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Susan Vogt on living more simply but abundantly

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Days 77-84:Case of the bouncing jeans

May 30, 2010 No comments

One of the advantages of storing my give-aways until I could bundle them all up and make one or two trips to St. Vincent de Paul or Goodwill, is that my decisions were reversible – at least for awhile. This helped me “try out” living without an item and confirm that I was ready to let go of it. I have three pairs of jeans – one good, one for gardening, and one that’s in good condition but I think makes me look fat. I could also use the “fat jeans” for gardening and dirty home projects. I debated whether to give the good, but fat, jeans away or give away the pair with a hole in the knee. Several times I took the fat jeans out of the give-away pile, wore them, then put them back. I finally decided that it would be more respectful to give the “fat but good” jeans away since they were in better condition.

Since bouncing an item back and forth should still only count for 1 item, I also found a number of jogging pants and slippers that I don’t need. For someone who doesn’t jog, one pair is enough

The Process

Days 69-76: Investing In Kids

May 23, 2010 No comments

Sometimes we give away stuff; sometimes it’s money or time. Several years ago my husband started mentoring a young man from a local junior high school. Although he’s the one giving his time, I realized that Josh was the ideal person to give some of the posters to that no longer decorate our kid’s rooms. I also gave him a souvenir from my Egypt trip.

Now that our kids have all graduated from college, not only are we free of tuition payments but some of our kids are actually making money. We asked if they would like to contribute to a scholarship fund for high-school graduates from their inner city public high-school. We would match what they contributed. They agreed. Now we all are investing in the education of a future generation. Time, posters, souvenirs, and money add up to at least seven items this week.

Actually the harder “time investment” I’ve been making for the past couple years has been tutoring at our son’s school. Giving money is easier than making a weekly commitment to be there for elementary math and reading.

Beyond Stuff

Days 62-68: Do Taxes Count?

May 16, 2010 No comments

I filed an extension for our income taxes since I was traveling in Africa and Asia around April 15. Now, it’s time for me to complete this duty. I may be one of the few people in the USA who think taxes are good. Not only do taxes pay for police and fire protection, defense, schools, and roads, they also provide the social safety net that many people need. Call me Pollyanna, but I think taxes are a way that we take care of our brothers and sisters who haven’t been blessed or lucky enough to have a good job or who are frail or elderly. (Besides I like going to National Parks and other beneficial things our taxes make possible.)
Still, does paying my taxes count as giving something away? They are not voluntary so maybe I shouldn’t count paying them as giving stuff away even though many more people will benefit from my tax money than the discretionary items I decide to give away each day. Just in case taxes don’t count, however, I still found about 10 miscellaneous trifles to pass on including some throw pillows, bath bubbles, and the real prize – Avon Bust Sculpt. It was a gag gift I got for my 50th birthday. I’m not saying I couldn’t use it; I just didn’t have confidence that it would make a difference. My taxes will.

Beyond Stuff

Days 55-61: Giving Away Memories

May 9, 2010 1 comment

Memories are one of those things you can give away without losing them. For Mother’s Day this year I gave my mother a jar of memories. I put 44 memories of my childhood and things I appreciated about my mother on brightly colored paper and put them in a glass jar. (I had given her 52 of these for Christmas thinking she would open one a week but she ended up doing one about every other day and was running low.) My mother is 87 and although she’s not senile, her short term memory is fading. I figure this could be a gift that keeps on giving. Once she goes through them all, she can start over since she probably won’t remember what she read a month ago. I also gave away about 15 miscellaneous items including belts, joke gifts, decorative dish towels and an old jock strap of Jim’s – but that wouldn’t make a very pretty picture.

Beyond Stuff

Days 48-54: Poison Ivy to the Rescue

May 2, 2010 No comments

Days 48-54 poison ivy-For years I’ve wondered what possible purpose in creation there could be for poison ivy or mosquitoes. Well, I’ve found a use for poison ivy – a plant to dump my hazardous chemicals on without guilt. You see, after taking all my hazardous materials to the special disposal place last Saturday, I found that even THEY wouldn’t take pesticides or chemical solvents. So, what to do? I thought of cheating and just burying them in the trash but my conscience (my husband) wouldn’t let me do it. Then I remembered that we had some poison ivy in a remote part of the yard. I’d been trying to get rid of it for years. I dumped the liquid on it. I’m still waiting for it to die.

Days 48-54 poison ivy-blankets-booksBy the way, I also chose to give away some ugly blankets from our bedroom and some books that have been on my night stand for way too long. They are “guilt books” – books that I know would be good for me to read but I just can’t get into them; better pass them on.

Extra Fun

Days 41-47: A Happy Traffic Jam

April 25, 2010 No comments

I’ve been waiting for April 24 for a long time. Apparently, so have a lot of other people in my neighborhood. It’s the day N. Kentucky finally sponsored a Hazardous Materials Disposal Day. I not only felt virtuous loading up an old computer, printer, and monitor, I also safely got rid of radios, lamps, light bulbs, paint, speakers, and various other broken electronics. On the way to the disposal center I ran into a traffic jam at the interstate exit. At first I thought there was an accident, but then I realized that all the cars were going to the same place I was – about two miles off the exit. It’s the first time I ever was thankful for so many cars ahead of me. It took a little longer but it was for a good cause.

Most communities have a day, week, or other period of time that they offer a drop off place for hazardous waste (often in the spring). Check the EPA website on Household Hazardous Waste for more information. Contact your local government for dates and places or find a Waste Management facility near you.

Extra Fun, The Process

Easter: A New Beginning

April 4, 2010 2 comments

Happy Easter! The 40 days have come to an end, but not this project. The more I got into giving stuff away, the more I realized that these 40 days were simply the first round. Although I’ve given many things away, few items will I actually miss. To really stretch myself I’ll need to keep pruning and developing a stronger attitude of generosity. I’ve decided to try giving one thing away each day for a whole year. At first this seemed daunting but then I counted 151 drawers and 228 shelves in our home. If I just selected one item a day from these drawers and shelves that would be 379 days – well over a year. Even if I don’t find anything worthy of giving away from a particular shelf, I figure I’ve already banked 40 days. I believe that if I keep going, I’ll eventually be confronted with letting go of stuff that is not just excess.

THE FUTURE: It has, however, been time consuming to keep this pace of blogging and taking a photo every day. In order not to have my life taken over by this process, I plan to only blog once a week even though I will be choosing something every day. I still welcome your feedback and reflections. I’m taking the rest of April to disperse my collected stuff to good homes and resume the blog May 1.

Days 1 - 40, Days 365+

Day 40: Garage

April 3, 2010 No comments

Today is the last day for giving away – at least for awhile. I ventured out to the garage which is the last burial place for things on their way to the netherworld. There are probably a number of things that could be given/thrown away from here – like the STOP sign one of our kids liberated as a teenager. It’s a rainy day though and my back is not up to lugging stuff out. I did notice, however, that we still have over 50 signs from my husband’s school board campaigns. He promised he wouldn’t run again. Those can be history. We also have 5 bags of plastic bags waiting to be resurrected, i.e. recycled, into some usable material like composite lumber.
Tomorrow is Easter, the end of the 40 days but the beginning of the rest of life. I’ve decided to continue this process. Read how tomorrow.

Days 1 - 40 none

Day 39: Furnace Room

April 2, 2010 1 comment

If our basement storage room is the graveyard of electronic parts, the furnace room table is a step lower into the bowels of the undead. Dignity is surrendered here as I found an adult potty seat, speakers that were probably dead before we moved into the house but we figured maybe we just needed a little technical expertise to bring them back to life. Rug remnants waiting for a place that needs a patch are also stored here. It’s not a pleasant place but there are lots of nails and screws waiting to bring new life to a broken item.

Days 1 - 40 none

Day 38: Birdie’s Supper

April 1, 2010 No comments

Birdie was my Kris Kringle partner at our parish last Advent. I never met her but prayed for her and sent her a card. I know that she is African American from the parish directory. Jim and I have been trying to get to know more people in our parish especially people of other races since we have a racially diverse parish but often people don’t mix. We decided to invite Birdie over for dinner but she has been ill and has not been able to come. I decided to make a lasagna dinner for Birdie and take it to her. So today, I’m giving away food. Thanks to Jim who was the main cook.

Days 1 - 40

Day 37: Rocket Science

March 31, 2010 No comments

I knew this storage closet would be a challenge. It stores camping, canning, and Christmas stuff plus kitchen supplies waiting for our kids’ apartments and toys waiting for grandkids to grow into them. (Don’t worry, Brian, I’m holding off on your 9 boxes of model train supplies.) It also is our electronics graveyard of known and unknown extra parts. In addition, this is our pantry for canned food complete with extra water in case of a natural disaster.
The real find, however, was a container of homemade rockets that started as a science fair project. It takes someone with know how to play with these. I’m no rocket scientist.

Days 1 - 40

Day 36: More Sports Equipment

March 30, 2010 No comments

Our family loves sports, but contra dancing has replaced many of the sports we used to play as our preferred recreation. Even though both Jim and I grew up golfing, I haven’t played since my back surgery 15 years ago. I’m giving away my old clubs, tennis and golf balls, weights, and the extra ping pong net. (I’m not giving away Jim’s golf clubs, the bike rack and pump, 5 tennis rackets, basketballs, and the volleyball net – most of these are not mine to pitch.) We also have a crate of old tennis shoes that Jim has been saving because he heard you can recycle them. My contribution to this effort was to find out where to take them since they were not in good enough condition for Soles4Souls. Check out Run the Planet, NikeReuseAShoe, and Ecocycle.

Days 1 - 40

Day 35: Skates

March 29, 2010 No comments

We have 9 pairs of skates in our basement (4 kids roller skates, 3 kids in-line skates, and, 2 adult ice skates). Seeing as no one has used any of them in probably 10 years, I think I will give away all but the adult ice skates. Memo to our kids: “If you want any of these (even though they probably won’t fit anymore) better e-mail me pronto.” The helmet I might keep because that can serve multi-purposes. The knee pads will go with the skates.

Days 1 - 40

6th Sunday: Letting Go Of Sin

March 28, 2010 No comments

I always resist the sacrament of Reconciliation even though I know I’ll feel better once I’ve examined my conscience and confessed. I also don’t like the idea of having a church rule about going to confession at least once a year. Still, I have to admit that if this wasn’t the case I would probably let it slip slide away indefinitely. Typically, I do this during Holy Week since parishes usually have Penance Services followed by an opportunity to confess to a priest. I know it’s healthy to wipe things clean periodically and trust that God has forgiven me. It’s time.

Days 1 - 40

Day 34: Arts & Crafts Supplies

March 27, 2010 2 comments

At the beginning of our marriage we decided to make candles for relatives as creative and economical Christmas presents. Although we didn’t realize it at the time, we also had more discretionary time BK (Before Kids) so we silk screened Christmas cards. We now have more candles than we can use and don’t send snail mail Christmas cards, so today’s decision was easy – get rid of these arts and crafts supplies. Besides the equipment was so dusty and rusty I doubt it would work anymore. We downsized our garbage can this year but this stuff will fit.

Days 1 - 40 none

Day 33: Past Pests

March 26, 2010 No comments

We call it the “tool closet” but it didn’t make sense to get rid of any of our tools. This closet, however, does store a number of other miscellaneous items. I decided to keep all the puzzles since they are good for visiting children – especially if they don’t speak English, but threw away the one that had no picture with it. I discovered that Play-Doh does not last as long as clay so I threw away all the Play-Doh and some of the clay. Then there were the garden sprays for pests. I had 3 ways to rid our garden of slugs – we haven’t had a slug problem for years – and 3 sprays to protect our apple tree from insects. We gave up on harvesting much from this tree awhile ago since it feeds more deer than us. Since our garden pests are now in the past, so also their remedies are now history.

Days 1 - 40

Day 32: Dead Pets

March 25, 2010 No comments

This is the day you’ve all been waiting for: “Dead Pet Day.” Over the years we’ve had a dog, hamsters, mice, lizards, rabbits, fish, and birds. We are now petless. I decided to keep the dog dishes for a grand-dog who visits and I kept the rat trap to prevent visiting rats from staying. I will, however, get rid of the aquarium hood for heating lizards since we no longer have the aquarium. I’m also giving away a bird cage with supplies, a rabbit bottle and leash since we gave away the rabbit hutch years ago. Oh yes, notice the dried out bone on top of the bird cage. It’s not from one of our pets but I found it with the cages and it fit the title of this blog.

Days 1 - 40

Day 31: VCR Tapes

March 24, 2010 1 comment

Now I’m looking at our historic “entertainment center.” I say historic because I counted 109 VCR tapes. The last time we tried, we couldn’t even get our VCR to work – but that’s mostly because someone messed with the cables and our local son wasn’t handy to reattach them to the appropriate places. I should probably get rid of all of them but some memorialize high school plays and some I still use for presentations. I decided to get rid of at least 27. I know it’s possible to transfer them to DVD’s but I don’t have the time right now. I keep telling myself, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Days 1 - 40

Day 30: Gloves, Hats, Umbrellas

March 23, 2010 1 comment

As I move to our front hall I find stashes of gloves and winter hats. I also counted seven umbrellas (plus one we keep in the car). Even allowing for visitors who may need an emergency umbrella, gloves, or hat, we don’t really need all of these. How many people are really going to visit us in January, gloveless and hatless? Would seven people without umbrellas really descend on us in one fell swoop? Out! Out!

Days 1 - 40 none

Day 29: E-mails

March 22, 2010 No comments

Recently I was forced into “techno-purging.” I was trying to move some e-mails into Outlook folders and couldn’t do it. After the usual amount of fussing, I wondered if the problem was that my folders were too full. Bingo! Reluctantly, I deleted and archived e-mails that were older than 2008. It worked. I also sent out a global e-mail to my 500 dearest friends alerting them to this blog. About 30 bounced back. Obviously I’ve too often just hit reply to incoming e-mails and haven’t always updated my address book. It took time, but uncluttering my computer may save me headaches later.

Days 1 - 40
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