Saturday Seven: Weeks 22 and 23

Week 22

One of my best friends went through the pile of stuff I am going to donate, and pulled out the magic number of clothing items. (7 things) I don't even know where some of this clothing came from... How do I have clothing of indeterminate origin in my house?

Week 23

Here are the containers out for charity collection.

The credit for the boxes goes to my sister. She brought those books when she visited because she knew I would donate them, whereas she would just let them sit around forever. My donations are 2 large bags of clothing (some items from my sister), a small bag of clothing, and a giant teddy bear that my littles don't play with. (4 things)

Also, these things jumped into a package I sent to my sister because she and I are notorious for leaving things behind after we visit. Let m clarify: I sent her a package full of things she accidentally left behind. I added these 3 things because I thought she would like them. (2 pairs of socks, a pair of jeans. 3 things)

7+4+3=14 things

Total things: 285

Saturday 7: Week 21

This week, there was a lot of stuff removed from my place. There were also a few things acquired, because my sister and I had a Gank Day. First, the things I got rid of:

A stack of clothing. There are 24 things in the picture, and she took at least 2 additional bathrobes. (26 things)

Arm warmers I made for her (those don't count), a kindle, and 15 books (one of the books belongs to a friend of mine, so I had to put it back on my shelf). (16 things)

In the spirit of gank day, I acquired a little bit, too. 6 articles of clothing (though I picked out 9 to try on, so I sort of kept to my 2/3 challenge...) and 3 books.

26 things + 16 things - 9 things = 33 things less in my house. 

Total things: 271

Special guest appearance: Amanda's things

This is the stack of adult clothing that Amanda brought that will be donated if none of my friends claim them.

She also brought 6 boxes/bags of books:

Total things: a couple hundred

Saturday 7: Week 20

This week, we only got rid of 1 thing, but it was a big one: A large flat screen tv that was taking up space in my craft room closet. Steve sold it for $100, which is way more than it was worth sitting unused in a closet.

Total things: 228

This week is short, and I don't even have a picture. Next week should be more impressive. My sister is going to visit, and I hope she will be taking some of the clothing back with here.

Saturday 7: Week 19

I told you last week that I was going through my clothing, right? Well, since Becka and I shared all of our stuff until we broke up last year, I figured I'd give her first pick on the clothing I was getting rid of. She took a little. (5 things)

Then, she happened to be sitting in my craft room as I was unpacking yarn. I came across this colorway that I am not particularly in love with, and I know she can't just buy yarn willy-nilly like I can. I asked if she liked it, and she did, so I gave the yarn to her with the stipulation that I wanted her leftovers for my sock yarn blanket. (1 thing)

The last offerings for the week came up when Becka was looking at my wall of built in book shelves. One shelf is dedicated to books that will be donated if they are not scooped up by friends. Becka saw two books on the shelf and took them: Toreador and Tzimisce, not pictured.

This week: 8 things
Total so far: 227 things

Saturday Seven: Weeks 15 -18

If a blogger continues to get rid of things, but doesn't blog about them immediately, do they still count? I think yes. I will recount to you the weeks that I can recall, with photographic evidence where I have it.

Week 15:
This week actually took place before the last Saturday seven post I wrote, but just found the pictures this morning. My sister visited over the winter, and I sent her home with some stuff I didn't want anymore - a sundress, four pairs of socks (one that she had given me that I didn't even open...), a trial sized bottle of baby shampoo, and 6 books. I was photo-bombed by my niece. (12 things)

Week 16:
I have no photos for this week, so you will just have to trust me (and I'm sure my sister will back me up). In May, my sister visited for half a week. While she was here, she looked at my yarn stash, and I gave her some yarn that I had no interest in any longer. I gave her friend a skein, as well. (1 skein + at least 6 skeins, but I don't remember exactly how many, so... ~7 things)

The second half of the week, we caravanned to Michigan. I took more baby stuff for Jasmine - a play saucer, and at least 6 boxes of clothes. (~ 7 things)

Week 17:
We are to the present! I am getting ready to move in the next couple weeks, and you know what is a great motivator for getting rid of stuff? Moving! The donation truck was making it's rounds last week, so I set out: a bag of toys, a bag of bedding/housewares, and 6 bags of books. (8 things) The only bad part about them coming last week is that I am still finding things to donate... Oh, well. I'm sure they will do pick ups at the new place, too.

 P.S. - Those two boxes of books that I speculated on putting out during week 12 definitely were filled and put out the next time the donation people came around, in addition to at least 1 bag.

Week 18:
On Monday I went to the post office with 10 packages. While not all of them contained random things that fit this project, several of them did. Things sent off include: 2 skeins of handspun (One I was never going to use, spun last year during Tour de Fleece; the other is a second skein from a fiber and I only need the first skein), 2 cops of singles I was never going to use (spun last year during Tour de Fleece), worsted weight yarn leftovers (which add up to about 2 skeins), a handmade journal that I picked up in college and am no longer interested in using, and a ponytail for locks of love that has been waiting to be mailed for about 6 months now (the baggie kept getting covered by other things...). (7 things)

12+7+7+8+7 = 41 things
Total so far: 219 things

I won't be updating my totals this Saturday, but look for a post in 10 days.

Saturday 7 - Week 14

Hey guys! I made it back for another week. Yay! (I am pretty proud of myself.) This week is easy. Technically, these are still in my house, but only because I won't see the person I am giving them to until tomorrow. One of the ladies in my knitting group has a sister who is taking up weaving, but does not have a lot of dollars. That is okay, though. I, like many crafters, have stuff in my stash that I am not interested in. Stuff that was given to me by other people that I took because, "Sure, I can find a use for that." 

First thing, I pulled a bag of yarn out from under my bed. Actually, it was a big bag, a small bag, and a couple loose skeins. Now it all fits in one bag. This bag is my "random yarn" bag. You see, I have 4 different yarn stashes. Sock yarn, worsted weight acrylic, "special" yarn (handspun, lace, etc.), and random. I pulled out all the yarn that I wasn't particularly fond of - I don't see myself using peach yarn EVER. The cream is an interesting texture, but only one ball. The white has gold metalic - I am not a fan of gold. The other four yarns were just in small quantities, so they got pulled out. (9 things)

Then I pulled out a box of yarn my mom gave me when I visited Michigan earlier this month. (By the way, I did that. It was a five day trip, and very fun.) The seven yarns on the right came from that box. They are being given away because they are either small quantities of textured yarn that don't go with anything else in my stash, or they are yellow.  Then I looked at my worsted acrylic stash, and found some non-fitters. They all got removed, because I couldn't think of a project I would use them for. (13 things)

After I bagged all that up, I realized a bag of yarn had fallen from my stash (on top of a book shelf) onto the floor. In it was more peach yarn (/die) and a chunky black yarn that didn't go with anything else in my stash. I have frogged the peach thing, and added more yarn to the bag. (3 things)

I hope the woman who is learning to weave has fun using these yarns. Maybe she likes peach and yellow...

This week: 25 things
Total:  178 things

Saturday 7 - Week 13

Dear Readers-

I have been thinking about you a lot. I miss you. It is not that I haven't had things to say, because I have. I just haven't had the willingness to write. I am sorry.

AS you can see from the title, I am counting this as week 13 of the Saturday 7 project. It is not that I have not been getting rid of things every week; I have. I just haven't recorded them. So, I will recount the things that I specifically remember for the past two months, but I plan to keep this up until I hit a recorded Week 52.

I gave Becka and her boyfriend a coffee pot. I got it for Christmas a few years ago - I specifically asked for it. But I don't drink coffee, and it is less of a hassle to heat water in the microwave when I want tea. So mostly it has sat unused. The boyfriend is attempting to quit soda but still wants caffeine, and he likes coffee. They were going to buy a coffee pot, so I passed mine on. (1 thing)

On my Michigan trip, I got rid of a lot. I gave my sister a scarf that had been sitting around my place forever, and a VHS that we got at a Christmas exchange that would have otherwise been relegated to the back of a closet, because we don't have a VHS player. (2 things) I gave Becka's sister a box of maternity clothes, a box of Winnie the Pooh nursery decorations, a Winnie the Pooh play table thing, two boxes of bottles/cups for babies, and four (at least) boxes of baby clothes, size 0-18 months. (9 things)

I dropped 3 more scarves in the charity drum at the library (3 things)

That is all I can remember. I plan to get back to my normal writing schedule, though, so there will be more next week. 

This week: 15 things
Total:  153 things

Saturday Seven: Weeks 11 & 12

Week 11: 
I took more stuff to Becka this week. She didn't have any pairs of jeans because hers were lost in the move, so I gave her two pair - one that I stopped wearing months ago because they were too big, and another that I do not like the coloring (they have bleached whiskers). Both have been in my closet since before Mara. (2 things) I also gave her a grey t-shirt that I found in storage, still in the packaging (1 thing).

Also from the storage room, I have a bag full of stuffed animals for donation. (4+ things)

This week: 7 things
Total: 131 things

Week 12:
We found Becka's jeans that she lost during the move, plus her mushroom beanie, so she took those home after we had dinner yesterday. (2 things)

When the donation truck came on Wednesday (in addition to garbage bag of stuffed animals, and the garbage bag of clothes) I set out a diaper box full of books. (1 thing) Next time they come around, I am pretty sure I will be setting out another two...

On Tuesday I donated a stack of handmade scarves to the charity at my library that distributes them to people in need for winter. They have been sitting in my closet since pre-Gabriel. That is a long time of wasted usefulness... (5 things)

This week: 7 things
Total:  138 things

Saturday Seven - Week 10

No photo this week, but I still managed to wrangle some things:

- 3 bottles of lotion for Mandi (some of which I am almost positive came from her in the first place) (3 things)
-an entire box of paper to be recycled. In my quest to clean out the storage room, I have come to terms with the fact that I don't need every piece of paper from ever. Included in the "to recycle" box: holiday cards that didn't contain personal messages, magazine articles that are no longer relevant, notes and handouts from college classes, and the pages from a notebook I had second semester of my freshman year of high school. I suspect there will be more such things coming out of the storage room as I continue cleaning it.  (1 thing)
- A basket of Becka's things that I took to her place yesterday. Included were tax papers from ever ago, recent mail, a slipper she left here after the most recent Michigan trip, a stuffed pikachu I found in the storage room, and all the white socks I had, because I found half a pack in storage and I hate matching miscellaneous white socks. (3 things)
- A random knife set that is in the donation bag now (1 thing)

This week: 8 things
Total: 124 things

Saturday 7 - Weeks 8 & 9

I took some time away from the computer the past week-ish to work on a massive charity project. Now I am back to fill in your day with words and pictures.

Week 8

A blue tank top, a black t-shirt, and a Chewbacca toy into the donation bag, and a bottle of lotion into the "to Michigan" box for Amanda. (4 things)

Also, I put six books in a box for Mandi's Christmas present. I try to do this every year - hand her a box of books I don't want anymore. She reads much faster than I do, so she needs books more than I do. (6 things)

This week: 10 things

Week 9
I started cleaning out my storage room.  Believe me when I say it was gross and embarrassing. Frankly, it is still a gross and embarrassing. I am hoping that spending 20 minutes a day working on it will make it much less so. My storage room has boxes that haven't been gone through since I graduated college, and possibly boxes from when I moved out of my mom's house to go to college... These boxes have gone from move to move without ever being opened. I am sure some boxes will have things I will be really excited to see again, but I anticipate a lot of "why do I have this?".

Having spent about two hours total cleaning it, I have already accumulated a large amount of stuff to get rid of this week.

First to go:

A small stack of magazines I found at the bottom of a box. 6 magazines from 2003. Why did I have these magazines? Because at one point I thought I would use them for paper crafting. The thing is, I don't do a lot of paper crafting. I like the idea of paper crafting, but the reality is that it takes away from reading and fiber crafting. A single magazine would be enough supply to get me through several years of paper crafting at the rate I am going. So, even though it was strangely difficult, I took the magazines to recycling Tuesday morning (along with our regular box of junk mail, etc). (1 thing)

A hat from middle school that I may have worn once, but I don't think so. It never really fit. Two stuffed animals - the pink dog is from college, no idea about the other. 4 tank tops and a dress that someone gave me and I never wore, a purple button down that I am unsure the origin of, a long sleeve blue shirt that I stole from my mom's closet in middle school and wore a lot - until I got to high school. All into the donation bag.(10 things)

A bottle scrubber that I got when Gabriel was born, that I promptly lost after he stopped using bottles. It is now in the Michigan box for Katie. (1 thing)

Two bottles of lotion in the Michigan box for Mandi. Two tank tops, an over-shirt, a hat, and a pair of capris that have indeterminate origin, and a bra Becka wore for a month before she outgrew it. (8 things)

(Just so you know, I did find a treasure in the storage room - my hanger of belts and ties! I have been looking for this for the past few years.)

This week: 20 things
Total: 116 things

Book Review: "Seven" by Jen Hatmaker

You know how sometimes the universe tells you it is time to embrace a concept? Well, shortly after I read the Seven Things blog, Steve's aunt Kim posted something on her facebook about a book called "Seven", mentioning that it was an amazing read (or something... I don't remember her exact phrasing.) Wondering if the two sevens were at all connected, I did what I always do when someone recommends a book - I went to see if my secret lover (known in some circles as "library") had it. Well, my lover had it, but had loaned it to someone else. I asked very nicely if I could borrow it next, and my lover agreed. Then I promptly forgot about it.

A couple weeks ago, my lover sent me an email informing me that the book had been returned, and I could borrow it. During our regularly scheduled date, I picked up the book, put it on my shelf, and ignored it for other things I was reading. When it came time to pick a new book to read, I chose it because it seemed the most likely to stay open in my lap while I knit/crochet. The first night, I cozied up to it with knitting project in hand, and started reading. I have been hooked since.

The book is about a woman's experiment in severing earthly attachment. For 10 months she challenged herself to minimize. She focused on one area a month (taking two weeks off between each month): food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending, stress. For food, she ate a diet limited to 7 foods. For clothes, she allowed herself a wardrobe of seven items (not including bras, socks and undies). For possessions, she pledged to get rid of 7 things a day (but far exceeded her goal). You get the idea.

Sometimes she undertook the challenges with only her husband. Sometimes her kids were in on it. Sometimes her friends did the same or related challenges.

Even if you have no religious affiliation, or align with a different religious group than the author, the realizations she comes to about her life and attachment can resonate. The concept of a global movement as she envisions it is compelling. And if nothing else, she tells some really touching stories.

Next time you are looking for something to read, I highly recommend Seven by Jen Hatmaker.

The Saturday Seven - Week 7

I knew there would come a week when finding seven things just wasn't going to happen. This is that week. This week, my count is 5, and I have no picture.

When I cleaned off the bookshelf, I found 2 V.C. Andrews books I am never going to read. I asked Mandi if she wanted them. She said yes. The books are now sitting in my "to Michigan" box. While technically not out of my house, everything that has previously been put in a "to Michigan" box has made the trip. I will count things going into the box the same way I count things going into the donation bag. (2 things)

I cleaned my room and found a purple fleece hat. I'm not sure where it came from, but it is now in the "to Michigan" box for Mandi. (1 thing)

Becka and Chris came over yesterday. I cut Becka's hair, but didn't get to Chris's hair. Instead, I sent the clippers home with them. I got the clippers a few years ago, and used them for a few months, but they have been sitting in the linen closet since we moved into this place over a year ago. (1 thing)

I found another stuffed penguin to go in the donation bag. (1 thing)

This week: 5 things
Total: 86 things

The Saturday Seven - Week 6

Last week, my friend Katie bemoaned the cost of maternity clothes on her facebook. Who can afford to buy a whole new wardrobe for herself that she will wear for less than a year, when also facing the looming costs of a newborn? I couldn't; I put off getting maternity jeans until I was 6 months along with Gabriel, and I lucked out with being gifted a handful of shirts and a dress I really loved. A friend of my sister's had her baby a couple months before I had Gabriel, and she lost her baby weight super quick, so she gave me her old stuff. A lot of it I have never worn. Whenever someone I know gets pregnant, I offer to let them sift through the baby clothes I have, and I set out my maternity clothes bin for them to look through, too.

Katie lives too far away for me to just drive over with some boxes, so I took pictures of all the clothes I had, and put them up on photobucket*. Katie looked through and picked out 7 pieces. Just like that, my Saturday Seven was done. (7 things)

This morning, I started cleaning my room and came across a few things to put in the donation bag:

A pair of khakis I will never wear, a purple crushed velvet-type shirt that I will never wear, two t-shirts that I bought when I was pregnant with Mara that don't fit me anymore, but aren't maternity shirts, and a stuffed Stitch. (5 things)

This week: 12 things
Total: 81 things

*If you or someone you know is looking for inexpensive maternity clothes, I still have 20 items. You can look through them here, and have whatever you want for $2 for the first item and $1 each for additional items for postage, or free if you come pick them up from me.

The Saturday Seven - Week 5

Every month, the Vietnam Veterans on America send an envelope containing a yellow bag, asking for donations. I try to donate every other month - my storage room has boxes that I haven't opened since college, so I am sure there are always things I can get rid of. 

This month, the pickup was Wednesday, September 19. I had half a bag I started last month (1 thing):

 To that I added 6 stuffed animals that I have had since before Gabriel was born (I got the white bear when I was in middle school); 2 promotional hats Steve got from work last year (we don't wear hats); a blue sweatshirt that may have come from Mandi; a long-sleeve red sweater and a short sleeve black sweater, both with rode up while worn that either came from Mandi or Mer when I was in Michigan last month ; a grey t-shirt that I've had since before Kentucky that Becka occasionally wore, but didn't take (it has always been to small for my boobs); a green and white jumper thing that was terry cloth and obviously made for someone much younger than me - got this from Mer right before I got pregnant with Mara, I think; a black tank top that was in a box of random stuff Mer sent home with me from Michigan, and a phone from that same box.

This week's total: 15 things
Overall total: 69 things

Saturday Seven - Week Four

This week's donation was unplanned, but was really easy to accomplish. Becka, Katie and John came over to discuss the possibility of me designing/making dresses for Katie's and John's wedding next month. While they were here anyway, I foisted off random baby stuff I don't use/want anymore.

A diaper pail I got at Gabriel's baby shower. I used it for the cloth diapers, and it worked really well. (1 thing)

 I grabbed together a stack of the cloth diapers that I am pretty sure I only used once (I used them, then found my stash from when Gabriel used them, and put these ones away to be cycled in when the others started falling apart), plus diaper covers Steve's mom got for Mara, and a diaper cover Becka's mom bought before I was even pregnant because she saw it on clearance at Walmart and figured someone could use it someday. (4 things)

Then I realized Mara has a basket in her room with baby stuff that I don't even look at anymore. I looked in the basket and found: another stack of cloth diapers, these ones never used; 2 diaper covers I'd never used; a stack of reusable inserts for two of the covers, a stack of disposable inserts for those same covers; a pack of milk storage bags that I'd never even opened, because Mara refused to try bottles; the 4 disposable breast pads I still had. The two stacks of inserts came from Gabriel's shower; everything else was given to me when I had Mara. (7 things)

 Then I realized I had some random hospital stuff taking up space in my closet, so I gave Katie all the stuff that I had gotten from the hospital when I delivered Gabriel, but didn't use: a stack of bed pads, a pair of disposable underwear (Mandi, I know you are jealous that I had those and didn't give them to you), and a stack of perinatal pads - the kind with the cooling gel pack in them that the hospital I had Mara in did not carry. (3 things)

Right before they left, I handed Becka a box of tea from my tea stash because she is getting over a cold, or the plague, or something. Even though I think it is yummy, I know it is her favorite. (1 thing)

This week's total: 16 things

Overall total: 54 things

The Saturday Seven - Week 3

This week, I cleared out a lot of little things via swap packages. Instead of just buying things for my swap partners, I looked around at what I had around, and put some of the random stuff into the packages.

Package 1:
I put in two bars of handmade soap that my mom gave me for my birthday. She gave me nine bars of handmade soap, and I am not a huge fan of the lavender ones. Those are the two I sent. (Sorry, forgot to take a photo before I sent the package out.)
2 items

Package 2:
I unloaded a lot of stuff in this package. A while ago, Jasmine gave me 10 bars of handmade soap - 2 each of 5 scents/colors. I have a problem - I like scented soaps, but I never use them. Maybe I just like the idea of them? Anyway, those soaps have been through at least one move, maybe two or three. I also put in a tube of vanilla incense. I really like vanilla, but I didn't like the way this vanilla smelled. My partner likes incense, so hopefully she will enjoy that incense. The item that I found most dear to part with, but that I gave to her anyway, was a ball of 100% baby alpaca yarn, black, lace weight. I bought 2 balls a while ago, but didn't like them for the project I was going to use them in. I tried really hard to convince myself to part with both balls of yarn, but I just couldn't. Half is better than none, though. Right?
12 items

10 bars of soap

Package 3:
This one may sound a little weird, and I don't know if everyone would count it, but I am counting it. I sent a braid of hair off to Locks of Love. I didn't measure it before it left, but I know it was longer than the required 10". My hair reached down to the dimples in my back, and we cut it at my nape. Even though this braid wasn't sitting around my house for long - less than a week - it represents something that was around my house for much longer. Having short hair means many things: I don't need to use as much shampoo and conditioner, so I don't feel the need to stockpile shampoo/conditioner. I have no extras in my linen closet right now, because I don't need it. With my hair this length, I could get away with only washing it when I go to the gym once a week. It would look a bit icky by that time, but I could do it. Having short hair also means I won't be finding 2 foot strands of hair everywhere. Seriously, EVERYWHERE. Well, eventually I will stop finding long hairs everywhere. This will make my vacuum cleaner happy. Also, I have been growing my hair since 2007, and since late 2008 it has been past my shoulders. That is longer than I ever need my hair, as I don't enjoy having long hair. It takes too long to dry, and I never wear it down. I never do anything with it. Short is better.
What this all means is, though some people wouldn't count donated hair, I am. Because even though I don't want long hair, I miss the braid now that it is gone.
1 item

The last lot of things wasn't a package sent out; it was a bundle of awesome that my best friend/ex-roommate/ex-girfriend picked up on Tuesday.
Becka came over with a friend to visit me and the babies, and when she left, she took a bag of her stuff from the wedding, and also... Mrh. Yes, she came and got her cat. Which is also kind of my cat. I know that Dukki is actually my cat, and Mrh is her cat, but there is history. Becka got Mrh in 2004 because the lady who lived next to my mom had a litter of kittens, and I fell in love with Mrh. Since I was off in the land of college dorms, Mrh moved in with Becka. In 2006, we adopted Dukki, and he lived with Becka and Mrh since I was still at college. Dukki and Mrh were as close to best friends as cats get. Mrh moving out was hard. Gabriel cried.
When Becka took Mrh, she also grabbed a food bowl, a water bowl, and Mrh's carrier.
4 things

This week's total: 19 things
Overall total: 38 things

This week, meeting quota was not too difficult. I imagine, though, when I get to week 10 it will be much more difficult to let things go. By week 20, I will probably be giving only the requisite 7. By week 30, I will be scrambling to come up with 7. I know that I have a lot of stuff, but I wonder how difficult it will be to stick to the plan later on.

The Saturday Seven - Weeks 1 and 2

Guidelines and the First Offerings

I first read about the Seven Things project while listening to Cast On. Interested, I saved the page in my bookmarks, and then forgot about it for a few weeks. Then I was scrolling through my bookmarks, looking for who knows what, and pulled up "Seven Things" instead. I read the introduction, and decided I had to take the challenge.

The idea of the project, as I understand it, is to ultimately become more mindful when it comes to purchasing, owning, and disposing of things. Over the course of a year, the idea is to get rid of 7 things a week. Not throw away, because I think there is too much throwing away of perfectly good objects happening.

The plan: Starting 8/25/12 and ending 8/31/13, I will attempt to reduce my household clutter by 7 items a week. At the end of the year, that would theoretically mean that the amount of stuff in my home would be reduced by 364. Of course, that would require me to not purchase anything for an entire year, which isn't going to happen. I hope that this process will help me slow the accumulation of junk, though.

I plan to donate, sell, give away or recycle the items that I am getting rid of. I will keep a tally at the bottom of every related post, so I know how much stuff has found a new home. Each Saturday I am able, I will post a picture and list of what I got rid of, and any interesting details for each item - such as how long I've had the item, and why I've had it so long.

I hope other people will be interested in this project. If you decide to play along, too, please let me know where to find your seven (or whatever number you choose). You can even list your items in a comment to the blog.

___

Now to the first two weeks:
No photos this week because my phone doesn't want to play nice with my computer.

Week 1:
I was out of town last Saturday and didn't have the ability to blog (something about being at my friend's wedding...), but I did start the project before I headed out. A pair of my friends are expecting their first child - a boy - in January. They are fairly young (like me), and don't necessarily have the resources to get all the stuff that is necessary for a newborn. Conveniently for them, I have a collection of baby stuff left over from my children's babyhoods. My friends came over and looked through six boxes of baby clothes, and took half. The mommy-to-be looked through a box and a tote of maternity clothes, and took enough that rest fits easily in the tote. They also took two bottles, a bag of pacifiers, a stroller, a bassinet and a swing.

Also, I took an umbrella stroller to Michigan with me for another prego friend, who I hope to be able to offload a majority of the rest of my baby clothes to once she finds out if she is having a boy or girl.

Week 1: 4 boxes + 1 bag + 2 bottles + 4 big pieces = 11 things

Week 2: 
My sister drove me home from Michigan last night, so I didn't have a lot of time to figure out what to part with this week. Luckily, she took a bath and that reminded me that my linen closet is nearly overflowing with stuff I am probably never going to use. My sister mentioned that she was tragically in possession of less than seven things of lotion. In her world, this is a problem. In my world, I wouldn't notice. I very rarely use lotion. I went to my linen closet and pulled out:

• A half-full tube of Jasmine Vanilla body cream from Bath and Body Works that I bought sometime in college when there was a big sale
• A nearly-full tube of Mango Mandarin body lotion from Bath and Body Works, origin unremembered, but it has been moved through at least three linen closets over 4 years
• A barely-used bottle of Midnight Pomegranate body lotion from Bath and Body Works. It was a Christmas present from my sister... I really liked the way it smelled, and even used it twice, but I am much more likely to pick up a bottle of unscented lotion than something smelly.
• A brand-new bottle of apple scented body lotion from the Body Shop. My friend Galena gave it to me for Christmas my junior year of college. I LOVE the scent of the lotion, but again, I haven't used it at all.
• A slightly-less than half-full tube of some Victoria's Secret lotion that I thought smelled icky - probably rose.
• One full and one nearly-full tube of Happy lotion - yummy, citrus scented lotion that I got from Jasmine. Love the scent, but I've had them for years now and doubt I will use them.
• A full tube of pink lotion that probably came in a gift basket. I don't know where it came from or how long I've had it, but I have never used it. It is probably floral scented.

Total for week 2: 8 things

Overall total: 19 things