Purge Along With Me

If you get sick, do not come to my house.  We have no medicine.  And I know this because I spent an entire afternoon scouring through our medicine closet, tossing away the expired bottles (which was basically all of them).  I was ashamed to learn that over half the contents of the little pharmacy in my bathroom expired in 2003 or earlier. 

I even found some Vick's Vapor Rub that expired in 2000.  But really, can Vick's expire?  I mean, it's not like you ingest it; it's just supposed to sit there and smell like death.  The older the better, wouldn't you think?  It would be kicking off chemicals so putrid that your sinuses would be open enough to hold a party inside.

In the interest of totally showing off transparency, I'm showing you a picture of the finished product.  Note the medicines sorted by ailment.  BY AILMENT, people--that is some fine work, if I do say so myself:

That basket at the top labeled ortho?  That's not ortho- as in -dontia, but ortho- as in -pedic.  I thought that was a much more sophisticated label than WE ARE GETTING OLD AND THINGS ARE STARTING TO CREAK AND HURT.    

The bathroom closet project took on such a life of its own; before I knew it I was digging under cabinets and in drawers and mercilessly throwing away anything that stood still.  Hubs even asked me if I was pregnant and nesting.

(Evidently the poor man skipped Chapter 47, Section 18C of The Husband's Instruction Manual:  When your wife has eaten so much sugar that she has had to wear elastic-waist yoga pants for two weeks straight, that would not be the best time to jokingly ask if she's pregnant.) 

I am not a packrat; I actually take great pleasure in throwing things away.  But I always feel the need to be very careful that anything that is salvageable should go to a friend or a charity.  It's kind of an obsession, actually.  What if I gave this sweater to Goodwill and they sold it for $1.25 and were able to buy some sweet little child a school lunch?  The PRESSURE!

But that kind of sorting takes time, something I simply didn't have.  For the one and only time, I gave myself permission to just chuck it all in the trash.  And you should've seen the trash bags marching their way down to my curb.  I was a woman possessed.  I was afraid I'd get carried away and throw one of the kids away.

I have been ruthless this year.  Old board games that nobody plays?  Toss 'em.  Old board games that kids like but the parts are missing?  Toss 'em.  7,237 Happy Meal toys?  Toss 'em.  Kids' art projects that aren't significant enough to save?  They're gone, never to clutter my home again.

And it felt so good, so freeing--symbolic even, of starting the new year out with a clean slate and less cluttered mind.  I'm dubbing 2008 The Year of Less Stuff.  I want to be purposeful about what I bring into my home, and what I allow to stay here.  I want to teach my children to do the same.  In the short term, it keeps thing neater; in the long term, it emphasizes to my kids one of the biggest lessons we hope they learn from us:  STUFF DOESN'T MATTER.  PEOPLE DO.

Join me, if you'd like.  Start slowly, if you need to--you can earmark a special box in your garage for charity, and make it your goal to toss just one thing in it per day.  Or pick one closet or drawer per week (or month) and purge your heart away. 

You can do it!  I'll be standing here, cheering you on.  With very clear sinuses.  And bad knees.

Comments

[the mother of this lot]

You can count me in! "The Year of Less Stuff" - I like it. I really, really like it! Happy New Year!

[the mother of this lot]

Whoops! Missed off the blog address!

[Yew Nork Babe]

I would love to throw things away, but I just moved into my new house and did all that before I moved.

The organized linen closet is right up my alley though! I'm gonna go get some of those little bins and get organized. Thanks

[Beth_C]

I love to throw stuff away! I've never been one to hold on to a lot of stuff but it always creeps in.

Just yesterday I cleaned out a bathroom cabinet and was amazed at all the potions and elixirs that had managed to accumulate after only one year!

[Beth/Mom2TwoVIkings]

Amen, amen, amen - "A Year of Less Stuff" sounds "button-able" and a challenge in the making! LOL

And, the closet looks AWESOME! I have my Palm remind me every 6 months to purge for expired stuff since I would NEVER remember to do it on my own and have learned thru WAY too many middle-of-the-night med searches to do otherwise! LOL

I unloaded a large, unused piece of furniture outta the basement last night that I sold on Ebay before Cmas. Pick up is scheduled for today.

That basement is the bane of my existence. Cleaned it last year but FOUR separate floodings in less than two weeks destroyed all my hard work. With that drafting table gone, a goal for 2008 is to do it all again.

As for the giving away responsibly, I would highly recommend Freecycle.org! *wink*

[Joy]

I love it...the year of less stuff

[Joy]

I love it...the year of less stuff

[karen]

There's just something about the new year that makes me want to purge. (no, it's not the flu talking.) I started on The Boy's room yesterday. Cleaned out from under his desk and got an entire bag of trash from that little bitty space. I can't imagine how much there will be if we make it through his entire room!

[TaderDoodles]

I have been doing this since last Fall and it feels GREAT! The medicine thing... I'm feeling you on that! We had mini tubs of stuff all over this house... I had drawers with medicine, baskets with medicine and organizers full of medicine... right after I finished we all got sick and I had to go replenish because almost EVERYTHING was expired... it was sad...

**who knew Vicks would expire... oh my!**

[CP]

We have some Icy Hot from well before 2000 and it still works great! It does glow in the dark, but doesn't all Icy Hot? ;)

[Llama Momma]

I'm right there with you this year. Oh, does it ever feel good!! And it simultaneously cures me of overspending. After throwing all of this stuff away, I really think about what I bring into our house. Not a bad thing!

[Melissa Markham]

I purge my medicine cabinets once every year or so, but sometimes I miss things. I have a bottle of eye drops for when my eyes are dry or burning. I needed them the other day and thought...hey this bottle is almost empty...whose been using my eye drops. Then I looked at the bottom and there was an expiration (on water no less) of 2003! I guess, I am the one who has been using my eye drops;)

I am the thrower awayer in this family too. I live with three packrats...it makes life difficult!

[Jacki]

You read my mind! I am in the process of this now...going room by room asking myself: Do we really need this? It's hard work, but makes you feel so good in the end.

[Lysa TerKeurst]

Oh, my, my, my. Organizing by ailment is pure and absolute brilliance!

Seriously, why don't we moms have Fortune 500's knocking down our doors to come and do a little consulting! Or even the government for heaven's sake.

First I learned yesterday from 2nd Cup of Coffee how to split up my m&m's for different holidays and now organizing by ailment. Moms are the smartest people in the world!

[Queen B]

I love The Year of Less Stuff. Count me in!! By the way, the expiration date on Vick's is for weirdos like my husband...he eats Vick's when he's sick. I know. He's ingesting poison. We've had the discussion many times. I don't really figure an expired batch could be any worse than a fresh batch...

[maria]

I have been doing the same thing for a couple years now, and it is SOOOOO freeing. I started with the playroom and just kept going. Last Spring I even tackled the 23456 boxes of seasonal decorations in the garage, go me!

[Andi]

i love to purge. we always have too much STUFF lying around. i always have a box in the basement just for garage sale/goodwill stuff. i just throw something in whenever i see it.

your ortho box looks a little fishy to me. in the photo it looks as if it's filled with bras, which i think is pretty funny for an ortho box when you think about it!

[susan]

i've been reading your blog for a while and have really enjoyed it. but this post, well...i have just deemed you my new internet bff. have you ever been to a container store? that is my most romantical place ever. your medicine cabinet is much coveted and soon to be duplicated! enjoy!!

[Jean Stockdale]

The year of less stuff! It has a certain ring to it. I think I shall adopt it as well. Blessings.

[The Autumn Dahlia]

I did this to an extent just before Christmas, and I think I was MANIC! I decided that I was going to give everything that didn't fit my right at this second to charity. Cause I figure, if I lose enough weight to fit into that size, I deserve some new stuff :) Being able to just put the stuff out on to the porch for someone to pick up makes it sooooo much easier!

[Nicole]

My poor husband leaves for work in the morning and comes home to find the trash in the bins have doubled, the back of my car is loaded down with items for charity, and he can't find any of his 'stuff' (which have been picked-up and organized - novel idea!) I am constantly on a quest to have less stuff and am with you on commiting to it for the year. I agree with the previous poster on The Container Store . . . my own little piece of heaven!

Enjoy your blog and will definitely be back for more!

[Ericka]

I'm doing the same thing!!! I've made it a priority to be purposeful in bringing what stuff comes *in" and more importantly, getting stuff OUT!!!! How fun that you are too!!!!

[Kim]

LESS STUFF, LESS STUFF, LESS STUFF. I literally dream about purging my basement. Maybe because that's been one of my primary 'assignments' for the past six months. Married for 28 years, living in the parsonage for the past 10, means we have some serious accumulation issues. The dumpster we share with neighbors has had a real workout as we filled it to capacity on numerous occasions, trying to time it just before pick-up :-)
But THE END IS IN SIGHT. I calculate another two to three weeks will have us in the end zone. Yippee!
Then we get to start sorting and packing for the move overseas. Each box has to be labeled and every item listed for the shipping manifest.
But it will be SO MUCH EASIER without all the excess stuff to deal with.
This process has made us think seriously about our consumeristic tendencies and has created a desire to be less tied down by the things we own (or own us, as tends to be the case).

[Judi]

It's that time of year, isn't it? I cleaned out my medicine bins on New Years Day. Then I started on my closet. That kind of thing makes me happy.

[Jeni]

Yay for getting rid of clutter! Yesterday I sorted through my dresser and closet. I can now see the top of my dresser for the first time since last spring. (I'm embarrased to say that, but it's true.)