Because of my impending baby's arrival, I have been trying to accelerate my 2012 things process and get the whole project done before this baby graces us with its presence (or at least be so close that it's really easy to hit 2012 by the end of the year). Currently, I stand at 1797 things out of my house this year. Just last week I gave away almost 200 things to a local charity, which gave me a nice big satisfying jump in numbers.
Recently out of the house:
- Several coffee mugs. I had too many, I only drink out of, oh, 3 on a regular basis (and never coffee!), I had too many to fit into my cupboard and some I really didn't like. Life's too short to keep coffee mugs you never use or that annoy you. So I got rid of some of my uglier ones. Now everything fits better in my cupboard, too. Bonus!
- Scrap paper. We are approaching the bottom of one pile of scrap paper and this is a zone where I once was less picky about what I kept. Now that I have cleared out my PhD literature review, I have tonnes of scrap paper, so the yuckier stuff is going.
- Gift bags - about 25. I had a lot of gift bags. I still have a lot of gift bags. But at least they all fit better in my gift bag box. I could easily go through the bags again and get rid of more, but I was trying to ease myself into it.
- Old toys. Kid 1 went through her extensive stuffed animal collection and chose to get rid of many of them. We still have lots, but they fit better into their storage container now, and I was really proud of the number she did choose to get rid of. I also sifted through the bottom of their toy baskets and got rid of some junky toys.
- Sheet music. I have mentioned before that I moved into my great aunts' house. There is still stuff of theirs lying around. When we were in the basement one day I picked up a box of their old choir music and got rid of the whole shebang. I kept the page protectors and got rid of all the paper and the binders. One less box sitting in the basement, yay!
Other things that have left the house this year:
- 111 pieces of tissue paper. I am not kidding. I tried and tried to overstuff gifts from our house with tissue paper, but to no avail. So 111 pieces of the stuff went to the children's museum as art supplies. I also donated two boxes of packing peanuts, a bunch of CDs/DVDs and a few puzzles to the museum.
- Books. I am at the point in my life where I don't see the point of keeping books I'm never going to read again. Why should I waste storage space on them? Out they go! This included a pile of paperbacks and a bunch of The Husband's old textbooks. As he pointed out, the accounting rules have changed since he was in school anyway. And the information in his Management Information Systems textbook was laughably out of date. I got rid of a few of my old textbooks but I feel justified in keeping most of them because if I ever become a professor or serious consultant I will need a whole shelf of textbooks that make me look smart. Let me note that destroying textbooks is very therapeutic, even if they aren't yours.
- Old technology. We finally got rid of the two computers in our office that we never used. Oh, so much more space on and under our desks! Also out are a bunch of computer/other cables, and an old TV. I have no idea why we still have one or two VCRs in our basement.
- Personal products and cosmetics. I do not know why I feel compelled to take shampoos and conditioners provided by hotels, but I do. Then I end up with piles of little bottles - which are really annoying, by the way! We used them all up. Even better, I resisted the urge to take the majority of the shampoo and conditioner that crossed my path on our most recent vacation. See? This 2000 things is a form of therapy, I'm growing as a person! I also went through our medicine cabinet and storage area and got rid of or used up a bunch of products that were just sitting around.
- PhD-related reading. As part of my post-PhD recovery process, I went through all of the literature I had organized into files. I kept the most relevant articles, my computer code, and other important documents. I sorted through the literature review articles, and I got rid of all the stapled and/or two-side printed papers. The rest I kept for scrap paper. In one pile, it is a tower a foot high (yup, 12 inches - seriously, I took pictures)! I realize that is crazy, we probably don't need a pile that tall, but it's really good paper and I want to see how much we go through over a couple of months before I commit to getting rid of some of it. I also realize how crazy my literature review was. No wonder it took me so long to finish my PhD!
I'm pretty proud of my progress. I cannot tell you how motivating it is to see those tick marks. It seems stupid to keep track, I know, but setting a goal like 2012 things and then seeing the tick marks add up contributes to my sense of accomplishment and motivates me to keep going. Because honestly, it doesn't look like there is any less stuff in my house. At least this way I know that I have achieved something, even though there is a lot more to be done.
