I had closets scheduled for this week’s give-aways but I was getting worried since I had already gone through closets last Lent and I’m saving the kid’s closets for next week when I tackle “Other People’s Stuff.” My fears were confirmed as I searched the nine closets in our house, until…I got to the downstairs […]
Living Lightly
Susan Vogt on living more simply but abundantlyBrowsing Posts in Days 41-365
Over the years a family of six is bound to have some broken bones, stitches, sprained ankles, diarrhea, constipation, poison ivy, acne, and bad hair days. I’m prepared! But perhaps I’m over-prepared. I decided that Jim and I will no longer be allowed to break a leg (except in the theatrical sense). The crutches are […]
In examining several dining room shelves for more things to give away, I found 11 sterling silver pieces with varying degrees of tarnish. Silver can be beautiful but I definitely don’t want to spend time polishing it for the rare fancy occasions we might use it. I’m sure, however, that a beautiful silver coffee pot […]
I knew I would have to get to electronics sooner or later. First, I surveyed our house for things that ran on electricity or batteries that we were not currently using. We have two unused TVs (a 33” monster and a 13” black and white). Since the 33” is being stored for one of our […]
This is the last week I’m going to devote to books and we have eight more bookcases in our house. It’s not as bad as it sounds though since 2 hold my professional books, 2 are for Jim’s work, and 4 are our kid’s bookcases. In the interest of family harmony, I’m not going to […]
It’s book week #3 and I’m now evaluating the bookcases in the dining room. Technically this room has three bookcases but two of them are actually display shelves with stuff we’ve collected from various countries. One bookcase has books related to the continent of Asia, the second has books on Africa. Most of these are […]
It all started because I couldn’t find the pizza cutter. As I searched kitchen drawers I found that I had to practically empty each one to make sure the pizza cutter was not hidden under other stuff. This prompted me to realize I had a lot of unnecessary items like extra pot holders and dish […]
Last week it was girlie stuff, this week it’s boy toys. I know this all sounds like I’m a prehistoric parent who gender-typed the toys we gave our children. Actually, it was just the opposite. We offered both genders all kinds of toys, but still they gravitated toward more traditional choices. Regardless, our oldest son […]
Our grown daughter finally went through her stuff and gave me permission to give away most of her dolls. I thought she’d balk at parting with the Barbies but she said that was OK. Even though I’m not fond of the Barbie image, I did decide to keep a few that still had their hair […]
I think our son was either going through a drab and dull phase (or maybe a European fashion stage) when he acquired these sweaters since they’re all basically black, gray, navy, or brown. I only had 7 sweaters so I added 6 pairs of socks. (Don’t worry, I counted a pair as one.) I still […]
Our unattached garage serves an important function. It is the last step before things rot on their own or get put out for the garbage. I can decide to probably give something away, but not finalize the decision since it might be retrievable if it’s in the garage – that is if the neighborhood cats […]
As I said in my “Extra blog” a couple days ago, it’s often more challenging to let go of compulsions than to let go of stuff. Just to keep me honest, however, I also gave away some stuff: a 1993 LSAT prep guide (Nobody looks like they’re going to law school soon.), 2 suit cases, […]
A couple nights ago the phone rang at 10:30 pm – not a good sign. It was the young woman who we’ve been helping through her pregnancy, marriage, and miscellaneous needs. She said she, her husband, and 4-month-old baby needed an emergency place to live for a short time. They discovered that the place they […]
