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You are What you Keep Week 1.5

Here’s an update on what I’ve been doing.  I meant to post this last weekend, but a thunderstorm and no electricity slowed me down.

 

Anyway, we had to work in the garage first, so we’d have somewhere to store and hold a garage sale.  Spent 2.5 hours in the garage Sunday night:

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I know this looks bad, but when we started, we could hardly get the lawn mower in, let alone a car!  We still have one corner full of stuff I’m not ready to deal with yet (pottery collections that I’m not currently displaying, but I *can’t* get rid of) and some garbage that needs to be hauled away (old stove). 

But, the 2nd picture is all garage sale furniture.  I think these count as 10 items each, because a) they’re big and b) I have a furniture addiction.

There are still a few pieces that I want to paint and put in our house, but hubby and I have an agreement.  If they’re not done by spring, they get sold in the spring garage sale.

So…

12 pieces of furniture x 10 = 120 items right there!  Plus, there was garbage, but I won’t count that since I counted so much in the furniture department.

 

Monday:  Wandered around the living room and dining room with a box.  Came up with:

3 tablecloths

1 table runner

2 roman shades (never opened)

1 book

1 leather bag

1 fabric remnant

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Also worked in the bathroom and made another round in the living room:

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1 leather travel bag for hubby – since he’s stuck on the farm, he’ll never need it again.

1 bag sponge rollers from my youth

1 nailpolish (there were actually a bunch, but I’ll count them as one)

1 bubble bath (took up a lot of room in my cupboard!)

1 hair accessories (a few)

1 big brush

1 book

1 record

1 decorative bowl

1 decorative clock

1 photo album

1 lassy legs

5 tulip puff paints from college cheerleading (we put our names on ribbons for our hair)

1 travel alarm clock

And a giant box of garbage and pile of junk mail in the office that joined this stuff.

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Tuesday: upstairs hallway and my bedroom

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Box of pottery to go back to my parents’.  Depending on what color I feel like accessorizing with, I just run over to mom’s and steal from “Martha Stewart’s Prop Room.”  She has pottery grouped by color above her cabinets, and I just swipe whatever I need. :)

14 pieces of pottery

1 big box that was already packed for goodwill but has been sitting there for months

2 boxes of magazines (garbage)

Total:

120 furniture

42 for garage sale

3 boxes of garbage

= 165 items!

 

Then I slowed down a bit, but worked more in my room and ended up with:

 

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What?  You can’t read that?  It says:

14 unders

2 nursing bras

2 photo albums

1 bathroom scale

4 too small jackets

1 set of Nancy Drew books in French

1 set of candles

1 book

13 shoes (single, not pairs….)

1 broken clock

5 button down shirts (I never iron them, anyway)

2 sweater sets

1 fabric remnant

6 dresses (including a bridesmaid dress…Karen, do you want it?)

6 short sleeve shirts

1 brand new purse

1 brand new pair of sandals

1 brand new bra

1 snugli

1 head thingy for baby’s carseat

1 pair hockey skates

4 hubby’s clothes

1 more pair shoes

3 pieces of wrestling gear (hubby was never even a wrestler)

1 more photo album

1 decorative pillow

1 cassette tape

11 more books

1 scratchy sheet set

27 other clothes items

 

And yesterday!

37 Toys!!

 

 

That brings my current total to:

381 ITEMS!  In 1.5 weeks!  Woohoo!

Next up:  the 3, yes, 3 buckets of dance recital costumes that I haven’t worn in 10 years.  But I might have a girl someday, who wants to dress up.  Or, I might need a halloween costume.  Or my students might need them for rock star day again.  Oh dear, this is going to be a tough one.

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Would you like to comment?

  1. That pottery looks really great but I totally understand what you mean by the lists of stuff that accumulate. Do you want to come do inventory at my house next? jk... I am just terrible eat that stuff.
    I linked up my email to my profile... I think I did it right.
    cya round,
    CK

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  2. Bridesmaid dress from my wedding? If you really don't want it I'll take it. (is that weird?) As for dance recital costumes, I can't get rid of mine...and remember that Halloween three of the four of us wore them. I know you are trying to streamline but I vote keep at least some of them

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  3. I'm taking notes and will refer back to them after the fair! Keep at it!

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  4. i have a habit of buying, so i have created a habit of cleansing and do it often- way more than i should... my mom is afraid to give me gifts anymore because she thinks they will eventually be donated. ok, so not that bad, but you get it! great work- now get that furniture painted so you can keep it!

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  5. Oh dance recital costumes, how I love you.

    I think mine are gone though. Too bad.
    It would have been funny.

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  6. I took a bag to my aunt's moving sale and came home with an equal amount of items...that's not how it's supposed to work, right?

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  7. Oh, wow! You are doing a great job... we *might* be moving and I am dreading it. I'm voting we get a dumpster and be ruthless! But I wouldn't be able to toss my tap dancing costumes, either!

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  8. You are doing an awesome job!! Way to go!

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  9. Martha Stewart's Prop Room Director (AKA MOM) wants the bag of sponge rollers back!! Sob, sob....

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  10. my favorite.....the 13 single shoes! i keep hoping to find the mates to the 7 single shoes that got moved from the old house....do you think the mates are in the tubs in the garage or are they buried with the old house?

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