Trashed

Trashed
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Damaged Vintage cocktail-themed ice bucket. (Really.)
Origin: "Hello, name is "A", and I'm a garage-sale-aholic." (I've been in recovery for a good 15 years, see confession.)
How long kept: Geez, I would guess since the late 80s?
Usage: Never. Other than moving it closer and closer to the exit door of my apartment over the past months.
Why kept: I Might Fix It. (And then It Would Be Cool/Vintage and Someone Might Need It.)
Destination: Good Old NYC Landfill. (Gulp. Sorry.)

Confession: The extent of this baby's damage was not trivial. It's brass cover was banged up and dented. The handle had fallen off. The entire thing, which was largely vinyl, was kind of squashed. (Viewed from above, it appeared to be slightly oval shaped, which meant that the round cover would not ever fit on it again. Even if fixed.)

Aargh.

Confession, part deux: I still love a good garage sale. But I rarely buy anything. Though I'm still a sucker for vintage embroidered linens and those gaily printed flowered tablecloths from the 40s and beyond. ("M" got me a very Christmas embroidered tablecloth and napkin set at the Freecycle Free Meet.)

Aargh.

Confession, part trois: Broken stuff. "Potential" is a theme in Randy Frost and Gail Skeketee's book about hoarding, Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things.People who truly have an issue with hoarding keep stuff because they see potential that the rest of us might not see.

I'm not a hoarder, clinically speaking.  But "potential" is embedded in many of the reasons that I have held onto stuff -- and nowhere as inexplicably as with broken stuff.  Clothing that might be mended, and wearable by "someone", check. (Now dispatched to textile recycling. Whew.)

Thanks to eBay, I've seen how little most of my Cool/Vintage stuff that's in mint condition is worth.* So while this was a bit Sticky, and it took a bit of time, it went down the trash chute the day before I left on vacation.

Broken stuff, begone.

(*A clock I bought for a dollar in the 80s may be the exception to this rule. Stay tuned.)

Capping off The Week

What:  Cap for a Sigg water Bottle.
Origin:  Available option when I replaced a Sigg bottle due to the recall.
Usage:  Not so much...it was difficult to open and not easy to clean.
Last Used:   Hmmm, late 2009?
Why kept:  It Might Be Useful.   Someone Might Need It.   And Out Of Sight, Out of Mind...it was in my kitchen cabinet, where I moved it around from time to time.
Destination:  Housing Works

Photo:  www.mysigg.com....oops, I forgot to snap a photo!

More Baggage

What:  Old, worn out, nylon backpack.
Origin:  Mid-90s stylin'.
Last Use/How Long Kept:   Ugh, probably since 1998.
Why Kept:  It Might Be Useful.   Someone Might Need It.   Out of Sight, Out of Mind.
Destination:  Textile recycling.


Confession:  After loving this to death in the late 90s, I hung it up in my closet to continue to age.

A few weeks ago, I removed it from the hook in my closet.  In a crafty seizure, I actually entertained the notion of painting this with joyous flowers or grafitti...it sat in a (fairly small) area of my living room for 5-6 weeks with other current craft projects.   Good Crafting Intentions Gone Bad.


When I moved it today while cleaning, I thought, enough.   Buh bye.

Laying Down My Gloves: I'm Done Boxing

Laying Down My Gloves: I'm Done Boxing
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Packing material and a Perfectly Good Box.
Origin: Prescription.
How Long Kept: About 10 hours.
Why Kept: Someone Might Need it.
Destination: My local Mail Boxes Etc. (They took the box, too!)

Announcement: "M" reminds me that I'm no longer keeping boxes.  Storage Boxes Are Evil, and so is storing boxes because They Might Be Useful. Another box always turns up when I need it...and there's also the option to use the USPS Priority Mail Boxes, which you can pick up at the PO pretty much any time.

(Confession: I do have a few, brand new, priority mail flat rate boxes. I Might Need Them.)

Non-Catastrophic Thinking

Non-Catastrophic Thinking
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Probably the worst-titled volume in the pantheon of books about meditation.
Origin: Volume discount. (I purchased a few for a course I was teaching.)
How Long Kept: Late 2008/Early 2009.
Why Kept: Might teach another class, and thus They Might Be Useful.
Destination: Meditation student.

Confession: I still have 3 extras.  Someone Might Need Them.

Aside: This is an awesome book.   The title actually refers to a line in Zorba the Greek.   It might have made sense to the boomer author when he wrote the book, but whenever I use the book I must explain/excuse the title.  Who has seen Zorba the Greek lately?  

Trifecta -- Hopefully The 3rd Time's a Charm

Trifecta -- Hopefully The 4th Time's a Charm
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, when I wanted to get rid of clothing, I used to mail boxes of stuff from NY to my sister in Chicagoland.

Why? It Might Be Useful, and if Useful, shouldn't a family member get the benefits of Usefulness? (Our grandmother used to do the same thing with our mother.)

Here's an example.

What: A Gap denim jacket, never worn.
Origin: Outlet mall in Massachusetts, back in the days when outlet malls actually had good stuff at them.
How Long Kept: Hazy. I think I bought this in the late 80s. If I recall correctly, it was $15, and it was too big for me (but that was an 80s thing, wasn't it -- or was it just me?) and still is. At some point, it headed unworn (but probably washed) to "M" in Chicago. She kept it because it was Perfectly Good.

At some point in the late 00s, she decided to get rid of it. We actually discussed whether I wanted it, and I couldn't remember what it was. For some reason, we agreed that she'd leave it at my parents' house for me to inspect. On some recent visit to Chicagoland, I did indeed inspect it. I then hung it up in a closet there, I'm not sure why.

Found it again over the holidays.

Why Kept: Aaargh. It's Perfectly Good. Someone Might Need It. (And, It's Complicated.) Aaargh.

Destination: Vietnam Veteran's pickup (Chicagoland).

Given away 3 times, hopefully it won't come back again! And hopefully, It Will Be Useful. For someone!
"M" says: I wore this for about two years. I loved it :-) Someone else will now love it! Thanks for sharing it with me "A". (and never ever mail me socks again. please. LOL)

I had no idea you ever wore this, Princess.   I feel a frisson of vindication, then.

Return To Lender

What: Mismatched Knitting Needles.
Origin: Mom.
How Long Kept: Possibly since the 80s.
Why Kept: Out of sight out of mind. Aaaaaargh.
Destination: Back to Mom.

Sorry, Mom, if any of your unfinished projects might be finished just for the want of these missing needles.

"M" says... this might be an infraction of the rules!!! It's going back to Mom's. hmmm We will have to have a meeting on this.

"A" points out:   Hmmm.  I think not, in this case.   There's a "founder's intention" argument here:  Mom arguably has two sets of useless knitting needles that can be made whole.   If the point of that rule is that we'll get it all back someday, would you rather get back putatively useful knitting needles?   (Someone Might Need Them, after all.)