134 items & counting

I am slowly but surely making progress on my commitment to the Give 500 challenge. My current goal is to have 500 items given away by March 1 (I figure it will get me through the winter and it can seriously be a winter project). I am in love with the process of going through everything, seriously before I moved to first call everything I owned (I owned no furniture other than my beloved papasan chair and didn't have a dog) fit into my car. It was freeing to know at any given moment I could pack up and move. Although now that I have a house (and copious amounts of furniture - or really enough to fill my house - this way of moving is impossible) and have acquired lots of stuff (some justified some I just don't need) I am realizing how easy it is for junk stuff to build up. So I have committed to downsizing. Not to mention in June Marc will be moving in and I should probably have some space for him to put his stuff too.

Count so far:

• 91 books (seriously I have way too many books after undergrad and grad school not to mention I LOVE TO READ) - I gave a bunch to the library (librarians were jazzed, or at least faked it if they weren't) and a ton of graduate school books to an old camper/camp staffer/friend who has just entered seminary (seriously nice to be able to pass the books off and know they will be used again)
• 4 pairs of shoes (why I have been hanging onto these shoes is beyond me, they were uncomfortable and I hated wearing them and still attempted to wear them when I forgot how uncomfortable they were - so I finally got rid of them)
• 38 pieces of clothing (seriously I owned way too much clothing - and some of it didn't/doesn't fit. Why in the world am I holding on to it?!)

Updated count: 134 items given away, 366 items to go

I will succeed.

Side note: I am also taking into consideration things I buy or acquire, so if I bring something new in the house 2 must go. I don't want to have this much stuff, more importantly I just don't need to have this much stuff! I must stop living in such excess! I am only donating stuff that people would actually want, I am also throwing some stuff away that just needs to go in the garbage. I am not donating things like socks with holes in them, throwing them away and those are not going in my tally.


Do you go through your stuff often?
Any tips on how to prevent crap stuff from building up in your house?
Where do you like to donate your stuff?

Fall/Winter to-do list

As I got in my car this morning to head to work and the car told me it was 29 degrees I decided it was time to start creating my fall/winter (they are combined because they are slightly overlapping type - some things are obviously fall and some obviously winter but they are all going on one to-do list). Here is the start of my (probably ever growing) to-do list (in no particular order):

• get a wedding dress
• visit an apple orchard - and eat copious amounts of fresh apples
• go sledding - without it being for work (yes, I do have the world's coolest job)
• learn three new crochet patterns - ones that actually challenge me
• maintain my training schedule
• have a photoshoot in a pile of leaves
• visit a pumpkin patch
• carve pumpkins
• roast pumpkin seeds
• clean out closets and dresser - donate all the clothes that no longer fit or I just don't need/wear
• organize my "loft" space - I have this strange open space at the top of my stairs before you head into either bedroom upstairs and it needs some serious t.l.c.
• finish my Disney 2011 December trip photobook
• finish my 2011 photobook
• finish my 366 in 2012 photobook (super excited about this book)
• start and finish my 2012 photobook
• make a pie from scratch
• go skiing
• give someone totally unexpectedly a Christmas gift
• paint the upstairs bedroom
• have a photoshoot in the snow
• try making 5 new soups
• go snowshoeing
• write at least two letters a month
• go ice skating
• drive around to see the Christmas lights

What is on your fall/winter to-do list?
What am I missing from my fall/winter to-do list?
Do you have any fun winter projects?
How do you keep up your training in the months of ice and snow?