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. A basket. It's made its way back into the house from the donate pile multiple times so I think it may be useful. But, I put it back into the garage. Let's see if it sticks this time.
2. Two books - Gone With the Wind and Brave New World. I have them both on the Kindle. I don't think I'd ever read the print versions again. Or, at least, the chances of it are slim enough I don't mind parting with the books.
3. Mr. Potato Head MLB edition. Yep. One of my girlfriends got it for P because she knows Mr. mouse and I like baseball. We do. One of Mr. mouse's friends just had a baby. His friend likes baseball. We mailed it to him for the new baby.
4. My sister asked about the Boppy yesterday. I'll add it and its cover to the pile we have for her.
5. I'm not sure how to count this one either. We had a drawer that was originally used for pot lids. Then, we used it for P's baby food jars. Then, it became a catch all drawer. I emptied it and now it holds our kitchen towels. I saved a sample of cups and spoons from the ones we used for P when she was a toddler. I put the rest in a pile to send to my sister. I threw away any expired food and random candy we hid in the drawer. I put the m&m's and gum in Mr. mouse's bag for him to consume at work. I put a bag of random bottle nipples and caps in the donate pile. And, everything else went into the garbage. It feels awesome.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. three boxes of breast milk storage containers
12. toy: truck (combo riding and push toy)
13. toy: dog security blanket
14. toy: battery-operated toy train
15. toy: stacking pyramids
16. toy: hammer and eight nails
17. cane, from Mr. mouse's 40th birthday

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


Cheers!
mouse