Snowed In and Following Through

I've been a captive of my own home the past few days. It snowed. A lot. Roads are bad. Work was canceled. So I've been holed up in the shack. But it's been okay. I think snow (or other serious weather) is the Universe's way of telling us to take a sabbath. And I've been doing that. Going a little stir crazy in the process. But it's been good for resolutions. Been making my bed, made yummy yummy pad thai, cleaned, read, completed a signature Kelly basket last night. These things are in high demand. I can think of two people who have been in my house who haven't asked for one.


Meg is a dear, dear friend and my inspiration for getting rid of stuff. Even though she says, "our stars were aligning many years ago," Meg and I were in a Bible study together in Athens. Every week she came with a bag full of goodies to give away. She follows Mrs. Money and decided to participate in her "Decluttering Challenge: 365 in 2011." Since I didn't feel like figuring out the one in, one out goal I decided to copy her. Meg has posted her first and second round of decluttering before I had a chance to post mine, so my format mimics hers. It's funny because we both have white comforters (which I wasn't aware of before) and they may even be identical (but mine is covered by a duvet).

Alright party people, here's the first round of decluttering:

(don't worry, Bob is not part of the decluttering effort!)

8 bracelets, 1 pair of earrings, 1 necklace-thinking donation for these ladies. a few of these items were given to me by my mom so I'll check with her on the value and see if there's anyway I could squeeze pennies out of them.

coozie-given to me as a gift back in my PC days. Never been used.

soap dish-I don't really love it.

kitchen timer-think it belonged to a housemate senior year at PC. Can't figure out how to use it. Somehow it survived a few moves and still never figured it out. Maybe someone at Goodwill is super smart and can.

2 buttons-made them at an event at UGA, they're ugly and I will never use them.

2 Christmas ornaments-again from my PC days, probably from some RA or something. They are getting trashed as they both have my name on it.

Coasters-got these to match the astroturf rug we had in our dorm (weird, I'm aware). Haven't used them in awhile, kind of broken, so I'm going to trash them.

Headband-just doesn't fit.

2 records-both given to me as gifts. I don't have a way to listen to them. Thinking about making a craft out of the actual records, so maybe these are in purgatory.

pair of weights-they belong to my mom, but I've been permanently borrowing them for awhile. I belong to a gym and my mom is in an exercise kick, so back to her casa they go.

Sunglasses-don't like them, hoping someone else will.

Chicken bullion and lemon pepper seasoning-I'm a vegetarian and have been for awhile, and the lemon pepper is super old and has MSG in it. Hasn't been used in quite some time.

Book-have another copy. Going to try to consign or trade this at the local used book store.

pin-these things are generally dumb and just become clutter.

hat and glove set-think I got rid of the matching scarf awhile ago, I don't wear hats...

jewelry box-don't use it. it has my initials on it, so I don't really know what to do with it.

two stockings-again from an RA in my PC days. I never decorate for Christmas. Call me a Grinch. I just don't desire to do it nor do I desire to have a box (or several of them) of things that only get used one or two months out of the year.

Medicine-doesn't work.

Candle-don't like it.

Fan-also my mom's. it's cold outside and I don't need it; maybe she'll want it back?

4 mugs-one belongs to someone in Athens so I'm going to check with her to see if she wants it back. The others I just never use and they aren't highly functional.

Strainer for sink-mom got this for me, but it doesn't fit in my shower.

2 bottles of Japanese Cherry Blossom lotion-both given to me as gifts. I love the thought of it, but it makes me nauseous instantly.

3 mini perfume bottles-same as above, minus the part about liking the thought of it.

Santa door decoration-see above

Merry Christmas banner-ditto.

2 belts-they are of the western kind and my mom loaned them to me for a costume, I don't want them.

dress-wore it to some fraternity function eons ago and never again since. don't really have many occasions to wear it anymore.

toilet paper holder-also from my mom, but I have something else I'm planning on using.

2 pictures frames-cheesy and cheap, so away they go.

shower caddy-don't really need it

spice rack-don't have a place for it.

rug-bought it thinking i'd have the perfect place for it, but I don't.

microwave (not pictured)-Whenever I went into people's homes and a microwave wasn't present, I assumed something was wrong with that person. I think microwaves are one of the most useful items. I actually really really like them, but I wanted to get rid of mine. If it's possible for me to survive without one, then I don't need it. While my kitchen is decent sized, there's very little counter space and I tried putting it on top of my fridge but the cord wouldn't reach the plug and I didn't feel like messing with an extension cord. I kept it in within sight and in reach for two weeks as a trial period. I haven't touched it, so off it goes. It's technically property of my mother even though it's been in my possession for a few years. I'll check with her to see if she feels like it's something worth holding on to, if not it's craigslist for that baby.

mini fridge (not pictured)-Remember how I said my mom wasn't going to let me practice my minimalism through the use of a mini fridge, yea well she got me an almost full size one not too long ago. I like it, but it remains mostly empty. So this little guy is going on craigslist too. Yay for dollars!!

55 items. Not bad for 20 minutes.