Goal: 52 Things Will Leave the Mouse Pad Update

Dear Friends and Family,

I am going to try and have 52 things meaningfully leave the mouse pad this year. What do I mean by meaningfully? No, it doesn't mean I'm giving away things loaded with meaning. It means it's purposeful decisions to remove something that has found a home in our home. In other words, clearing out old bananas doesn't count, they never found a home. Clearing out old toys counts since they would linger in the basement given no active actions on our parts.

The List (most recent departures listed first):

1. I'm not sure how to count this one. But, the guest bathroom counter is under control. Some toys came back down to the living room. The items from P's first bath were moved to the kitchen, with a final destination of the basement. And, a bunch of hotel shampoos and conditioners and lotions, all partially used, were tossed. And, now, it looks nice up there. I guess the only things to leave the mouse pad were the clutter of half used bottles, an unused basket and two unused ducks, but put together it seems like it should count for something.
2. I have a slow cooker. It was a gift when I wanted a crock pot. It's in a box on top of the kitchen cabinets. Auntie Janet wants a crock pot. I want to get rid of a crock pot. We make a good team.
3. There was a hurricane with an almond candle and some river rocks lurking in the corner of our guest bathroom. Sometimes these things make me realize how my mind works. If something is in a spot long enough it begins to blend in with the background and my brain doesn't pick it up as something to process. Once I move something, one thing, the whole thing kinda shifts on me and it doesn't blend into the background anymore and my brain begins to pick it up as something to process. Then, at some point, it all fossilizes all over again. Back to the hurricane. We bought it to "stage" the master bathroom for a house we sold in 2006. We never used it in that house. We bought it because it was cheap and it filled a whole in the corner of a bathtub in the master bath. I could re-purpose it as a roof light, but I love the idea of a bunch of lights strung up there, so I'm not very motivated to make the hurricane work. It's in the donate pile. The candle went into the garbage. I like the scent, but the wick is too short so it doesn't light anymore. And, the rocks? I cleaned them and put them in a bucket. It'll be good to use them to teach P how to add.
4. I emptied a box of stuff from underneath our bathroom sink? Contents of such said box? Old bath salts and old perfumes. Since I haven't used either since moving to the mouse pad in 2006, I think I'm in safe territory to say that that's old.
5. I was looking around the basement and came across a foam roll. We used the foam when P was a baby. We put a blanket on top of the foam and played on it for hours. Well, P is three and no longer interested in tummy time. So, I decided to toss the foam.
6. At my cousin's house, we agreed to a sale. She was willing to buy my "vials" at $0.50 a piece. I bought boxes upon boxes of the containers as storage for breast milk. They worked great. But, we're done with them and I'd just been too lazy to post them on eBay or Craigslist. I bought them for between $0.75 and $1.00 a piece, but I'm fine giving them away for a lower price. What's option B? Storing them for longer and then eventually donating them. Let's agree, the chances of my selling them are slim to none given my current priorities.
7. Friday morning, on the way to school, I reminded P that we had a list of things that we were going to give to the baby. (I didn't want her to have an awkward change of heart in front of company.) And, she thought about it a moment. And, I waited. And, she asked if she could give the baby her yellow rider truck. She said she was done with it. So, I asked Mr. mouse if he could add it to the pile. And, now the yellow push toy/rider truck is also out of the house. I love P.
8. P wants to give my cousin's son a thing. I'm not sure how to describe it. It's almost like a security blanket. It's almost like something you can lay a baby on. It's almost like a stuffed dog without the stuffing. She got it when she was born and never got attached to it. The other night, she pulled it out of her bin and asked me what it was. I told her it was for babies to lie on or little girls or little boys to sit on. She declared that she wanted to give it to my cousin's baby. So, we brought it downstairs and put it in a bag so that we can drop it off this weekend. I almost feel guilty and proud at the same time that she's so generous.
9. Toy train that Mr. mouse's parents gave P for her first Christmas - she liked playing with it in general. She loved dancing to it when we turned it on. It was one of her few battery operated toys. I like it, but I can't see keeping it forever. I think I'm okay with one toy per year as a memento, at least for now. The train will go to my cousin's house as long as Mr. mouse is okay parting with it. If he's not, it'll come off this list.
10. Stacking pyramids. P got them from one of my girlfriends for her first birthday. She loved wearing them as bracelets and jangling them. There's more inventive things for her to build with so I'm okay giving them to my cousin as well.
11. toy: hammer and eight nails
12. cane, from Mr. mouse's 40th birthday

We'll see if I can get to 52 this year. I'm cautiously optimistic.


Cheers!
mouse