The 50 Things Project - The Final List

I am pleased to announce the completion of this years round of the 50 Things Project. I have gotten rid of 50 things in the last few months, and believe me, it feels great! There are a lot of little things that are not on this list, things that were so inconsequential they got thrown without second thought. But this is the big list.

It’s weird, I really do feel free-er (is that a word?) after finishing this. It’s like - by getting rid of the old I have given myself permission to start with the new.

So here it is, the final list…

Already on the list:
1) Brown cabinet (old TV cabinet) -hard rubbish
2) Old clothes that are too big/don't wear anymore - Goodwill
3) Old craft magazines that have been stored and not used in over 10 years - bin
4) Dried and half used paints - bin
5) Textas/crayons from when I was at TAFE - going to R's friend who has an intellectually disabled daughter who loves to colour in
6) Left over miscellaneous craft things from Garage sale - bin
7) Kids books - will give to friends who have kids
8) Old posters/wall hangings that have been in storage since I moved to SA - bin
9) White cupboard that is falling apart - Hard rubbish
10) White wardrobe no longer use - back to Mum's
11) Metal computer table – Hard rubbish
12) Unused craft stuff (things I haven't used in over 5 years) - bin
13) Taped videos - bin (I no longer own a video player so no point keeping these)
14) Excess sheets/towels - Goodwill
15) Excess coffee mugs, dinner plates - Goodwill
16) Spare TV cabinet – Hard rubbish
17) Spare wooden desk – Hard rubbish
18) Futon - Megan
19) Spare wooden drawers - hard rubbish
20) Fabric - Sent to Mums to add to her stash
21) Spare computer monitors and cases - hard rubbish
22) Old Uni assignments (have held on to for nearly 20 years) - bin
23) Books no longer want – Book exchange
24) Grey carpet mat - Hard rubbish
25) Radio Gramophone – Hard rubbish
26) Old tent - hard rubbish
26) Pappasans - hard rubbish or to my MIL's
27) Spare computer chair - dump
28) Old costumes (mostly falling apart) - bin
29) Bits & pieces I used to use in my previous volunteer work - bin
30) Plastic hall runners - hard rubbish
31) Exercise bike - to be sold
32) 2nd fridge - to be sold
33) Plastic outdoor chairs (broken ones) - hard rubbish
34) Small (stained) outdoor table - hard rubbish

The list continues…
35) Black rug – bin
36) Old car (yes car) – sold to an auto wrecker
37) Overlocker – Ebay
38) DVD’s we don’t watch – Ebay
39) Gym set – Ebay
40) Punching bag – sold to Megan
41) Lawn mower – Grandad
42) Oil heater – hard rubbish
43) Air conditioner that doesn’t work – hard rubbish
44) Plants and pots – to my Mother in Law
45) White bookshelves – hard rubbish
46) Black drawers – hard rubbish
47) 2 x hallway shelf units – hard rubbish
48) Massive ceramic pot – bin
49) Guitar (not used in 5 years) – to be sold
50) Wooden hand drum – to be sold

Ross told me last night he was feeling really good about the amount of culling we have done, and he can’t wait to get stuck into the things in storage so we can get rid of a whole lot more. This is a real positive step for him as he has always been such a hoarder. I guess this means that next year we can do another list! YAY!

xox

A weekend of Good Food and Hard Work

I have had a really good weekend. It started Friday night with a trip to the markets. Now that we live relatively close to the city we decided to meet after work at the markets on the bikes. It was a great way to get in there, but I am sure we looked pretty funny riding home with spinach and leeks sticking out of the side bags on the pannier!

First stop was the food hall for some food. I have to say I was a bit concerned about finding something vegetarian to eat. The Food Hall we usually go into is all Asian food, and I have never seen non-meat food in there, although to be honest, I haven't looked. As we were walking through we saw a sign to a 2nd food hall. We decided to check it out. Imagine my delight when I found this lovely shop!

Of course this was where I decided to stop and eat. I was pleasantly surprised that Ross decided to eat there too. There prices were great, and the food yummy.


I got some rice, with stir fry tofu, steamed broccoli & cauliflower, and something called sweet & sour gluten, which they said was a soy based product. It came with a glass of soy milk, all for $7.90. It was delish, and very very filling. I was only able to eat just over half of my meal. Ross ate all of his and half of what was left of mine! And he's the skinny one. :o)

Saturday was a day of hard work. We went back to the old house that we moved out of last weekend to clean up the outside, the shed and the outside rumpus room. We started around 9.30am. Despite how much we had already thrown away we took 2 more heaped trailer loads to the dump. A little bit more into storage, a bit more to the unit. Then there was the vacuuming, sweeping and cleaning the verandah area, weeding the last of the flower beds, and pulling apart the last of the things in the shed. We returned the trailer to our friends, and got home about 8pm. No cooking last night, cheese sandwiches and straight to bed.

Today I spent at the new place trying to finish unpacking. I got 90% of it done. All of my clothes are away (or bagged up to go to the charity bin). The kitchen & laundry and completely finished. And most of the dining room is done. The bookcase we brought with us basically fell apart, so we have to go and get our other one out of storage, so the books are still in boxes. A few of Ross's things are still in boxes, but we cleared away enough so that we could actually set up the dining room table and eat dinner in there, which was lovely.

Dinner tonight was mushroom risotto. I have never cooked a risotto before. In fact, I have only eaten it once or twice. But can I just say - WOW! This was the absolute yummiest meal. Yes, I know I say that all the time, but it truly was. I know risotto is not the lowest calorie meal, but since it takes an hour and a half to prepare and cook, it is not something I will have all the time. The recipe said it served 4, but we had fairly generous helpings and there are 3 serves left.

Tonight I am spending the evening watching Bones with Ross. It is nice to be able to relax, knowing that there is nothing left to do at the old house (final inspection in tomorrow) and that there is also very little left to do here.

A new week begins tomorrow. Work, Guides, all the normal stuff. I can't wait to see what comes my way!

xox

Cutting back on uselessness

OMG… I am having heart palpitations. I just removed my 4 games from my Facebook Applications. What am I going to do with my life now????

I worked out I spend about 2-3 hours a day farming (Farmville), feeding fish (Fishville), attacking dwarves and dragons (Age of Castles), and fighting gangsters (Mafia Wars). That’s 2-3 hours – EVERY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WTF?!?!?!?!

I get to work early, turn on the computer, and spend an hour or so doing what needs to be done in the games. I spend my lunch break at my computer, doing more. The I spend 1-2 hours of an evening, most evenings, finishing the harvesting, fighting, feeding etc.

I honestly did not realise how much time I spent on them until I sat down today to try and work it out. And I am stunned…

I want to write a book. No wonder I never have time to write. I am making a couple of knitted rugs, no wonder they are taking so long. I love photography, but I haven’t been out with the camera for ages. So as part of my effort to de-clutter and simplify things, I have deleted the games. I just KNOW I will have withdrawal symptoms. It will be hard. But what a complete waste of my life.

Now when I get home from work I don’t HAVE to turn the computer on to harvest, or feed fish. I can do other things. I can write, or knit, or cook, or even clean. I can go out for a ride, read a book, go for a walk, talk to my husband. This is scary and hard. Next step, turn the TV off… No, one thing at a time!

xox

50 Things Project

I was reading the Simple Green Frugal Co-op Blog this morning and the latest post is about The 50 Things Project. The basic idea is that you get rid of 50 things that you no longer need/use/have attachments to.

Since I am being forced to pack up and move, I figure this is the perfect time for me to do this. I have slowly been de-cluttering for a while, but not with any real seriousness. Just random bits here and there.

So this is my chance to do de-clutter properly. The more things I get rid of, the less things I have to store/pack/move.

Off the top of my head, without actually going through things, here is the start of what I will get rid of:

1) Brown cabinet (top of the old TV cabinet) - going into hard rubbish
2) Old clothes that are too big/don't wear anymore - going to Goodwill
3) Old craft magazines that have been stored and not used in over 10 years - bin
4) Dried and half used paints - bin
5) Textas/crayons from when I was at TAFE - going to R's friend who has an intellectually disabled daughter who loves to colour in
6) Left over miscellaneous craft things from Garage sale - bin
7) Kids books - will give to friends who have kids
8) Old posters/wall hangings that have been in storage since I moved to SA - bin
9) White cupboard that is falling apart - Hard rubbish
10) White wardrobe no longer use - back to Mum's
11) Metal computer table - donate to the Lions
12) Unused craft stuff (things I haven't used in over 5 years) - bin
13) Taped videos - bin (I no longer own a video player so no point keeping these)

Okay, so that is not even close to 50 yet. But by moving day (now confirmed as November 14) I will have 50 things on this list.

Anyone else want to join me in this?