Though Perfectly Good, It Was Never The Right Fit
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Perfectly Good jacket.
Origin: Desire to look professional, but not too stiff, at my last corporate gig.
Usage: Routinely, 2005 - 2007. Since then, not at all. Unless you count trying it on this morning and thinking, "This Is Perfectly Good" as usage.
Why kept: It's Perfectly Good. (As Noted.)   Also, Out of Sight, Out of Mind.   And a little bit of I Might Need It.
Destination: Housing Works, in one of the remaining tote bags.

Confession: The jacket actually fit fine, it was the job that didn't. That said, every time I look at it, I think of the job. It must go!

Confession (cont): My desire to look professional declined somewhat over time...you wouldn't believe what people wore to work -- and it was a financial company. That last, hot summer, we knew we were being laid off. I remember wearing sparkly flip flops to work -- even with a "business casual" skirt sweater combo, it was still crossing the line.

Confession, part trois: The other thing that's got to go: a Talbot's boiled wool jacket, powder blue, that I think made me look matronly. Sticky, because it was kind of sweatery, but expensive. I looked on ebay, and if I want $16.99 for my trouble, I can probably sell it. Sigh.

Update 3/11:  I took the jacket, too.   I tried it on again and can't believe I ever bought it.  (In my defense, it was the perfect thing to wear in the environment I was in...before my definition of "business casual" devolved to bejewelled flip flops, that is.)

It's In The Bag!

It's In The Bag!
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Yet another tote.
Origin: Nice story, I teach yoga to some remarkable people. We borrowed some mats from Lululemon for a special workshop. When I went into the Soho store to talk with them about it, they offered me mats for my regular students, and I left with two of these bags filled with mats. Thanks!
How long kept: Since December, 2008.
Why Kept: It Might Be Useful. I Might Need It. I had a hook in my closet with a tote bag that held all of my...empty tote bags, so Out of Sight, Out of Mind. Aargh.
Destination: I used one of them to carry stuff to quilting class about a year ago.  One of the women class loved the positive messages written on it, so I gave one of them to her...should have given them both to her. This one's coming to class tonight.

Vaseless Accusation

Vaseless Accusation
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Ack, 3 vases, 4 candleholders, tote bag.
Origin: Floral and other decoratory ambitions.   Tote was swag from a benefit.
How long kept: All since the late 80s. Tote probably 2 years ago?
Last used: Uh, Bueller, Bueller? Anyone?
Why kept: Aargh. Out of Sight, Out of Mind. And I Might Need Them.
Destination: Housing Works.

Confession: The two glass vases (if you can see them -- the very 80s candleholders are buried at the bottom of the bag)?   I kept two identical vases I probably should have released.

Sigh.