the ever mounting "TOSS" pile.
purge weekend certainly did not unfold completely as planned. whereas my paperwork stash did make significant gains (via significant losses), i mostly succeeded in moving things from one shelf to another, and squinting a lot at my shelves while attempting to determine exactly how i wanted things to look. i did scrape off a good chunk from the living room bookcase (which has been notoriously overrun with crap since day one), much of which actually ended in the donate pile (see inset).
i also nearly broke all of my bones falling off the counter… which i was standing on in socks (socks are slippery) to clean out my kitchen cabinets. but did find yet a few more things that can go (if anyone wants a popsicle mold shaped like rocket ships, you might want to hit the forest ave. goodwill this week). it was probably worth the almost shattered pelvis.
after that though, things kind of unraveled. i was off to old port fest for fried mushrooms and panic attacks (WHERE DO ALL THESE PEOPLE COME FROM?), and then accidentally ended up having beers for 6 hours with some very smart and chatty friends. needless to say, when i stumbled home around 11:30, i was in no mood finish putting my toys away.
still, some positive things have still emerged from this somewhat wrecky purge weekend:
1. laura at fore front fashion has graciously offered to show me the ways of fashion minimalism. (can you say closet gutting session?)
2. the boyfriend actually did keep his promise and got all of his shit out of the living room.
3. 2 loads of trash and goodwill donations have already left the house, with the promise of more to come over the coming week.
4. i used my hangover as an excuse to eat cheesy pazzo bread for breakfast.
broke 207 
alright. i’m coming. sanity here we come!
this might have to be a two part post.
maybe it’s not as insane as you think… [or maybe it’s worse]. i suppose admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.
that picture is cracking me up….what a random load of crap, especially the hand??? why did you acquire that thing?
i’m a sucker for weird figurines. i actually have a collection of ceramic things that are all white, but i’ve always hated that hand (given to me by ex husband). it was time for it to go. don’t forget my “sad clown” gelato bowl!
This is great, I want to know where that hand ends up. I currently have mannie’s hand sitting on my desk, as it broke off her arm as I was loading her in the car after the swap.
mannie nooooo! maybe hot glue?
i am always here to help! i love purging closets (mostly other peoples!) and have a few rules about the items you can keep to help with this process!
Congratulations on what you’ve accomplished so far!
I’m doing something similar lately. I’m thinking of it as “a pretend move”: sorting through all my crap and getting rid of anything I wouldn’t pack — and not just pack, but pack lovingly and carefully — if we were moving.
Since I had to miss the recent swap, this week I took my packed all my nice swap-able clothing and dropped off the enormous moving box at Goodwill. Getting the clothing clutter out of here (and knowing that someone else will be happy to find good pieces in nice condition) feels so great!
i think at this point, we’ve taken 7 boxes to goodwill. all crazy stuff. it’s been very cathartic, but i still feel like i have so much further to go. a “pretend move” is totally brilliant! i really need to hit the goodwill and hunt for your castoffs! anything in the sun dress department?