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Today I was looking at Nine West shoes online. First mistake!

They were having a Thanksgiving “up to 50 percent off!” sale. As you can see, this is going nowhere good.

Look at what I found! Regular price $69.99, plus 30% off and free shipping!

I asked what D thought. He laughed at me.

I called Mom. She tried to talk me out of it, but once I pointed out that my only black heels are synthetic leather (ick!), she agreed I should get them.

They’re real leather, four-inch heels with an ankle strap! I’ve been dying for heels with an ankle strap almost as much as I’ve been dying for a sweater dress.

But as soon as I placed the order, I was overcome with guilt. I just spent $50 (including our state’s ridiculous sales tax) on something for myself when I could have used it for Christmas gifts.

I will be replacing my synthetic leather shoes with the Nine West ones when they arrives (in up to seven business days). And I justified the purchase because I’m replacing a lower quality item with a high quality item that will last me much longer and will be much more aesthetically pleasing in the process.

Honestly, I think now  that it’s all said and done, I’m more upset with myself than happy. But I’m sure all of those negative feelings will disappear once I put the new shoes on.

A dervish, if I have the definition correct, is a swirling windstorm blowing across a desert, stirring clouds of dust.  Picking up branches and debris and flinging them across the dunes.  Only my mother slings stuff.  Junk.  Crap.

I can’t remember the last time she brought me something I needed or wanted.  I know that sounds bratty.  I know she does things out of the goodness of her heart and it’s not that I don’t like the things she brings, it’s just that I wouldn’t neccessarily chose them for myself, yet feel obliged to find a place for them.

Homemade plum brandy!  A basketful of Bingo prizes from the dollar store!  A scented candle called “Santa’s Pajamas”!  Santa’s pajamas?  Santa’s pj’s obviously smell a hell of alot better than mine.

She walks in the door, followed by my dad with arm loads of bags and boxes, kisses me on the cheek and the giving begins.  She dumps the stuff on my dining room table and pulls it from her purse, pocket, ears.  I have to wrestle her out of her coat and the boys cower out of her path.  A wine bottle converted to a buffet lamp!  A scarf that resembles a dead Chesire Cat!

And when I am in the middle of mashing the potatoes or carving the turkey or rescuing the damn biscuits from hell…Oh!  She forgot!  She wants to show you the jewlry she’s making out of tarnished spoons and discarded toilet paper holders!

She’s endearing, in that way, and generous, and gets excited like a child , but the crap!  The crap she totes all of 14 hours from Chicago to my house.  Crap from garage sales, and dollar stores, and Walmart clearance racks, and church craft shows!  My God!  It’s dizzying.

Sometimes she even buys big ticket stuff  like the Christmas she bought us a VERY expensive camera with several lenses and filters and buttons and dials and, My God! (again) with a toddler on my leg, a baby in my arms and my milk soaking through my breast pads, it was all I could do to push a button, just one button!  And the mega juicer she bought.  I mean, the thing weighted 50pounds and its motor was strong enough to power a boat trafficing cocaine into Miami from Cuba! 

And my mom is a psychic.  The day I thought about listing the juicer on Craig’s List, I thought twice.  She’ll ask about it, I thought.  She never forgets a thing she buys, she’s a shit savant, and loves to play “Where’s that crap?”  She quizes me about the crap and if I don’t correctly recall it, name where I have it stored, and produce the crap before the buzzer sounds…I lose, which is marked by a pout and endless guilt inducing statements like, “If you ever have another garage sale, call me first.”

And I was right.  She asked about the juicer on her next visit.  Aha!  She hadn’t got me!  It’s here!  It’s here!  I moved it when I cleaned out my pantry, but to where?  The basement?  The garage?  Shit!  Where was it!  I couldn’t find it!  Where did I put it?   ”Well, that was expensive.  If you come across it, I’d like to borrow it.  Dad and I start our diet today.”

I put the freakin’ thing BACK IN THE PANTRY!  Too late.  Two days later.

But what’s a daughter to do? I can’t break her heart.  I wear the Cheshire Cat scarf to dinner with them the next night.  I burn the Santa’s Pajamas candle while we sip coffee and eat pumpkin pie.  And I think of my grandmother and great-grandmother who, though kept meticulous house, had knic-knacks up to their knickers and canned veggies and jellies lining shelf upon shelf in their basements.  And I vow, though somewhat unconvincingly, to myself, “Not me.  That won’t be me.”

No more aqua glass collecting.  No more hand mirrors to hang along my powder room walls.  No more ink wells.  I’m using the library from now on.  At least, I won’t torture anyone else with stuff. 

Tomorrow I’m clearing off the kitchen desk, while I sip homemade plum brandy.

Another thing the challenge has opened my eyes to is how stressed clothing makes me.

Since gaining weight at my last job (too many late nights followed by fast food binges), most of my clothes no longer fit me. I can squeeze into my size 8 jeans but not without a struggle. And I can only wear one pair of my slacks.

Of course, this means I’ve only got a few clothes that I can wear right now. And, because I’ve really slowed down on the weight training, I know I won’t be able to fit into my size 8s for a while now. So…

I’m going to up my workout routine to what it used to be. I’ll work out every day of the week, alternating between legs and arms with weight training. I have to lose this weight. I miss all my pretty clothes.

I did skip the fast food tonight even though I was starving and my cold wasn’t making me happy about going in somewhere. I went to Subway and got a six-inch sandwich.

I know I can lose the weight. It’s just a matter of getting back in the groove of working out.

Also, I’d like to move all of my clothes to the hallway closet and use my bedroom closet as a kind of conveyer belt.

I realized this week that not knowing what I was going to wear in the morning really sets my routine back by at least 20 minutes. I turn off the alarm and lay in bed wondering, “Okay, what can I wear today?” I take stock of all my clean clothes in my head and then weed through the ones that fit me well.

If I had all of my outfits already planned out, I wouldn’t have to work nearly as hard in the morning. I would wake up, grab the first outfit lined up in the closet. Then I could be out the door in 10-15 minutes instead of 30-35 minutes.

I cannot wait to get this weight off so I can fit into all my beautiful clothes again. I refuse to buy the size I’m currently at. I will not buy any clothes for myself until I’m able to fit into my 8s again and am able to breathe normally while wearing them.

If you often wonder “How did this get in my life?” try these 7 steps to limit your “incoming”
https://www.donotcall.gov/ (reduce time wasting calls)

https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t
register to avoid those pesky (and ID Thief tempting) pre-approved credit offers

http://privatecitizen.com/ (reduce junk mail and calls by over 70%)

http://www.catalogchoice.org/ (get OFF mailing lists for catalogs you don’t want (especially good in fall as pre-Xmas is a huge mailing time))

http://mashable.com/2007/10/26/100-ways-to-organize-life/ (lists a huge variety of ways to share calendars, remind yourself to change the oil, record what is in storage, etc.)

http://www.simpleliving.net/ (how to consume less and enjoy life more.)

Find a local Shredding company – good East bay one where you can watch your docs being destroyed – http://www.compax.com/
Drop off your back-log, then use your own shredder daily (and oil it).

Remember – the more “stuff” you get out of your life, the more room there is for good energy to come in.

I started this blog because I have a problem with cluttering, plus some hoarding and churning. I could not find a support group to fill my needs, so I started this blog to chronicle my successes, journal about my failures, and gain community support for my baby steps.

Already, by photographing my clutter, I’ve realized the problem wasn’t as enormous as I had feared. My photos don’t even come close to photos taken of true hoarding.

Do you have a closet that is filled to the max?  Most everyone says yes to this question because naturally if you have space …you tend to fill it up. Are you ready to clean out your closet?  Here is a statistic about clothes for you… most people wear 20% of their clothing 80% of the time.  Doesn’t that sound crazy?  Oh, but it is true.

The first time I heard this statistic I prided myself with being a bit of a minimalist and thought to myself,

“No Way, I do much better than that.  I think I use more like 80% of my clothes 80% of the time”

Then one day as I was folding the laundry, I realized that I was fooling myself.  I came to this realization because I was folding a sweatshirt that is in the wash almost every week… which meant that I wore it all the time!  Then I looked at the rest of the clothes I was folding and realized that these are the same clothes I wash almost every week.  Then my thinking went to my closet…which was full of all the clothes I hardly wear.  Oh my goodness, my closet is just like everyone else’s closet!!

The Clothes

As an Organizer, I knew I needed to “fix” this situation.  It was time for me to clean out my closet. One of the best tips for cleaning out a closet is to place a donate basket in your closet or bedroom.  Each morning, while you getting an outfit, it is very easy to pull out  a couple of things you don’t wear and place them in the donate basket.  Then there are those clothes that you always try on thinking you want to wear but, for whatever reason, never wear it out of the room.  Don’t hang these items back up…put them in the donate basket.

Do you wear all your clothes?  I have a challenge for you.  Place all you hangers backwards and only put them the correct way after you have worn the item on the hanger.  Give it a try.  It will open your eyes to the amount of clothes you really never wear.

The Shoes

I love shoes like everyone else.  The best tip for organizing you shoes is to get them off the floor.  Put them on a rack or a shelf that is visible.  It is totally understandable to have a couple pair of shoes on the ground but try to keep the rest put away.  As you bring in new shoes, remove the old ones from your closet.

The Accessories

If you have a walk in closet then it is helpful to keep all you accessories in one area of your closet.  This makes it much easier to pull a complete outfit together. If you don’t have a walk in closet then a dresser with a mirror also works nicely.  The key is to keep everything together so you don’t have to do any searching for items.

The Donate Basket

When your donate basket is full, you can give the items to your favorite charity.  This is my favorite part because I know there are others who need the stuff and they will actually wear them more than I did. From here on out, whenever you bring home a new item to put in your closet, try to place an item in your donate box.  This is the “one in, one out” rule.  Best of luck and enjoy the new found space in your closet.

I think I get it! This whole time I’ve been trying to simplify and de-clutter, I knew I was getting rid of things that just sat around, going unused, or that were actively distracting me to the point that I was neglecting other commitments.

But what I didn’t understand – until reading and attempting the 100 Thing Challenge – is that minimalists, people living the simple life, uncluttered persons around the world… They only keep what they use. They only own what they choose to value and honor in their ownership.

I have so many clothes and trinkets and board games and video games and movies that I never use! I keep them as some kind of shrine, thinking that owning them makes them special. That keeping all of those board games, just in case D ever becomes someone who enjoys board games, is somehow worth storing them in the closet forever. I insisted on owning board games that my family also owns even though I only play with my family. So what? I needed a spare to keep in my apartment? Even though they never visit? Even though we only play them at their house? That’s ludicrous!

I’ve found that so many of my possessions are “just in case” items. “Just in case I ever decide to take up pie-making, I better keep these pie dishes.” Or “just in case I run out of clean clothes, I better keep these sweaters I don’t like so I’ll have something to wear.” Or, the worst of all, “Just in case my grandmother ever visits and asks where I put it, I better keep that ugly statute of miniature schnauzer.”

Why do we do these things to ourselves? If I ever want to take up pie baking, I can borrow a pan from my mother. Or I can buy my own. If I run out of clothes, I need to get my tush in gear and do the laundry! And if a relative does come to my apartment – the chances of which are very slim – and they don’t notice an item they gave me… Well, I’ll lie. Ha ha, just kidding! I’ll let them know that it simply did not work in my space, though I whole-heartedly appreciate the thought behind the gift.

On that note, we often overestimate the attachment others have to the things they give us. For instance, when I told my mother about selling some things over the weekend, she said, “You sold that elephant figurine didn’t you?”

“No,” I said. “I’ll probably still do the kitchen in elephants. Just not as much as I was planning to do it before.”

“Well, I just wanted to let you know that you better not sell it for $5. It’s a Masterpiece item, and people collect those. You can get a lot of money for them,” she said.

She was actually giving me tips on selling an item she had given me as a gift!

I don’t want to hold onto things just in case. They’re constant reminders that I possess things not being used, that I’m a pack rat. And, to be totally honest, I have not missed one thing that I’ve sold or donated so far. In fact, when I wrote my post on the things I had sold in the past, I had to ask D to remind me of things I had sold. I couldn’t even remember them! That’s how insignificant they were to me!

So, this is what I suggest to anyone considering de-cluttering their home or living a simpler life: Take stock of all of your possessions. Make a list. (Making a list really made me realize the sheer amount of stuff I have.) Consider each item separately. Ask yourself, “If I no longer had this, what impact would it have on my life?” If you cannot think of what it would mean for you to not have it, chances are it’s not important.

This challenge has made me ask myself things like, “Why do you have shoes that are uncomfortable? Why do you have clothes you don’t wear? Why do you have movies you don’t watch?” And the answer is so pathetic. I have these things just to have them. I thought I should have them. I told myself I should have tons of shoes. I should have mountains of DVDs. I should buy something new every other day. I shouldn’t question my purchases. After all, if I could afford them, what was the big deal?

Now I see how silly I’ve been. How much money I’ve thrown away by buying every little thing I thought I wanted!

The implications for my finances alone is enough to make me change my habits. I can save so much money by questioning myself before I buy something. “How will this enrich my life?” I’m also implementing a one-in, one-out policy for all things in the apartment, not just my clothes.

I’m not sure that I’ll make it all the way down to 100 things. That would be incredibly difficult for me, considering the number of things I’ve donated, sold or thrown out already. But I’m not going to call it impossible until I’ve made every effort!

My new post on Politics Daily / Woman Up:

Before you haul yourself to the shopping mall for the American ritual known as Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, when retail merchants leap out of the red ink and into the black), consider giving yourself a little holiday gift

I’m not saying that just because of the recession. Or because in 1989 I ventured on to the Houston freeway system on the day after Thanksgiving and developed a traffic phobia that persists to this day.

Gifts can hurt…

Read the rest on AOL. An Ungifter’s Guide to Black Friday.

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My Office Desk

I sometimes wonder why I feel I get nowhere even if I strive or try. That I’d have focus and direction in my life. I’ve tried to follow the “Get Things Done” way of doing things. And yet I get to conclude that I am just such a hopeless clutter!

This is what my desk looks like after realizing that I have been with my company for exactly 7 years and 2 days. Darn to think that I got where I am by riding a tornado like Alice. Just look at the view of the path I’ve been through.

Here are some other ideas of clutter free, consumable gifts:

Spices http://www.penzeys.com

Wine of the Month Club http://www.cawineclub.com

Cheese of the Month Club http://www.cheesemonthclub.com

Beer of the Month Club http://www.beermonthclub.com

Shoes are my number one weakness when it comes to my wardrobe. I absolutely love shoes of all colors and heel sizes. They’re beautiful!

I’m not the worst women when it comes to collecting shoes. I have 21 pairs. That includes tennis shoes, two pairs of sneakers, numerous stiletto heels and two knee-high boots. My mother owns 99 pairs of shoes. I feel like my collection is under control.

But it’s still too much to me. I hardly wear half of my shoes. And even if I did wear all of them, a majority of my lovely shoes rub the heels of my feet raw and give me blisters!

So this is my goal. I want to have a closet of 12 pairs of shoes. Only 12! I have one of those shoe hanging organizer thing-a-bobs. It holds 10 pairs of shoes. My boots won’t fit inside so they sit in the corner of the closet.

Ideally, I would have two pairs of heels, one brown and one black; two pairs of flats, one brown and one black; one pair of sneakers and one pair of tennis shoes. That set up would still leave me with two empty slots for some crazy fun heels!

So here it goes. The cleansing. 21 shoes down to 12. Wish me luck!

Why am I sending Christmas cards this year? It could be that I want to use up my postal stamps of various values instead of viewing them as constant clutter in a drawer. Why not just throw them away? Well, that would be wasteful!

Hmmm, procrastination could be a factor. While writing and sending cards, I am avoiding other tasks, like shampooing my carpets. I won’t mention the clutter in the basement that is meant to make its way to Good Will or the laundry that’s waiting for a flight to my closets and drawers, after a layover at the washing machine and dryer… Did I tell you that two years ago, I had my laundry room moved to the second floor, second bedroom of my townhouse? Now it’s right up there with the beds and clothes closets!

I call that second bedroom a work room. No bed. It’s fitting, since besides clothes, there are boxes of papers piled for my perusal before recycling or filing them. Did I share that I’m a perfectionist? Yes, that’s an excuse I use for some delays in my accomplishments…

The best reason for me sending Christmas cards with personal comments and a poem I wrote as well, is that I’m feeling vulnerable. September, I received a diagnosis of breast cancer. I’m reaching out to hug family and friends with words, if not in person. I know that the only time I can be sure of is the NOW. By the way, after I used the assorted postal stamps, I bought three pages of these forever stamps: “BREAST CANCER, FUND THE FIGHT, FIND A CURE.

In the United States we are so very fortunate. Most people can buy whatever they desire. If we go shopping and see something we like, we can buy it.

See it, like it, buy it

However just because we like something, doesn’t mean we need to buy it.

On a recent flight my daughter liked this Skymall item:

Forest Faces: Show everyone which team you’re rooting for with this outdoor ornament sensation.

This new outdoor craze is only $19.99, so it’s easily within my reach.

Should I buy one? Let’s see.

Can I live without it?

Yes. My trees have been bare for years and haven’t been yearning for ornamentation (as far as I know).

Would I use it regularly?

No. The ornament serves no real purpose other than promoting a sports team that doesn’t need further promotion. 

Is it going to improve or simplify my life?

No.

Asking yourself these questions can help you prevent clutter and debt. It’s possible to see something, like it and not buy it.

See it, like it, don’t buy it

The result? More money in your bank and less things in your home. Sounds good to me.

Interested in consuming less, decluttering and organization? Check out Monica Ricci’s blog: “Your Life. Organized.”

Every household has many, many manuals for everything we own (washer/dryer, Xbox 360, TV’s, electronic devices).  Put every manual in alphabetical order filed by what you call it. If you call your TV a television or a SONY television, file it by what the first thing that comes to mind when you think of that item.  The reason behind this theory is: when the dishwasher is flooding the kitchen floor, you don’t want to have to search for the name of the (Kenmore) dishwasher, you need that manual fast!  I keep the receipt attached to the manual, for big ticket items.  You will have it available to prove your purchase date.

I have a wonderful story to tell you about manuals and receipts. I had bought a recliner with a 10 year spot warranty included with it. The recliner was 9 1/2 years old when it got a spot that I could not remove. I knew that the warrantee and the receipt for this recliner were in my manual folder, filed under the name recliner. I went to my file, retrieved the paperwork, and called the company. Since I had the receipt, the proof of purchase and the warrantee, I was given a brand-new recliner to replace my 9 1/2-year-old recliner. It was as easy as that.

The one thing you do need to remember about your manual folders is that they need to be gone through and old manuals for items you no longer own, should be purged. I normally go through mine once a year, just to keep it current.

After making a ridiculously long list of all of my clothing, I realized that I have entirely too many clothes!

I started imagining what my ideal wardrobe would look like. What kind of closet could I have that would satisfy my girly ambitions while still being simple.

My only thought is that I’d like to do some kind of a business-suit only policy when it comes to work. It’s more professional, and I can still wear my pretty heels! I can dress an outfit like that up with heels or wear flats if I want to be more comfortable. Depending on the shirt I wear under my jacket, I could be totally casual or slightly snazzy. And, with business outfits, I could limit my shoes to two high heels in brown and black, plus flats in brown and black.

I could keep four pairs of blue jeans and four casual shorts to wear on the weekends. And maybe a few t-shirts.

It’s funny to me because, even though I’d like to think that I’d have to completely redo my wardrobe, I almost have all of that stuff already. I have plenty of slacks. I have three suits already. I could whittle my clothes down and begin buying new clothes while getting rid of old ones over time. It’s definitely something to consider.

Listing out all of my clothing brought to mind all those times that I wake up, frantic, because I have nothing to wear. Come on! I have a little under 150 articles of clothing, and I can’t find anything to wear. I need to get a grip!

Here is a nice example of how overboard I take things. This is my room when I was 20. Yes- that is a wicker rack meant for the floor, but I felt compelled to nail it to the wall, four feet off the ground. That’s fabric- nailed to the wall. Those candles? Yep- I lit them. How many safety hazards can you find in this photo? LOL.

Warning: Really boring post listing all of my personal possessions. I’m using this to keep tally of what I have and hopefully convince myself to whittle down my stuff even more.

* Anything with an asterisk is something I could not remove from the list. Period.

Media

1. Sex and the City series box set

2. Pushing Daisies, season one SOLD

3. Pushing Daisies, season two SOLD

2. Little Women

5. Meet Joe Black SOLD

6. Iron Man SOLD

3. Home Alone SOLD

6. The Family Stone SOLD

7. The Family Man SOLD

4. Dirty Dancing SOLD

9. The Departed SOLD

10. Definitely, Maybe SOLD

11. The Dark Knight SOLD

12. Changeling SOLD

15. The Breakfast Club SOLD

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

14. All the President’s Men SOLD

10. Zodiac SOLD

6. Wall-E DONATED

4. Sleeping Beauty

20. Sixteen Candles SOLD

20. Sex and the City, the movie SOLD

10. The Shawshank Redemption SOLD

19. Se7en SOLD

20. Serendipity SOLD

11. Sabrina SOLD

5. Pride and Prejudice

28. Pretty in Pink SOLD

I’ve noticed that the majority of my favorite movies have a central plot of “woman meets man, woman loves man, woman and man have major obstacles to overcome in order to be together.” In other words, every chick flick known to man.

Electronics

11. Sega game system (Luckily, it consists of two controllers, connected by wires, and the games are inside the controllers. No other accessories needed to play!) SOLD

6. iPod Nano

7. Canon camera*

8. Canon zoom lens*

9. camera bag*

10. MacBook Pro*

11. laptop bag*

Books

32. AAA guides (I’m counting these as one item, even though I have about three tour books and three maps. I could get rid of them without missing them, but I’m afraid I would want them at a later time – for another trip – and it would be a waste of resources to go get another book.) RECYCLED

29. Bible (I’m not religious, but I once was. I’ve kept my Bible because it was a gift. I’ve written and highlighted tons of passages. And despite no longer being religious, I think of my Bible as an excellent reference guide.) RECYCLED

Shoes Shoes are a touchy subject for me. I know I don’t need all the heels that I own. But… They’re so pretty!

12. Brown flip-flops

13. Black flip-flops

14. Reebok tennis shoes

33. Guess brand peep-toe slingback stiletto heels DONATED

15. Nine West black stilettos

38. Nine West black stilettos DONATED

35. Brown slingback heels DONATED

16. Brown Jessica Simpson heels

37. Guess brand brown stiletto heels DONATED

17. Black sandal heels

39. White peep-toe pumps DONATED

18. White sandal heels

22. White Keds DONATED

30. Stiletto heel knee-high boots DONATED I had a really hard time letting go of these shoes. They’re only one year old, and they were a gift from my mother. But I cannot wear them! I wore them one time and tripped in a movie theater in front of 20 people! I fell on my butt in a skirt. I haven’t worn them since then, too afraid I’d fall again. And with good reason! I tried the shoes on, hoping it would facilitate my decision-making, and I tripped in them just walking around the apartment! D says I just need to practice, but I say any shoes that cause you to trip that makes times just aren’t worth it. I love my other knee-high boots much more than these.

19. Square-toe knee-high boots

44. Brown sneakers DONATED

45. Pink tie-dye Nine West stilettos DONATED

42. American Eagle corduroy birkenstocks DONATED

Coats and Jackets

20. Peacoat

21. Blue jean jacket

52. Blue zip-up jacket DONATED

Clothing

22. 21 pairs of socks

23. University hooded sweatshirt

24. 6 white t-shirts

25. 5 boxer

48. 1 peace sign t-shirt DONATED

37. two sports bras CONSOLIDATED WITH OTHER “BRA” CATEGORY

26. flannel pajama pants

27. black bermuda shorts

28. green long-sleeve Gap shirt

29. black slacks

30. three-quarter sleeve striped Gap shirt

31. winter white knee-length skirt

32. blue Gap polo shirt

33. pink Gap polo shirt

34. bleached red Gap shirt

59. pink Obama t-shirt DONATED I don’t need to advertise my political beliefs on my shirt. Or my car for that matter. If I want someone to know, I’ll tell them.

60. Orange ruffled top DONATED

35. green Gap polo shirt

36. blue striped Gap three-quarter sleeve

37. black wrap skirt

38. plaid yellow B. Moss skirt with black turtleneck top

39. blue jean capris

40. khaki bermuda shorts

41. orange and pink striped Gap polo shirt

42. black and white B. Moss tube top

43. black gaucho pants

44. black cardigan

45. long-sleeve brown B. Moss top

67. burgundy blanket DONATED

46. brown wool B. Moss skirt

47. sparkly silver New York & Company sweater

48. gray flower-embroidered zip-up sweater

49. khaki and red striped turtle neck

50. purple B. Moss sweater

51. orange long B. Moss sweater

52. purple long B. Moss sweater

53. orange B. Moss cardigan

54. gray B. Moss sweater

55. red B. Moss sweater

56. green B. Moss sweater

57. black B. Moss turtle neck short-sleeved DONATED

57. pink and gray striped hooded sweater New York & Company

58. brown T.J. Maxx polka dot dress

59. 7 work out tops

60. 5 work out pants

61. 7 bras

62. 31 15 panties

63. 6 panty hose

64. 4 pieces of lingerie

65. 2 bikini DONATED

94. White spaghetti strap undershirt DONATED

66. White camisole

67. green Gap three-quarter sleeve top

101. D.C. t-shirt DONATED

68. Gap black t-shirt

69. football t-shirt

70. blue “life is crap” t-shirt

110. brown Gap tank top DONATED

71. blue striped Gap three-quarter sleeve top

80. green t-shirt DONATED

81. orange Duck Head t-shirt DONATED

129. green bermuda shorts DONATED

72. blue jeans

73. blue jeans

74. blue jeans

85. white and purple summer dress DONATED

75. white and red poppy flower summer dress

76. black sleeveless knee-length New York & Company dress

77. black and yellow long dress

106. purple dress DONATED

79. black tube top dress DONATED

78. blue and white summer halter dress

88. blue multi-layered dress DONATED

110. green skirt and top DONATED

107. orange skirt with tropical top DONATED

79. blue tank top with matching skirt

80. purple sweater with matching patterned black skirt

81. Duck Head khaki capris

82. gray capri slacks

83. brown capri slacks

84. black pencil skirt

85. black leather skirt

90. gray pleated B. Moss skirt DONATED

86. striped button down short sleeve shirt

87. B. Moss brown sparkly tank top turtle neck

88. B. Moss gold sparkly tank top turtle neck

128. black flower tank top DONATED

129. Orange Express tank top DONATED

103. brown baby doll top DONATED

91. khaki button down short sleeve top DONATED

95. sequined black Express top DONATED

96. pin stripped B. Moss suit DONATED I know this seems to go against what I said about wanting to own more business suits than casual clothes, but the short-sleeved jacket in this suit just didn’t fit me right. I don’t think I could pull it off

89. B. Moss elbow sleeve purple top

90. brown, pink patterned halter top

129. black and white patterned baby doll top DONATED

91. mustard yellow tank top with black white and yellow patterned skirt

92. tan skirt business suit

94. brown capri slacks DONATED

93. khaki pants

94. khaki pants

97. burgundy pin stripe pants DONATED

95. gray slacks

96. dark gray, blue pin stripe slacks

97. winter white slacks

98. brown slacks

102. AE khaki pants DONATED

99. gray slacks with purple pin stripes

100. green slacks

118. light gray slacks DONATED

101. black wrap top

102. B. Moss button down long sleeve blue shirt

103. green, gold, white stripes button-down long sleeve shirt

104. burgundy, brown, white stripes button-down long sleeve shirt

105. green button-down long sleeve shirt

106. pink and white stripes three-quarter-length sleeve shirt

107. green and blue three-quarter-length sleeve shirt

108. pink three-quarter-length sleeve button-down shirt

109. white three-quarter-length sleeve button-down shirt

110. long white New York and Company long-sleeve button-down shirt

111. white and burgundy striped long sleeve button-down shirt

112. gray striped turtle neck

137. navy sweater

135. white striped New York & Company sweater DONATED

113. off-white sweater

114. chunky navy sweater

115. red marines hooded sweatshirt

116. white long sleeve shirt

117. purple sweater with white undershirt

118. grey pants suit

119. green B. Moss sweater

145. green zip-up sweater DONATED

151. brown, blue, gray sweater DONATED

120. gray purple patterned skirt

121. pink Angora sweater

122. blue snowman sweater

123. green sweater with white undershirt

178. red zip up sweater DONATED

166. black lace long sleeve B. Moss DONATED

173. pink three-quarter length sleeve top DONATED

124. orange long sleeve B. Moss top

125. navy hooded sweatshirt

126. brown B. Moss sweater

127. brown B. Moss sweater

128. penguin B. Moss sweater

129. red turtle neck

130. purple turtle neck

136. red sweater DONATED

131. white B. Moss sweater

I actually purged a lot of clothing from my dresser just from listing out what I had. I got rid of about five t-shirts and three work out pants, plus all kinds of “dressy” tops that I bought and hardly wear. Anything that is hard to care for – as in wrinkles easily – was put in the Goodwill bag. I’m also donating five photo frames and a heated blanket. I’ll be digitizing all of my photos next week.

Entertainment

132. Scrapbook

133. Portfolio full of clipped newspaper articles

161. Eight Ball DONATED

187. Obama action figure DONATED

134. Photo frame with family photo

135. Photo frame with family photo

171. Taboo SOLD

172. Guess Who? SOLD

173. Scrabble SOLD

174. Sex and the City trivia SOLD

In The Purse

136. Glasses*

137. Glasses case*

138. Glasses cleaner*

139. Glasses cleaner cloth*

197. Plastic ziplock baggy for multi-vitamins Took these out in favor of just taking my vitamins as needed.

140. Cosmetic bag

141. Change bag

142. Keys*

178. To-do list notebook THROWN OUT

143. Hand lotion

144. Hand sanitizer

145. Cell phone*

146. Red Nine West purse

158. Black clutch purse DONATED

160. Small brown Coach purse SOLD

Miscellaneous

147. Franklin Covey day planner

148. Spider-Man Obama comic

228. Curves workout bag DONATED I’ve decided to use hooks on the closet wall to hold my two purses that are not being used. Before, I was using the Curves bag to hold my purses.

149. Alarm clock

150. Photo frame with photo of D and I

167. Photo frame with photo of mamaw and papaw DIGITIZED

I’ll be adding to this list and linking to the updates as I discover new things. I also need to decide things like – do hair brushes count? Should it only be things that are personal and not necessary for life? Should holiday decorations count? I could argue that D gets as much joy from them as I do. I recycled old journals because they were used as ways to vent about issues instead of ways to record my life. Reading them doesn’t bring me any joy, and I certainly wouldn’t want anyone else reading them.

For now, I’m looking through old yearbooks, trying to decide which, if any, I want to keep. (I just found a message from my high school sweetheart in my sophomore yearbook that says, “Hey Red, you’re the girl who I love, and I’m going to miss you a great deal during that 9 week period. I hope we will always be together and never grow apart.” Of course, he completely abandoned me after we got in trouble before the summer began. But it was a nice string of words!)

Under the bed Oh, the sentimental garbage under my bed.

231. Chicken dancing owl given to me for graduation. I’m loathe to get rid of this only because it freaks the cats out when I sit him on the kitchen floor and turn him on. They look at him like, “Oh shit! That owl is headed for our food!” DONATED

151. Tidy box of all pens and stationary needs

202. A t-shirt from kindergarten class THROWN OUT

152. Diploma

153. Graduation tassels

233. Graduation plaque given to me by my former church THROWN OUT

241. My brother’s commencement program THROWN OUT

242. Graduation cap THROWN OUT

163. Presumably, every Christmas, Valentine’s Day and birthday card I’ve ever been given. I even had one from my 2003 boyfriend. I also found a card from my grandparents that they gave me the day after my high school sweetheart broke up with me. It’s full of romantic wisdom. I’m going to keep all cards with special messages in them and get rid of the rest. DIGITIZED

244. A project graduation t-shirt THROWN OUT

245. A photo album from senior year DIGITIZED

246. Photo album from grandmother DIGITIZED

248. A congratulations certificate from a state senator THROWN OUT

Now, don’t get me wrong. Graduating high school is one of few big moments in our lives, and it’s important to celebrate. But why have I felt the need to document that graduation through keeping everything? Will I forget what that day meant for me as soon as I throw out my cap? Most likely not.

I’m just lucky I didn’t decide to make this list through the first wave of de-cluttering. I had kept the paper plates and napkins used at my graduation party. Jeez.

In bookshelf storage

213. spare notebook DONATED

214. spare notebook DONATED

Bathroom

154. “Lovely” perfume

155. Hair brush

156. Container of hair ties and bobby pins

157. Makeup bag

158. Toothbrush

159. Shower poof

160. Razor

161. Deodorant

162. Travel bag

163. Straightening iron

164. Blow dryer

Do you have trouble keeping your mail under control? Do you have toys or magazines strewn about your living room? Here is a simple but very effective organizational tip: Baskets!

Baskets are the answer to many organizational problems. Baskets come in a plethora of colors, materials and sizes and can store anything you have cluttering up your space. And the best part is that they look beautiful and can add to your decor!

So throw your piles of DVD’s or blankets in a basket and place it beside the couch or on the bookcase for a FABULOUSLY NEAT look!

When I first heard about the 100 Thing Challenge, I have to admit that I thought this man was taking things to the extreme. I thought, “100 things? What a meaningless number! And why? Couldn’t we just de-clutter and it mean the same thing?”

Mostly, I think it achieves the same goal: ridding oneself of thing that are toxic to our lives, that do nothing but take away time that could be better and more happily spent doing other things.

But I am interested.

I want to at least count the number of personal items in our apartment that I currently have. Like Bruno, I probably wouldn’t count socks and underwear as individual items. (I have 21 pairs of socks! That would take up one-fifth of my personal items!) But I would like to see what I have and examine why I have those things. Shared items – like dishware, silverware, furniture – do not count toward my 100 items. I can think of only five things right now that I would definitely want to keep:

1. Canon camera – It was given to me for my birthday, and I could not live without it. I use it to document our adventures together.

2. Zoom lens

3. Camera bag – A gift from my father, it keeps all of my camera stuff together and allows me to carry it all without a hassle.

4. MacBook Pro laptop – I use it for all note taking in class, all homework, all blogging and web surfing. It’s also used to reserve my library books for convenient pick up the next day. I could not live without it. It also holds all of my digital photos. (Luckily, I grew up in an age when digital photography was just taking off. I never have had a desire to hold my photos. As long as I can access them via computer – and print off the few I want to frame – I’m happy.)

5. Laptop bag – Technically, I exchanged the one my parents gave me for Christmas for my current one. It is leather and very professional. I use it to store the laptop safely away in the coat closet when it is not being used.

Those five things are necessities, things I would be devastated if I was forced to live without them. I think this experiment – arbitrary as it may seem – will put things into focus for me, moreso than de-cluttering and financial responsibility already have.

A lot of women like to say they couldn’t do the experiment because, unlike men, they have to have many colors and styles in their wardrobe. I don’t know if I agree with that. For sure, I have more than 100 pieces of clothing. But do I need them?

I work in an office setting and can’t imagine moving on to a more casual setting later. So, assuming I continue working in an office setting after graduation, what would be wrong with having five or six variations of a business suit?

It’s schnazzy enough to be work appropriate while still being plain enough  that I think I could wear some variation of it (jacket, skirt, pants, button-down shirt) without feeling like my wardrobe is bland. And I could still keep a few outfits for the weekends – though, lord knows, my most-frequently-worn weekend outfit is boxers and a plain white t-shirt.

If I could get my wardrobe down to a manageable level, I could probably count each individual piece of clothing and still be okay. I have enough problem getting an outfit ready for wear every morning so a little uniformity doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.

My plan for now is to go through all of my stuff and count it up, do a tally of what I have and see if there is still more that I could donate or sell. Whether I’ll feel compelled to whittle it down to 100 things is yet to be seen.

If you had to live with only 100 things, what possessions do you know you would want to keep and why?