What's on my Plate?: March 2008

56 Things You Can Toss Out Now

March 27th, 2008 by Christine Kane

We hold onto things for two reasons: Love or fear. We either love them. Or we fear letting them go.

We cherish them and know they have value to us. Or we fear that we’ll need them someday. We fear that we wasted our money on them. We fear what others will think if we let them go. We even fear making the decision to release our mishaps or mistakes, so we don’t make any decision. Instead we hold onto stuff out of guilt.

Well, guess what?

Love is the only reason to do anything. If you don’t love it, toss it. Give it away. Your abundance and energy will increase when you begin to live by love and not by fear.

Here are 56 things you can toss out (or give away) right now…

Thanks to Julie, Sandra, Lisa, Eva and Sue from last week’s retreat for contributing to this list.

1. All the hotel key cards you’ve brought home with you.

2. The doilies your Aunt Edna crocheted 35 years ago that got handed down to you.

(I can't let go of Family History)

You can fondly remember your Aunt Edna without having her doilies around.
In fact, you’ll probably have more fondness once you let go of the doilies!

3. CD’s you haven’t listened to in three years or more. OK

4. The boxes of cassettes you’ve been meaning to transfer to CD’s.- Yes I have a Box!!

5. The bread maker. - But I do Use Mine!

Seriously. When was the last time you made bread?

6. Your wedding dress - Gone

You can say you’ve been saving it for your daughter, but here are three signs that your daughter doesn’t want to wear it: a] she’s already married and wore her own dress, b] she’s been roommates with a woman named Pat for nine years, or c] you don’t have a daughter.

7. Credit card bills from 1995. - Ok this will take time... But I will let them go!

8. The Allen wrenches from every piece of IKEA furniture you ever assembled. That's Craig's in his INBOX

9. The jacket you spent way too much money on and never wore. - NO JACKET

C’mon. Keeping it around just to punish yourself for your bad choices is like going to parochial school all over again.

10. Every scratching post or toy your cat doesn’t like. - NO CAT - BUT I HAVE KID'S TOYS TO SORT...

Your cat didn’t go to parochial school so there’s no sense punishing him.

11. House plants you no longer love.

12. The stacks of O Magazine you swear you’ll re-read - BUT THEY WORK GREAT IN THE BATHROOM...

13. Every little zippy bag that came with a Clinique purchase.-YES I WILL

14. Every unopened perfume that came with a Clinique purchase. - OLD PERFUME OUT

15. Leftover scrunchies in case you grow your hair long again. - BUT I HAVE YOUNG GIRLS

16. The “Cherries Jubilee” flavored lip balm that makes you nauseous. HMMM I WILL THINK ON THIS ONE...- OLD MAKE UP

17. Every single regretful lipstick color you bought on a whim. (And yes, “Cherries Jubilee” is probably there, too.) OK I SAID OLD MAKE UP OUT

18. Your last four cell phones and all their chargers and blue teeth.- BUT THE KID'S LIKE TO PLAY WITH THEM

19. Single socks.- I'VE GOT A WHOLE BASKET OF OLD MAIDS

Face it. Their partners have moved on.

20. The Spode Christmas plates and mugs you don’t like. (Along with the Christmas bath towels and welcome mat.)- THAT'S ALREADY DONE

These - all given to you by various in-laws - won’t prove your familial devotion. If you can’t stand Spode, then let it go. If you’re not the Christmas towel type - then call the gifter before she visits for the holidays, and tell the truth. “I want to honor our relationship, and I love you, AND here’s the deal. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to let you know…” You might be surprised at how open relationships become when you teach people how to treat you.

21. The framed posters you had in your college dorm room. - NO POSTER

Really. You get to move on to something nicer.

22. Old stereo wires. - I'LL TALK TO CRAIG ON THIS ONE

Husbands refuse to let go of any of these mysterious wires. Try this: Put them in a bin and label it “Random Cables and Wires.” After two years, bring it out of storage and kindly note that no one has thought about it in two years. Ask if it would be okay to let go of half of them. Repeat process until all mysterious cables and wires are gone.

23. The nails, screws, anchors, and cup hooks rusting in the bottom of your tool chest. - AGAIN CRAIG'S DEAL

24. Remote controls that don’t remotely control anything you still own. - THEY ALL WORK

25. Lamps, toasters, blenders, coffeemakers that no longer work. -JUST THREW OUT A LAMP LAST WEEK BUT I THINK I CAN FIND OTHER STUFF

26. The notion that you will ever be one of those moms that makes beautiful scrapbooks.

I HAVE SCRAPBOOKS ( BUT I ALSO HAVE PHOTO BOXES )

Put your photos in boxes. No one will judge you. -

27. Old blankets and linens you keep in case you suddenly have 27 sleepover guests. - OK I'LL SORT IT OUT

28. College text books - THAT'S CRAIG-I HAVE OTHER BOOKS!!

29. Any boring decorative item that does little more than fill space. OK

30. Vases you don’t love or use. OK

31. Candle holders you don’t love or use. OK

32. Picture frames you don’t love or use. OK

33. All your class notes from college. NO THAT'S CRAIG-

34. The idea that you have to save every piece of your children’s artwork and school work because it might mean you don’t love them if you don’t. OK -I'LL THINK ABOUT IT

35. The “good silver” you don’t use that was passed down to you. NO GOOD SILVER HERE!

36. Old VHS movies - WE STILL WATCH THEM- AT LEAST THE KIDS DO!!

If they’re really that important to you, get them in DVD. If you haven’t watched them in 2 years, you can rent them when you need them next.

37. Unlabeled VHS tapes. NO DON'T THINK SO-NONE HERE

And don’t waste your time watching them just in case.

38. The stationary bike that got even more stationary after you got it- NONE

39. The fabric pieces you’ve been collecting in case you ever become a quilter.NONE

Sandra wrote: I have bought many odds and ends of materials to try and
use in different craft projects. Do I sew? Nope! Have I started any
projects with these materials? Nope!

40. Flashlights that dimly light up only after you bang them over and over on your thigh. I'LL CHECK

41. Old keys that open some door somewhere in the past. KID'S AGAIN LOVE THEM AND PLAY WITH THEM

42. Suitcases you don’t use. BY THE WAY THAT REMINDS ME I NEED NEW SUITCASES

43. Old computers. - KID USE THEM FOR THEIR GAMES

44. Old stereos. OUT IN THE GARAGE

45. Promotional duffel bags with ugly logos and bad acronyms stitched all over them. - NO

46. Anything that makes you say, “But I got such a good price on it!”- NO ??

47. Anything that makes you say, “But I paid so much for it!” -NO??

48. Half-full cans of paint NONE OF THESE

(Take these to Lowe’s and leave them in the paint department - they’ll either re-sell them or give them away.)

49. Extra baby items/Old baby items GETTING RID OF THEM THIS WEEK

50. Record albums. BUT THEY ARE COLLATOR ITEMS NOW

And don’t spend your extra hours in a day trying to figure out if someone will buy them. Really. They won’t.

51. Gifts you never liked. A GIFT YOU DON'T LIKE NO SUCH THING

52. All the cross-stitch, knitting, or sewing projects you never finished.

OK MAYBE ONE OF THEM

Just THINK of all the extra creative energy you’ll have once you’ve let those go.

53. Any glassware or dinnerware that is a “memorabilia” item from proms or sororities or sports events. WE DO USE THESE- BUT I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO

I have to quote Julie on this: “I have, on a shelf but will now throw out, some of my sorority formal glassware I had kept to remember that occasion. Upon looking back… do I really want to remember that I threw up in the parking lot that night?”

54. Old information packets you no longer need or that you can easily find on line. Hmmm GOOD IDEA

Lisa writes, “I’ve thrown out a whole 2 drawer filing cabinet full of out-dated nutrition booklets, and information about breastfeeding (which I finished doing about six years ago) that ‘I might need someday.’”

55. All the hotel soaps that you took with you. NONE OF THOSE HERE

(And stop taking them. You’ve got plenty of soap!)

56. The belief that you only have to go through the de-cluttering process once and won’t ever have to do it again. SURE

FROM ORGANIZED JUNKIE: I FOUND THIS SITE HERE