Love the cucumber melon

Love the cucumber melon
Originally uploaded by DeClutter

But not enough to save yet another empty soap dispenser
How long kept: over 2 years probably.
Where found: under the kitchen sink
Why kept: might be useful. I add water to just about all liquid soap. The Boy tends to over pump so it's not so wasteful
Destination: recycle

I'm still working through all soap before buying any new!
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

(Ear)rings a bell

(Ear)rings a bell
Originally uploaded by DeClutter

What: earrings. Some from the 80s. I loved those blue triangle earrings!! And an anklet
why kept: nostalgia. I might wear them again
Destination: free for all

These we're hard to let go. I still can't let go of the "what ever happened to that crazy cat of yours?" Earrings that "A" gave me. They still make me smile :)
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Left Behind on several levels

Left Behind on several levels
Originally uploaded by DeClutter

What: the book "Left Behind"
Why kept: it was borrowed from a friend. They don't need it back
Last used: I tried to read it, I really did. But I couldn't get past the first few chapters. Borrowed back in 1999 I believe
Destination: Free for all
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Camera-rama

Camera-rama
Originally uploaded by DeClutter

What: one digital, one advantix and one disposable camera
Last used: hmmm probably 2005 for the digital and prior to that for the other. Obviously the disposable was never used.
Why kept: yes you guessed it, it was out of sight in the drawer by the door
Destination: freeforall
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Gabbing madly

Gabbing madly
Originally uploaded by DeClutter

What: Mad gabs lip balm
How long kept: no idea. I vaguely remember it
Why kept: out of sight in the drawer by the door!
Destination: trash
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

More lotion

More lotion
Originally uploaded by DeClutter

This falls under the eeew category
What. Lotion that looks lumpy
Origin: gift from "A". It was part of a pedicure kit. I already purged the broken pumice stone/nail brush
Why kept: smelled good and it was SO incredible out of site in a drawer by my back door (huh?)
Destination: trash!
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

I have some hang ups

I have some hang ups
Originally uploaded by DeClutter

What: hangers from dry cleaners
Why kept: out of sight, might be useful
Origin: not too long, I did a purge a year or so ago
Destination: free for all. These will be used for hanging clothes people bring. They "sell" better if they are hung up

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

I Was Framed

I Was Framed
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Two large-ish picture frames.
Origin: Artwork and print that I no longer display.
How long kept: Hmmm. I'm going to call it as mid-90s.
Usage: I took these down and stuck them in the closet probably 4-5 years ago.
Why kept: Of course, They Might Be Useful!
Destination: Housing Works. (And it went in one of the very last bags from the shopping bag stash -- one that I found next tucked behind a storage box. Storage Boxes Are Evil.)

Note: Suburban Salvation Army/Goodwill stores are an awesome source of photo frames. Some are nice enough to use directly...others are ripe for alteration. I've made quite a few gifts this way. And I know that there is no reason to ever store an unused or empty photo frame. Ever again.

"S" Spots More of Our Kindred

Check this awesome guest post by Rosemary Markowski on Lisa Schamess' blog, Cheap Bohemian.

My favorite part:

"It's all about the editing. If an object is not serving you exactly the way you want, let it go. This acts as a little exercise in the belief of abundance as the natural state."

Exactly. 

Rosemary is cleaning her way through Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook.   Way to go, Rosemary.

I'm going to enjoy exploring these blogs!

Thanks, "S," for passing them along.

Schott (glass) through the heart...

Schott (glass) through the heart...
Originally uploaded by DeClutter

And you're to blame....
This shot glass gives my cabinets a bad name!
What: a shot glass from a trade show
Origin: probably 4 years ago
Last used: never
Destination: free for all
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Guest Post: and still I kept eating...

and still I kept eating...
Originally uploaded by heywattsky

"This was lunch~ as I was eating some roasted leftover potatoes I dropped the serving bowl on to this oversize mug (that has a cute matching amoeba-shaped plate; I guess, for soup 'n' sandwich). Damn. In the old days I'd gather all the chips and glue it back. I made sure none were in my food, kept eating, and tossed the works into the garbage. No gluing, no mosaic-ing, just landfill. (I've had this as a set of 2 for over 12 years; the other mug broke long ago (unless I find it back in the dregs of my fridge with some moldy marinade crusted into it). Looks like the plates are needing new mates. I've got plenty of mismatched cups lined up waiting to do-si-do."

Thanks, "S"!

Rat-agonia

Rat-agonia
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: An extremely ratty Patagonia turtleneck.
Origin: Mountain trip hiking/layering gear.
How long kept: Since 1999...but it's been truly gnarly probably since 2002 or so.
Usage: I actually just wore it when I learned how to kayak a couple of weekends ago. See confession.
Why kept: Nostalgia (it hiked up to 17,000+ feet with me on a couple of special trips). And you can layer with disreputable clothing, so It Might Be Useful.
Destination: Patagonia actually recycles these into new outdoor clothing. Very cool. You drop it in the bin at the Patagonia store, and there's one not too far from my place.

Confession: I had this in the pile, but pulled it out to wear as sun protection on the kayaking adventure. It rocked, but it had gotten to the point that, beyond the gnarlyness, it was kind of shiny.

Aargh.

Seriously good crafting intentions gone bad

Seriously good crafting intentions gone bad
Originally uploaded by DeClutter

What: "Crafts to Make and Sell" book
Origin: a book giveaway. A friend found this and gave it to me in 2008 or so
Why kept: good crafting intentions gone bad, X gave it to me
Last used: well I looked through it once when I got it
Destination: free for all
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Get The Fork Out!

What:  A very nice set of To-Go Ware, bamboo-ware that you can carry in your purse and use instead of plasticware.
Origin:  Someone gave me a gift.
How long kept:   About 2 weeks.
Why kept:  I didn't know what to do with it.   And it would have been rude to refuse the gift.   (Maybe I Should Have Said No.)   I knew that they Might Be Useful, for someone, but I couldn't think of anyone who'd use them who didn't already have them. 
Destination:  A yoga friend...someone else was using a set of them, and the friend remarked on them and said, where do you get those?   I 'fessed up to our project and offered up the To-Go Ware, which I didn't have with me, but offered to pop into the mail.   She was delighted.

Confession:   The photo is a set of To-Go Ware that "M" and the Hubby got me for Christmas, I believe in 2008.   No, I didn't give them away!   This was an extra set.   But I neglected to snap a photo before I packed them into the (recycled) mailing envelope.

Confession, cont:  I didn't really think too hard about who I should give them to...I probably would have stuck them in a bag of items destined for Housing Works had this conversation not come up!

Comment:   How much do I love the post office?  It cost me $2 to pop these in the mail to her, and she'll have them in a day!   That's really a bargain.

A Touch Of Bubbly

A Touch Of Bubbly
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: Packing Materials
Origin: A long unopened box.
How long kept: Probably 6 years.
Why kept: Out of Sight, Out of Mind...the long flat box was a fixture on the side of my hall closet. No mas!
Destination: My local Mail Boxes Etc. recycles clean packing material!

Bonus: There were styrofoam peanuts in the box, too. Also dropped at MBE.

Freecycle Failure

Freecycle Failure
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

I pride myself on the ability to market almost any item on Freecycle. This one didn't go.

The posting:

"OFFER: Vintage Valise (Not in great shape) Lower Manhattan

Approximately 20 inches long, 12 inches wide and 12 inches tall, this tan valise (1940s?) is a find from my days haunting thrift stores and tag sales.

The bag is coming apart at the seams; it's aged, scuffed and full of patina. The handles are secure and well attached. I'm doubtful that it could be repaired and used as a suitcase -- a particularly crafty person might find a way to upcycle, recycle or repurpose it as a possible decor item.

It's clean. I'm pretty sure I would have saddle soaped it back in the day; it has been in my closet for probably 20 years.

Please respond only if you can pick up before Monday, August 9. Please be willing to communicate via email, and commit to -- and keep -- a pickup time.

Though it's a bit unwieldy, it can be carried by the handles. I'll wrap it in plastic to ease transport. You'll be able to pick it up before the 9th from a 24 hour building.

Thanks, Freecyclers."

Now, maybe the fact that I didn't post it on the weekend had something to do with its failure to "sell".

One additional note:   While the main problem with the bag itself -- other than the fact that I no longer wanted it -- was that the stitching was rotten.   Repair wasn't a simple matter of getting it sewn back up.   I Might Fix It is a such a trap for me, and it keeps things stuck.

Other notes on the Why Kept front:  Sticky, Nostalgia, Out of Sight Out of Mind and Storage Boxes are Evil. (It was in a basket, being used as a storage box in the now far more spacious closet!)

Destination: Textile recycling at Union Square Greenmarket.  (They take shoes, so I reasoned that they'd take this small bag, too.)   I considered leaving it on the street, but realized that it might frighten -- or even endanger -- a police officer if someone thought it looked suspicious.

Guest Post: Crafty project-to-be, B-gone!

Crafty project-to-be, B-gone!
Originally uploaded by heywattsky

"Mug stand that seemed to be begging me to do something decoupage-y and unique to the base for some future lucky recipient. Well, 7 years later, I just don't think it's happening. Off to the 2-buck/chuck tag-sale bag. Which I now am aiming to have at the end of September."

Ah, we all know the pain of Good Crafting Intentions Gone Bad! Hope you had a good weekend, "S."

Who Who?

Who Who?
Originally uploaded by 365 Things

What: A pretty nice mailing tube...see rant. When we were really small children, we used to love to play with empty tubes of all sorts, using them like megaphones. (As if we needed to be amplified.) We called them "hoo hoos" because that's what we yelled through them, as we ran around like wild things.
Origin: A poster I purchased at an online store.
How long kept/usage: Hmmm. Probably at least 10 years. And not at all.
Why kept: It's Perfectly Good! It Might Be Useful. See confession.
Destination: Recycling.

Confession: This would have been useful -- for toting its original contents over to Housing Works, a Mark Rothko poster I blogged a few months back.   If only it hadn't been Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind hiding behind another storage box.

Confession/Rant: I recycled several boxes today. Some had stuff stored in them. (Storage Boxes Are Evil.)

This one had nothing stored in it, except for the kraft paper that the poster was wrapped in. (I must confess to feeling a frisson of fear when I checked inside that paper...what might be lurking in there? A Matisse print? Whew. Nothing. But I digress.)

Under USPS regulations, you can't re-use boxes, unless you've struck off all corporate logos. I'll bet that my local Mail Boxes Etc. would have taken this tube for re-use, it hadn't been imprinted with the name of the online store -- branded, right? -- over, and over, and over again.

Stores that brand their boxes like this (for what, free advertising in the landfill?) may as well imprint them with "don't recycle this box."

I'm not sure what the source of the USPS regulation is. Maybe to prevent people from fraudulently pretending that they are Amazon.com?

Sigh.

A New Kindred Spirit

Stephanie Rosenbloom wrote a great article in the August 7 NY Times about whether stuff makes you happy.   Her article links to an awesome "simple living" blog called Rowdy Kittens,  by one half of a downsizing couple, Tammy Strobel.  

Gentle readers and bloggers, I think you'll love Strobel's "Downsizing Story."   And the comments to that post are quite illuminating, too.   A couple of people commented that they had not missed anything they had given away or sold, and I can attest to that, pretty much 100%.   No, really, I Might NOT Need It.

Oh, and Rosenbloom's article and Strobel agree, stuff doesn't make you happy. 

(Rowdy Kittens?)

Purge-atory

(heh heh, I'm cracking myself up)

What:  A variety of things that came out of the closet -- from a pair of jeans that, while mended, are too disreputable to even be worn to the laundry room, to some grippy foam stripped off of wire hangers from the dry cleaners.   See confession.
How long kept:  The oldest item is probably a torn nylon suit bag that came home on a 90s department store purchase.
Last used:  I've worn those jeans to the laundry room in the not too distant past.
Why kept:  Mostly Out of Sight, Out of Mind.   But there's a small amount of It Might Be Useful, and a frisson of Sticky.
Destination:  Textile recycling.

Confession:  There was an old favorite black turtleneck that had frayed and torn at the seams.   I haven't fixed it in several years, and I'm not going to...in the meantime, I've collected multiple newer and nicer black turtlenecks.   There was a holey wool Jean Paul Gaultier t-shirt I picked up at the Bitch & Swap, thinking I'd practice silk ribbon embroidery on it.   Uh Uh.   Buh Bye, Good Crafting Intentions Gone Bad.

Confession, continued:  Those grippy foam things?   When I strafed the closet early this week, I found that one charcoal-colored thingie was disintegrating...leaving behind what seemed like an infinite number of shards of disintegrating grippy foam.  When touched, it turned into a sooty, oily powder that required significant elbow grease to even vacuum up.  Eew.

No grippy foam on my wire hangers!

Confession, part 3:  There's more yet to come out of the closet.   Aargh.