March 13, 2012

Hi!
Today's post is going to take a little different tack.  I have gotten rid of what I estimate are between 75-100 things in the last few days.  I decided to encourage neighborhood kids to read by offering an incentive:  For every book read or read to them, a child can come to my house and score a piece of candy.  Well, word got out and neighborhood kids have been visiting my home.  I have been told about swans, crocodiles and penguins.  Children have been bringing books over and we have been sitting on the couch, reading about hens, Hello Kitty and fashion shows.  I have brought some of my children's books upstairs and those have been read too.  Lots of candy has left the house and I am excited to have such eager readers in my neighborhood.  

In the spirit of the original intent of the board, I did get rid of a bulky entertainment center that has been living in our basement.  I tried to sell it, but nobody wanted to buy it, so I gave it away.

Destinations: Candy-tummies, Entertainment Center-a new home in a neighboring community

Items de-owned to date (excluding candy):  326

March 8, 2012

Stuff, stuff everywhere!  I have spent the morning going through the giant paper pile that has accrued in the last couple of weeks.

1.  A book I received as an elected official.  Glancing at the back of it, the book tells me all the world's problems will be solved if everyone on the planet stopped eating meat.

2.  Package of medicine that expired in 2005.

3.  Electrical outlet cover.

4.  A dead pen found on the basement floor.

5.  Papers from a church responsibility I will no longer being doing.  I am still finding papers from church responsibilities I had decades ago, so I am trying to nip this in the bud.

Destinations:  Garbage, Deseret Industries

Items De-owned to date:  332

March 6, 2012

Today is a crazy day so it will be a "Two Begone" day.  I will make it up with an "Eight Begone" day later in the week.

1.  Tony Hillerman book.  FHA did NOT like this book of short stories.

2.  Tupperware cup.  Its rim met up with the toaster oven.  Not good.

Destinations:  Garbage, Deseret Industries

Items de-owned to date:  327

March 5, 2012

Random stuff day!  My nightstand area is a book shrine but oher things gather there too.  Today, I cleaned it out and discovered some stuff.

1.  An aluminum coaster.  Looks like it should be from the 50s.  I do not know where its three friends are.
2. A tiny notebook holder.  Notebook is gone.

Three things I found when I cleaned around my nightstand, but will be going to different homes.  You see, I tend to stash gifts there when I am in a hurry (don't worry, my family knows this).  Here is what I found today:

3. Gift for Astronerd.
4. Gift for my father.
5. Gift for Mr. B.

Heh, you three will need to wait until the appropriate time to receive your gift.  Also, Mom, I have yet to come across the wrapped Christmas present you brought me last summer.  I was so faithful in waiting to open it, that I misplaced it.  Please know I will be very excited to find it and open it!

Destinations: Deseret Industries, Astronerd, Dad, Mr. B

Items De-owned to date: 330.

March 3, 2012

Oops, forgot to post yesterday, so I will quickly post today.

5 Tom Clancy books.

Destination:  Deseret Industries

Items De-owned To Date:  325

March 1, 2012

Last night, Astronerd and I attended Hale Center Theater Orem's production of Xanadu.  What fun!  I laughed and laughed.  I am proud to say I never owned legwarmers or sequined clothing.  Here is what is leaving my house today:

1. Blouse.  A hand-me down that never fit right.

2. 7 books to Mr. B

3. Cuff links.  Part of a tie, cuff link and handkerchief set.  FHA kept the tie.

4.  Handkerchief.  See #3

5.  Plastic mailing tube.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a tendency to keep mailing tubes, even if I don't mail anything in them.  This one was missing one of its end caps, so out it went.

Destinations:  Mr. B, Deseret Industries and Recylcing

Items De-owned to Date:  320

February 29, 2012

Happy Leap Day or whatever it is called!  Okay, today is another one of those, "I am embarrassed to confess what I found" posts.  B, Mr. B and I cleaned out the chest freezer.  Grim, grim, grim.  Do not think less of me because of what I am about to list.

1. Cardboard cubbie.  Had 8 slots for papers, etc.  I didn't need it anymore.


2. Meat.

3. A package of meat with a label stating "Best if used by Oct. x, 2000".  Yup, I know.  At least it was frozen all this time.

4. A basket of old frozen food, including a huge package of spinach artichoke dip purchased from the Stouffer's food outlet.  They came in packages of two and B remembers eating its twin during the opening ceremonies for the 2002 Olympics.  Ugh.

5. A basket of old frozen food.

Destinations:  Freecycle, Garbage

Items De-owned to date: 309

February 28, 2012

Today I reach the 300 items de-owned mark.  Like I said yesterday, I still feel like there is a lot of stuff in my house.  BUT, I am also feeling something that is harder to explain.  I feel like the "bones" of the house are getting cleaner and I am making progress.  I hope that makes sense.

Child's bathrobe.  Too small

Nalgene bottle lid mug thing.  I good idea that didn't work for me.

7 Francsican Hacienda coffee cups, see below.  I grew up with this pattern and found a big box of it at a yard sale last summer for $10.  I don't drink coffee, so I don't need them.  Maybe someone can do something crafty with them.

6 Franciscan Hacienda saucers, see below.  Part of the same yard sale box.  I checked with Replacements. com and they weren't buying this pattern right now.

Franciscan Apple Pattern Lasagne Pan.  I kept forgetting I had it and didn't really use it. Replacements.com wanted to buy it for a low price and I felt it wasn't worth my time and money to insure and ship it to them.  I did see they are selling for a good price on eBay, but I worry about accurately describing breakables and items that can craze.  B likes it, so she took it home with her.

Destinations:  DI, B,

Items De-owned To Date: 304

February 27, 2012

Good morning!  We are approaching 300 items and my house still looks pretty full.  On a good note, certain areas have been cleaned out by my family, such as videos and water bottles!!

1. Winnie the Pooh overalls.  Yes, another pair from B's early life.

2. Video case. 

3. Water shoe. Note the singular, one water shoe.  I searched for the other and couldn't find it.  I wondered what good would one shoe be when I have another pair?  I don't have three feet.  I imagine somewhere down the road, I will be posting another "water shoe".

4. 4 latex swim caps.  I spent my childhood summers living at the subdivision swimming pool.  Girls HAD to wear swim caps to their hair wouldn't clog the filters.  I would wear a dreadful thick, rubber, white cap with a chin strap and thought even though I hated it, it was worth being able to swim.  I remember when the rules changed and girls didn't have to wear swim caps.  I felt so free!  

When one does open water swim triathons, one is given a certain swim cap color depending on the category one entered.  I have a number of caps and hate them. Have you ever tried to put a thin latex swim cap on your head?  It is so grippy, it really hurts. Then they are so tight, one feels like one's head is going to implode.  Ugh.   I use silicone caps, while a bit more expensive, are much more durable and comfortable.  And no, my caps don't look like this. 

5. 15 water bottles.  My family LOVES water bottles.  If there are some on the Target clearance row, at least one comes home with FHA.  If there is a new cool one at the bike shop, it comes home with me.  We had devoted a ton of space to water bottles-Nalgene, Camelback, Polar, Eddie Bauer, etc.   We finally went through them and kept the ones we truly use.

Destination:  Deseret Industries, Garbage.

Items De-owned to Date:  288

February 24, 2012

Good morning!   The de-owning continues and the first item is something I am truly embarrassed about.

1. Cupholder lid from Astronerd's  booster seat. It was one of those flip up features Astronerd would open and close and open and close and open and close until everyone in the car went nuts.  I removed it, promptly lost it and just found it.  I am embarrassed about this because Astronerd is now well into her teenage years and has been tall enough to sit in a car without a booster seat for a loooong time.

2.  Winnie the Pooh shorts overalls.  So cute on B when she was little and SO 1990s.

3. Flower t-shirt.  Astronerd and B had cute matching Target shirts for a Disneyland trip many years ago. I finally parted ways with the B's shirt (Astronerd's shirt was long gone) and kept the memories.

4. Youth council shirt.  This is mine from a time when I was the city council liaison to our community's youth city council.  While I feel youthful, I am not young.

5. T-shirt.  This is a t-shirt promoting the local elementary school.  A school that hasn't contained any of my children since spring 2007.

Destinations:  Garbage, Deseret Industries

Items De-owned To Date: 266

Have a great weekend!

February 23, 2012

Good morning!   Welcome to  first time visitors via my friend's blog, Be It Ever So Humble!  Of course I welcome those who have plugged along with me thus far.


1. Packet of flower seeds.  As much as I long to be a "hang out in the backyard and play in the dirt" gardener, all I have time to do is grow weeds.  However, I am the master of whiskey barrel flower garden.

2. 2005 Boy Scout Merit Badge Requirements.  Like that is going to help any Boy Scout in 2012.

3. A very special UPC code from a Breyer Horse.  Every Christmas and birthday, I would ask for a real horse.   I would pray for a real horse.  Oh, how I wanted a horse.  I didn't get a real horse, but I would get Breyer horses.  Sadly, in a fit of teenage de-owning, I sold most of them for next to nothing.  I think the selling of the horses is about the only de-owning regret I have ever had.  I will now step off  Memory Lane and back to the topic.  Astronerd collects Breyer horses and received a horse that was part of a "Buy three certain horses, save the UPC codes, mail them in and get a fourth horse".  The additional purchases didn't happen and I believe the offer expired.

4. Calculator with  Rosemary Wells bunny stickers on it.  When B was in junior high and starting the "one needs a calculator to figure THIS math out" stage, we bought matching Texas Instruments solar calculators.   It was way I could support her and make her think I would be able to help her with her math.  Heh.  These calculators could solve all sorts of math problems.   I put Rosemary Wells stickers on my calculator to differentiate it from hers.  The bunny calculator gave up the ghost, so out it went.  Maybe each calculator has a set number of math problems it will calculate in its life and when the time comes, Poof!, it's done.

5. Singer mending gluey stuff on a roll.  Since I have an aversion to sewing right now, I thought this would be great for tacking up hems, etc. The package said it would wash right out.  Don't be fooled. It is like that stuff that attaches credit cards to mailers, but a lot stickier.  This would have been a nightmare in the washer and dryer. Fortunately, I saw what could happen without experiencing it.

Destinations:  B, Recycle, Garbage

Items De-owned To Date: 261

February 22, 2012

Better late than never!

1. Singapore Twenty Cent Coin.  Someone must have sneaked this to me at a store.  I have absolutely no plans to go to Singapore and use it.

2. Poinsettia plant.  Beautiful at Christmastime, still looking pretty good, but getting a little scraggly.  I didn't have the heart to let it die of thirst, which is a slow death,  so I put it outside where it froze.  I am sure my neighbors were thinking, "Doesn't Karen know those plants need warmth?"  Why yes, yes I do.  I just wanted Mother Nature to kill it, not me.

3. Cracked IKEA Candle holder.  So cute and I accidentally killed it.

4. Box of unbreakable vintage Shiny Brite ornaments. You know the ones-green thread covering a styrofoam ball.  I love glass Shiny Brites and these are NOT my thing.

5. Cloth tote bag.  I love totes, bags and duffles and have been working really hard to avoid keeping every one that crosses my path.

Destinations: Deseret Industries, B, Recycling, Garbage

Items De-owned To Date: 256

February 21, 2012

Yesterday was a holiday here, so I took the day off from posting.  However, the de-owning continued.

1.  United Mileage Plus member card.  I haven't any idea if this is still good.  I tried to redeem the points several years ago with magazine subscriptions, but the magazines never came.  I gave up, it's not worth my time.
2.  Ski pass that expired in 2009.  Sundance Resort offered a great deal and I used it to snowshoe and ride the chair lift in the summer.  I didn't actually ski, but still got my money's worth.
3. Expired Sally Beauty Club Card.  I have a new one.
4. Bottle of shampoo with just a little bit left.  I am the world's slowest user of shampoo , and yes, I do wash my hair regularly.  I just got "scent fatigue" after a year or so and threw out the last couple of tablespoons.
5. 3/4 empty bottle of shampoo.  It was not my shampoo and at some point in time, may have belonged to FHA.  He is now a loyal user of another brand, so this bargain brand bottle was outta here.

Destination:  Garbage, recycling

Items De-owned to Date: 251  This "not being in increments of 5 anymore" is troublesome to B.  B, I will even it up soon.

February 17, 2012

Oh what has been lurking in my house?  Looks like some things that should have left a while ago.  Today's post includes a couple of free enterprise victims.

1. Calendar.  I love calendars, planners, schedules and lists.  I was already set for 2012 when this freebie came along.

2. A plastic whipped topping container.  Have you ever seen the expiration date on this stuff?  I think one can use it to embalm someone.

 3. Astronerd's eye prescription from 2008.  Yeah, like an optician is going to let me use that.  Besides, her eyes have changed.

4. Borders free books coupons.  Borders used to have a free children's book coupon program, but now that they are no more, these aren't worth a thing.

5. Habitat for Humanity card for Albertsons grocery store.  Albertsons used to have a program where organizations would receive a percentage of what one spends and we love and support Habitat for Humanity.  A couple of years ago, Albertsons left our area, so this isn't of use anymore.

Destination:  Recycle, Garbage.

Items De-owned to Date:  246 Yesterday should have been 241, oops.

February 16, 2012

Today's five are pretty straightforward.  I gave B, who no longer lives at home, extra Sunburst cups and vintage  pink aluminum pitcher that looks kind of like this  that reminds me of a caterpillar.  Yes, B wanted the items.

Destination:  B

Items De-owned To Date: 246

February 15, 2012

Today contains a variety of items with loads o' links:

1.  8 pieces of laminate flooring.  This was left over from FHA's work in the entry and hall.  I have no idea why we kept them these several years as it is nearly impossible to use them as replacements.

2. Barbie country camper parts.  Oh, how I loved my Barbie Country Camper!  My sister and I had matching campers and would set up elaborate camps in our living room.  Suddenly, a tornado was coming!  We need to decamp immediately!  The leisurely camping trip would turn in a race against the clock as we loaded up and pushed our campers across the shag carpet, over the tile entry (I can still hear the roar of the the hard plastic tires on the tile), down the hall to safety in our bedrooms.  My camper fell apart years ago and I still had a few pieces I couldn't let go.  I finally did it.

3. Wallety thing.  Some sort of billfold thing I didn't know I owned.

4.  Bruce the oven mitt.  Have you seen the movie Finding Nemo?  If so, you know Bruce.   Well, we had a blue silicone oven mitt  we named Bruce.  Sadly, Bruce got punctured in a bad spot, resulting in burns for wearer (me), so out he went.  There was some mourning.

5. A Sunburst cup.  What is a Sunburst cup you may ask?  It is this.   I went on a collecting binge and had tons of these cups.  I remember my Grandmother Romney serving us homemade root beer in these cups. I can still hear the clink of the ice cubes hitting the sides of these aluminum babies.  I must digress and tell you about my grandmother's root beer. Did she make it with dry ice?  Nooooooooooo.  She would concoct a mixture containing yeast a few weeks before our visits, pour it into large glass bottles and use a bottle capper to seal the lids.  It would then ferment until our visit.  Heh.  It was good stuff.

Destinations:  Deseret Industries, B, Garbage

Items De-owned To Date:  236

February 14, 2012

Happy Valloween!  This is what FHA calls Valentine's Day, because to him, it is the scariest holiday of all.

1. 3 VHS Cases.

2. Boo boo bunny.  What is a boo boo bunny you ask?  It is a cleverly folded washcloth that one puts ice in to put on boo boos.  Our boo boo bunny ended up being a chalk eraser thanks to Astronerd.

3. Make Practicing Fun cd.  Yes, Astronerd, practicing CAN be fun.  The software was outdated and the pass code was already used by B.

4. Children's book.

5. 20 books to B.

Destination:  B, Deseret Industries and garbage.

Total Items De-owned To Date:  224

February 13, 2012

Let's see what I can scare up on this cloudy, cold day.

1.  Taste of Home Magazine.  A sneaky one tried to stay in our home.

2.  SoCal/Las Vegas Tourbook.  This book is from AAA.  I have always loved travel guides and maps.  Remember when you could go to the gas station and there would be maps for the taking?  I remember getting maps from the Chevron station in Winnemucca, NV while travelling to my grandmother's house.  The prospect of a map made crossing Nevada a little more bearable. I think I still have one around, somewhere.  Heh.  The tour books are a fun read.  There is all sorts of helpful information in the Tourbook, but this one is out of date.  Fortunately, it isn't from the 1990s.  That would be embarrassing.


3.  Scrapbooking paper templates.  There was a time in my life where I thought I would scrapbook.  I was wrong.

4.  Bible stories for bedtime.  We kept a book of children's Bible stories, so this one left.

5.  Home décor item.  'Nuf said.

Destination:  Deseret Industries

Items De-owned To Date:  198

February 10, 2012

We will wrap up the week with a variety of items.

1.  VHS tapes
2.  Ancient computer cable printer.  You know, one of those ones that is a few inches wide and very flat?  Yeah,  I know USB has been around awhile.
3. Little pink undershirt.  One of those pieces of clothing that floats in and out of the laundry world and around the house for years after anyone could actually fit in it.
4. Personal Finance book.  It was good advice for the time it was published, but wasn't timeless, so out it went.
5. The Bisquick Cookbook. Yikes!  A cookbook straggler.

Destination: Deseret Industries

Items De-owned To Date:  193

February 9, 2012

A few more movies, noisemakers and something rather embarrassing to admit.

1. Princess Bride VHS.  Oh how we love this movie!  The book is wonderful too.  We already had it on DVD.
2. 3 sets unopened, uninflated thunder sticks  
3. Horatio Hornblower Series 1998 VHS.  Great series, but we never watch it.
4. Secret of Roan Inish VHS.  Kids loved this tale based on a folk tale.  I liked it too. I got it on DVD.
5. Stack of merit badge cards from 1995.  What are these doing here???  Yikes!  Back in the 1990s, I was in charge of organizing Troop 885's advancement records.  I am sure that responsibility didn't include keeping cards for seventeen years.    What things have you hung onto for far too long?

Destinations:  Deseret Industries and garbage

Items De-owned To Date: 188

February 8, 2012

We have made our way out of the land of children's books.  Now we briefly head back into the land of recorded media.


1. Little Women VHS.  My kids and I enjoy this movie but we don't use VHS anymore.  Found it online for very little money (I think DVDs suffer from the same monetary value fate as cookbooks, unless the DVD is a discontinued Disney movie).
2. Henry V VHS.  FHA  LOVES this movie.  I can still hear Kenneth Branagh giving his St. Crispin's day speech.  We bought it on DVD.  Yeah, I know.  Is it really de-owning if you are replacing it with something else?  Yes, because you are replacing something you aren't going to use with something you will.
3.  Computer Monitor Owner's Manual.  Do you ever look at these manuals after the first day or so of monitor ownership?  I don't.  This one lived with us for eleven years.  The monitor left before the manual left.
4. Student Manuals on CD.  These are the student manuals for the LDS Seminary program.  I can get the information online now.
5. Computer User's Guide.  The computer left our home several months ago, so it was time for this manual to go.

A few months ago, I cleaned out the file where our belongings' owners manuals, warranties, etc. are kept.  There were manuals for things we hadn't owned in years.  What manuals do you have hanging around?  Do you know where your manuals are?  Now that so much information is online, does it really matter where your manuals are?

Destination:  Deseret Industries, Recycling.

Items De-owned To Date: 180

February 7, 2012

Last day of children's books and the bending of the definition of "de-own".  Today I am using "de-own" to mean returning something to its owner.  BUT, in defense of my definition, I thought  four books were ours and I was de-owning them.  Both Astronerd and B said "Mom!  Those are Grandma's books."  I had completely forgotten one of my kids borrowed them.  I returned them to Grandma, who by the way, remembered them.  Sorry we had them so long, Grandma.

Two of the items I de-owned were Scholastic children's book/tape sets.  My kids loved listening to books on tape, especially the ones read by grandparents.  When B was small, my parents read a collection of picture books onto tape, complete with Vivaldi's Four Seasons background music and a bell and I believe bulb horn to indicate page turns.  Those are still treasures in our home.

Items De-Owned (and returned): 15

Destination:  Deseret Industries, Elementary School Faculty Room and Grandma's House

Items De-Owned to Date:  175

February 6, 2012 Warning: a wee bit unsettling

We are almost done with children's books.   Now I will tell you how I almost de-owned part of my finger.  I was using this, but not in the safe manner shown in this picture.  I was slicing an onion and the onion didn't stick to the "gripper thing that saves your fingers".  Others had been using it and I kept warning them "WATCH WHAT YOU ARE DOING SO YOU DO NOT SLICE YOUR FINGER".   So guess who slices her pinky finger.  Yep, you're right.  Part of my fingertip was held to the rest of my finger by a teeny, tiny piece of skin.  FHA used Home Depot grade super glue gel to glue the piece in place. The thought was to keep it there until the area below healed and then the cut part would come off.  But something different happened.

My finger did heal, but the cut part reattached itself to my finger!  I was shocked!  It is still numb and I don't know if I will ever get feeling back, but I am glad to have my finger intact again.  Bodies are amazing.

Do not try to de-own body parts.  Trust me.

Items De-owned:  15 children's books

Destination:  Deseret Industries and  Elementary School Faculty Room.

Items De-owned to Date:  160

February 3, 2012

When I started de-owning stuff last month, I started keeping a detailed log of what I was getting rid of.  The initial reason for this log was to keep track of items' value for tax reasons.  I was particularly interested in the value of the cookbooks and learned they weren't worth much.  I thought the new ones (thanks to the credit card thief) would have some value, but they were only a couple of dollars on used book sites.  Some of the books were only a penny.   Needless to say, this endeavor will not give a me a big tax deduction.

Want more information about organization, de-cluttering and home life?  Stop by Organized Home,  a site run by a gal I met online over 20 years ago.  Lots of good stuff.

Items De-owned:  15 children's books

Destination:  Elementary School Faculty Room and Deseret Industries

Items De-owned to Date:  145

February 2, 2012

Today is Groundhog Day! Bear, the family guinea pig, performed her annual duty and did not see her shadow.  This means an early spring!   That's the way Bear, de-own Winter!  I am all for that.

Today's items:  15 children's books

Destination: Elementary School Faculty Room

Items De-owned to Date:  130

February 1, 2012

Well, yesterday marked 100 items de-owned!  While I am excited to reach this milestone, my home doesn't look like I have gotten rid of anything.  I have come to the conclusion that it is going to take hundreds of items departing before my home looks less cluttered.  One step at a time.

The next several posts are going to be a little redundant.  When Astronerd was wee, I organized a neighborhood Scholastic Book Club ordering group.  Because of this and the desire of my neighbors to purchase books, I received a gazillion free children's books.

Now my children are older and do not have any attachment to most of the books.  The entire family went through our children's book collection and picked out the ones that meant something to them.

B said "Mom, if you list those books at five per day, I am going to stop reading your blog. That will be sooo boring."  B is right.  A lot of February would be spent listing books.  What I decided to do is report them in groups of 15.  That way, I can get the satisfaction of posting about stuff I have de-owned, but not take up my blog for the next three weeks.  Don't fret!  I will add some other stuff so each post  won't be too boring.  I will even include the non-TMI tale of how I accidentally tried to de-own part of my finger a couple of weeks ago.

15 children's books de-owned.

Destination:  Elementary School Faculty Room

Items De-Owned to Date: 115

January 30 and 31, 2012

Oops, forgot to post yesterday.   De-owning stuff in one's head is as important as de-owning in one's house.  In fact, it may be more important since the mental stuff is carried from place to place.  Here we go!

1. Earrings
2. Earrings
3. Makeup.  Haven't a clue how old it is, but I suspect I bought it sometime after my 15 year old was born.
4. Makeup. See #3
5. 1/2 used bottle of  makeup. See #3
6. 1/2 used bottle of  makeup.  See #3
7. Tiny bit of blush. C'mon Karen, it isn't enough to save and you are using the new package.
8 and 9. 2 videotapes.  These were blank tapes at one time and became victims of the DVR.
10. Summertime Song.  A lovely picture book where I could never reconcile the story with the book's title.  Maybe I was so enthralled with the pictures, I didn't give it a chance.  Or maybe I just didn't care.

Destination:  B, Astronerd, Garbage, Elementary School

Items De-owned to date:  100  

January 27, 2012

The end of the week!  Off to deliver the usable stuff I have de-owned to Deseret Industries.


1. Three cardboard mailing tubes.  If you only knew how hard it is to get rid of tubes.  What if I need them sometime?  When was the last time I ever mailed something in a tube?  Uh, never.  I try not to store things rolled up, except cinnamon rolls, so I don't need them.

2. Coldwater Creek Earrings.  Beautiful turquoise earrings that were on sale, but just not me.

3. Red dangly earrings.  Came with an outfit I bought on eBay.  Not my style.

4. Blue dangly earrings.  See #3

5. Gold knot earrings.  Got them as part of a set as a teenager (a loooong time ago) and I may have worn them twice.

Destination:  Recycle, Astronerd and B

Items De-owned to Date:  90

January 26, 2012

I got brave and cleaned out my container shelves in the kitchen.  I love little containers.  If they had feelings, they would love me too.  We have a mutually beneficial relationship.  Well little guys, I love ya, but there are too many of you.  Some of you had to leave.

1.  KFC plastic container.  So cute and tiny, but with a lid that frustrated me.

2.  Little Caesars plastic container.  See #1

3. Non-slip ring for bottom of bowl.  What good is a non-slip ring if it keeps slipping out of the groove on the bottom of the bowl?

4. Ziploc storage bowl.  You served me well, but as I recall,  the microwave was not kind to you.

5.  Lids to containers I no longer own.  I think the containers went off to the side of the road to die, which by the way, is where you will find single socks.

Destination:  Recycling and Garbage

Items De-owned to date:  85

January 25, 2012

The cookbooks are finally winding down.  Time for some more random stuff.


1. One Dish Meals. Thanks again to the credit card thief.

2. Sunset Favorite Recipes II

3. A piece of heavy duty clear vinyl with ladybugs on it. Its intent was to cover Wanda the Honda's cargo area so she wouldn't get too dirty.  Unfortunately, it was too slick and just ended up cowering in a corner with stuff on it.

4. Bike socks with hole in heel.  I LOVE bike socks.  They are colorful and fun.  I love this pair and would consider fixing them, but the hole is in a spot where a repair would cause major friction problems.

5. 32 Gallon garbage can.  This clean can came with our house 20 years ago and sat in the basement.  It slowly gathered things and now it is empty and GONE!

Destination:  Freecycle, B, Deseret Industries and Garbage

Items De-owned to Date:  80

January 24, 2012

Why yes, more cookbooks, but I haven't given up cooking.  I revived my sourdough starter after its sitting in the fridge since last summer. Two years ago,  I used Nancy Silverton's starter recipe involving flour, water and grapes.  It took a lot of tending at first and even went through a "lava lamp looking" stage.  It's all normal now and very tasty.

1. 100 Grand National Recipes 1954. A cookbook Pillsbury didn't produce.
2. 300 Ways to Serve Eggs. I didn't need this because in my world, scrambled is the ONLY way to serve eggs.
3. Short Cut Breads.  These aren't breads that are cut into tiny pieces rather easy ways to make bread.  I still have a number of bread books, so I didn't need this one.
4. The 150 Best American Recipes.   One of the books I received thanks to the credit card thief.
5. Betty Crocker Quick and Easy.  See #4.

Destination:  B

Items De-owned to date: 75

January 23, 2012

Happy Birthday Astronerd!  In honor of AN's birthday, the following are heading out:

1. Fleishman's New Treasury Yeast Baking.   Yeast is one of those very mysterious things.  Is it a plant?  Is it a tiny animal?  I want it to give off gas so my dough will rise?  If so, it is the only thing I know of where I appreciate its giving off gas. Learn about yeast here.

2. Pillsbury Bake-off Dessert Cook Book.  Why yes, another Bake-off cookbook. They create enough cookbooks to support an army of Doughboys. 

3. Sunset Herb Guide.  A freebie with my subscription.

4. How to Clean Practically Everything.  I have given up cleaning.  Not really, but I have a more recent edition of this Consumer Reports book.

5. Recipes, Party Plans and Garnishes.  Circa 1950s-60s book on all things party-like.  I forgot I had it and B much more appreciates it.  Get planning parties B and invite me!

Destinations:  Mom, B, and Deseret Industries

Items De-owned to date: 70

January 20, 2012

More cookbooks!  I am getting tired of saying that, but I am not tired of the space I now have.

1.  1953 Pillsbury Recipes.  Another cookbook from a contest.
2.  100 Prize winning bakeoff recipes.  Yet another cookbook from a contest.
3.  12th Grand national bake-off.  ANOTHER cookbook from a contest.
4.   BHG Kids' Snacks.  There are some cute ideas in this book, but the internet is such a great resource I felt I didn't need the book.
5.   HP books canning.  This is an old canning book.  I am not sure if its instructions are still recommended.  I also have the Ball Blue Book, which I use and love.

Destination:  Mom and Deseret Industries

Items De-owned: 65

Hang in there, cookbooks will end late next week.  heh.

January 19, 2012

More cookbooks!

1. Pillsbury Main Dish Cookoff  Winners 1968.  Yet another cookbook from a contest.
2. Taste of Country 3rd Edition.  A freebie from a neighbor
3. Sunset Cook Book of Desserts 1968.  Forgot I had it.
4. Sunset Salad Book 1966. See #3
5. Better Home And Gardens Jiffy Cooking 1967.  They didn't know "jiffy" back then-they didn't have microwave ovens.

Destination:  Mom and Deseret Industries

Items De-owned to date: 60

January 18, 2012

Even more cookbooks and a DVD

1.  Easy Suppers.  The suppers would have been easier if I had remembered I had this cookbook.

2.  Better Homes and Gardens Meat Cookbook 1968.  I know, it seems impossible to think of a time when there wasn't Photoshop, but there was.  And 1968 was Photoshopless.  You should see the pictures in these cookbooks.  Very vibrant!  Being someone who doesn't eat a lot of meat (I am a carbovore), it did not look too appetizing.  However to Astronerd and FHA, passionate carnivores, they liked the idea of a book just about meat.  They also realized the recipes aint' gonna happen.

3.  Pillsbury Best of One Dish Meals.  How many cookbooks can Pillsbury get out of one competition?  Apparently a lot.

4.  Our Beary Best Recipes. Beary?  Really?  It must have been the teddy bear with the chef's hat on the cover, as I didn't see any recipes with bear in them. This is one of those self-published compilation cookbooks used for fundraisers or church groups.  I must have purchased it at a thrift store because I have NO idea who the women are who contributed recipes.

5.  Touching Wild Horses DVD.  Bought it in the bargain bin of the Modesto CA Blockbuster Video to keep kids quiet on the return home.  It worked.

Destination:  Deseret Industries

Items De-owned to date: 55

January 17, 2012

Look!  More Cookbooks!  Will this ever end?  Why, yes it will, but not yet.   Here we go.

1. Sunset Cookbook of Favorite Recipes.  I remember reading Sunset Magazine when I was little.  I liked looking at the gardening, travel and home sections.  I sort of skipped the recipes at that point in time.  I loved the magazine because it made me feel very cool I lived in California and the homes and gardens featured were beautiful. I also learned there were cool places to visit nearby.  In fact, I continue to subscribe today.

 Did you know Sunset Magazine was started in 1898 by Southern Pacific Transportation Company to help combat negative images of the West? We just bought a reproduction of a 1904 Sunset Magazine cover by Maynard Dixon.  We plan on framing and hanging it.  

2. Taste of Country 4th Ed.  Another neighbor freebie.

3. Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cookbook.  Being lactose intolerant, this just didn't appeal to me.  ugh.

4. Recipes from the Heart of Pampered Chef.  Bought it at thrift store, marked recipes I wanted to try, never did it.  

5.  Hey, a DVD snuck in,  A Series of Unfortunate Events.  No, it isn't chronicling my collecting cookbooks.

Destination:  Mom, Deseret Industries

Items De-owned to date:  50

January 16, 2012

Hey, it's a holiday here, but the de-owning fun never sleeps, just ask my family.

Here are are today's departers:
 1. 6 issues of Taste of Home
 2. 6 issues of Taste of Home
 3. Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen: this guy is downright jolly looking and we do like spicy foods.  We didn't cook a single recipe in this book.
4. A Taste of the Country 5th ed.
5. The Children's Cookbook  No, it isn't about cooking children.  Sorry, Johnathan Swift.


Destination: DI and my mom!
 Items de-owned to date: 45

January 13, 2012

Ah, Friday the 13th. It is certainly bad luck for these things because they are HEADED OUT! Actually, it may be better for them because they will go to someone who actually wants them.

1. 6 issues of Taste of Home
2. 6 issues of Taste of Home
3. 6 issues of Taste of Home
4. 6 issues of Taste of Home
5. 6 issues of Taste of Home

 That's five years of Taste of Home. A cautionary tale: Taste of Home was kind of sneaky, or actually, I was very inattentive. The company kept sending me subscription notices even though my subscription didn't run out for a LONG time. I didn't pay attention and paid the bill. Lo and behold, I was subscribed for what seemed like an eternity! Fortunately, I became more attentive and it didn't happen again. I remember looking at the subscription expiration date and thinking "Wow, 2007 (or whatever year I had subscribed to) is SO far away! I wonder what my life will be like then?"

I bet you never knew one can have deep philosophical/life journey thoughts while looking at a magazine label.

Destination: DI
Items de-owned to date: 40

January 12, 2012

Why yes, there are more cookbooks and a mathbook that snuck in the mix.

1. Painless Algebra. Is there such a thing? I LOVED algebra, but now I can't remember some of it. All of us have moved past the level of this book and 1. continue in math or 2. never want to try it again.

2. A cookbook. Years ago, someone stole my credit card information and didn't have the three numbers on the back of the credit card. So when she (I assume it is a she from the Disney books, Christmas ornaments and cookbooks that arrived at my home) ordered stuff, she couldn't change the shipping address. So all of the stuff came to me.  HA HA ID THIEF!!!!  TAKE THAT!    This cookbook is one of several that arrived and when informed of the fraud, the book company said "just keep them".

3. Another cookbook. See story in #2.

4. Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2001: a freebie from a downsizing neighbor

5. Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2003: see #4.

Destination: DI, Mom

Items de-owned to date: 35

January 11, 2012

I must warn you, the next few posts are going to look the same. My family and I have gone through our cookbook collection, again. My family LOVES cookbooks. FHA used to spend Sunday afternoons reading cookbooks with Astronerd and B. B is in a college major that involves some cooking. Astronerd just told us, when asked what skills she must have in order be on her own: "I know how to brown hamburger, so that's taken care of." FHA invents recipes and has his own recipe notebook. Me? Well, I just buy the cookbooks, read through them and wait to eat what the others cook. I really do like to cook, I just don't like shopping, prep and cleanup.

I really like cookbooks. I like the pictures, the advice on planning parties and the hope that yes, even I, could make something delicious. However, I don't need to own every cookbook ever printed (but we did keep FHA's Pipe Springs Cookbook-head cheese-yummmm. Not. Look it up and prepare to gag.)My mom gave me cookbooks too! That's where I got my love of cookbooks. So we went through the cookbooks again. We have cut it down to about 5-6 feet of shelf space. Yes! Here is what we de-owned:

1. A book. Not a cookbook.
2. A Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2003: a freebie from a downsizing neighbor.
3. 1 year's worth of Taste of Home Magazine
4. 1 more year's worth of Taste of Home Magazine.
5. Yet another year of Taste of Home Magazine.

Destination: DI, Mom


Items de-owned to date: 30

January 10, 2012

Video Day!
We have SO many videos! Here are five that are departing our home.

1. Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility-LOVE IT, but will get the DVD from the library if I want to watch it.
2. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace-Even though George Lucas and I share a hometown, I never caught the vision of this particular trilogy.
3. Ghostbusters-it comes on TV a lot.
4. Independence Day-One of FHA's favorites, which we own on DVD.
5. Gods and Generals-If you like the look of beards attached with two sided tape, this one is for you.

Destination: DI

Items de-owned: 25

January 9, 2012

1. A 13-inch TV/VCR combo. It came with a camper we bought. I tried selling it online, but there were no takers.
2. A 1000 piece puzzle. No, I didn't count the pieces. :)
3. A piece of glass that used to live in our old entertainment center. I thought it would be useful for something, but after a couple of years, I can't think of anything. Light table? Don't use one. Tabletop? Nope.
4. A cardboard box. Considering my genetic predisposition to saving anything cardboard and boxlike, this is huge.
5. Another cardboard box.

Destinations: Habitat for Humanity Restore, Garbage, DI, Recycle Bin

Total items de-owned to date: 20

January 6, 2012

1. Part of a box of mystery candy.
2. A Canadian penny.
3. A bag of Astronerd's too-small clothes. Maybe I should count them separately, but today I will count them as one item.
4. An unopened bottle of Oregano dated October 2006. I forgot we had it.
5. Part of a bag of little Hershey Bars. I would rather eat chocolate than throw it out, but when I bought the bag of candy, I didn't realize it had been somewhere VERY warm en route to the store. The candy had melted into the shape of the wrappers and didn't taste good. I guess I could have returned it, but by the time I thought about doing that, chocolate mercenaries had eaten enough of it I didn't feel right about returning it.

Destinations: DI, recycle and garbage.

Total items de-owned: 15

January 5, 2012

Today I have de-owned:
1. A t-shirt.
2. An odd stuffed animal.
3. An invisible dog that I believe was hit by a car in our garage. It was not as gruesome as it may sound.
4. A box of cherry flavored candy canes. What??? There should be a law that peppermint is the only allowable candy cane flavor.
5. Half a box of peppermint candy canes. We have so many, we will never eat them all. Oh, my first world problems.


Destinations: Deseret Industries and the garbage.

Total items de-owned: 10

January 4, 2012

1. Nancy Drew book-I loved Nancy Drew but Astronerd and B never caught the vision.
2. Math Wizardry for Kids-My kids are too old for this.
3. Science Wizardry for Kids-Astronerd loves science but is way beyond what this contains.
4. The Handy Bug Answer book-We love the others in this series, but this one never caught on. Besides the pictures creeped me out.
5. Prince Caspian by CS Lewis-How many copies does one need? This was a freebie.

How I came to find them: I was exercising in the basement and saw them on a bookshelf. One can to a lot of de-owning planning while exercising.

Destination: School faculty room. These would be great for the classroom.

Total items de-owned: 5

Five Begone!

This blog is going to chronicle my journey in de-owning things found in my home. My goal is to remove five things per weekday. Those things will be donated, sold, recycled or thrown away. Sometimes I will keep the item anonymous, other times I will comment on an item. To provide comfort to loved ones, I will not be removing family members or pets unless they are dead.