I came across this article recently and it has inspired me to start decluttering my life.
#Minsgame
Now, we’re having huge amounts of work done on our house at the moment so a lot of STUFF is in storage but in July, when it returns I’d quite like to start playing the #minsgame.
In the meantime the link to The Minimalists’ website and some food-for-thought essays is over there on the right. I don’t agree with everything in every one – how could I? – but they’re useful nonetheless.
I’ll post daily decluttering photos here.
Who’s with me?
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1/7/15 Day 1
I originally decided to start the #Minsgame today because I thought that our kitchen project would be nearing an end and that our stuff would be coming out of storage. As it happens, the project is late and there are several weeks left. However, I keep finding things I no longer need or like and, instead of chucking them at that very moment, I’ve saved them up for this month with the result that I can no longer bear being surrounded by Lame Duck Stuff.
So here goes:
Day 1
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Urban Decay the Nakeds Eyeshadow Palette 🚮
Reasons:
too grey-toned for my colouring
neither tenacious nor special
MsDD has this palette anyway so I can always borrow from here if I’m desperate.
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2/7/15 Day 2
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Moonwalk bra and Sweaty Betty yoga trousers 🚮
Reasons:
The bra is a Wonderbra and I need no further enhancement of my assets. I’ll never wear it again.
I don’t need to preserve the bra as a memento as there’s a photo lurking somewhere of the OH and me in our Wonderbras before the Moonwalk 2013. It’s not for publication online though as it’s not very respectable.
The yoga pants are a horrid shade of grey and not even 100% cotton. What was I even thinking?
The trousers are too big and flappy; the have lost their drawstring, which makes them ugly AND liable to fall down.
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3/7/17 Day 3
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Scented tea light candle; Jasmine and Henna Fluff Eaze; Solar charger🚮
Reasons:
Undoubtedly these are useful things, and therefore worthwhile keeping, no? Well they would be if I actually used them. But they’ve been sitting untouched on the console table in my bedroom for over a year. Possibly two. So they can’t be that useful. In the case of the Fluff-Eaze, I know I liked it once and that it’s nearly finished but this sort of Lush stuff isn’t made to last very long before it goes off. The charger is from that slightly hippy French shop, Nature et Decouverts, a must have in the desert but perhaps not something to cope with the tech of a suburban household.
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4/7/15 Day 4
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Hourglass brush; alpaca wrap cardigan; hairdryer; Lancôme Hypnose perfume 🚮
Reasons
I bought the wrap at a sale of someone I know who imports alpaca from her native land. She’s not even a friend, for goodness’ sake. It cost a lot of money as I remember but I felt obliged to buy it. Have I worn it in the several years since? No. Not once. It makes me look fatter than I am. Moral of story: if you feel you have to buy a thing, make it small and inexpensive.
I’m upset about the Hourglass taklon foundation brush. It’s soft and expensive and applies foundation really well but the bristles are falling out in an annoying way. Perhaps it’s because I’m using surgical spirit to clean it every time, which they do at the Hourglass counter. But then they have an inexhaustible supply of brushes I suppose. Anyway, this has steadily become more of an annoyance so out it goes.
I have never used the Hypnose perfume. It was a gift several years ago, a pretty bottle that gathers dust. One should never give perfume as a gift unless one knows exactly which perfume the giftee prefers.
And a random hairdryer, unearthed as the BW tidied out his room. No-one wants it and it’s making my bedroom look untidy.
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5/7/15 Day 5
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It’s getting too much for me to list the things and I’m feeling rather allergic this evening but 🚮 nonetheless
Reasons
The bottle carrier has sat emptily outside our front door gathering dust and cobwebs and whatnot for years. We no longer even have milk deliveries.
The jumper and the T shirt are both way too big.
We went to Barbados in 2004. I have worn the T shirt ONCE since then.
The jumper is scratchy and loses its dye at every wash. It’s the wrong shape and was simply a fashion mistake.
Likewise the cropped white joggers. What on earth was I thinking? They’re so see-through too.
Oh yes. The “body spray,” was part of a gift boxed Christmas present. I don’t use body spray and I’m not overly keen on the smell.
An afterthought: it’s already getting difficult to find things to chuck.
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6/7/15 Day 6
Some small, easy to find things today as I am not very well.
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ipad connector; Ultrabalm; Moonwalk badge; opaque tights; iPod brassard; old iPhone stand 🚮
Reasons
The iPhone stand never really worked properly anyway, and the connection is obsolete. It’s been on my console table for over years without being used.
The iPod brassard is a little nostalgic: I bought it in Paris when I first started running down the towpath on the Seine three times every week. And yet, it’s still been stuck in a drawer untouched since probably about 2008, when I first bought an iPhone.
The ultra balm was bought from Lush at the same time as hair henna. I haven’t hennaed my hair for over a year.
The badge is one of a handful I ordered to sell for Moonwalk 2013 fundraising. I didn’t sell any, obviously.
That iPad connecter was for when I had iPads. Before I broke both of them and decided that it would probably be best to stick to a sturdier laptop in future.
And the tights. What can I say about the opaque tights? They’re so deeply unsexy and just not nice. They’ve probably got about a thousand snags in them but I suppose I have kept them just in case I run out of tights. Nowadays I’m likely to wear my cashmere ones in winter. Out they go.
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7/7/15 Day 7
Fräulein Annie bra; Poetry leggings; toothbrush case; Chanel liquid eyeliner;Withings instruction manual; L’Occitane serum Fabuleux sample
Fräulein Annie bra; Poetry leggings; toothbrush case; Chanel liquid eyeliner;Withings instruction manual; L’Occitane serum Fabuleux sample
Reasons
The bra was a little too big before I lost the weight. Now it’s both too big and, for some reason, bitey. Most women wear the wrong size bra anyway. It’s important to get yourself measured regularly, ladies.
I haven’t worn the vest for years. It doesn’t really suit me and it’s transparent.
The toothbrush case has sat around unused in my bedroom ever since I bought the toothbrush.
I have found the liquid eyeliner, very liquid in texture, with its little brush too difficult to apply precisely.
I think the leggings have a hole in the bottom and, let’s face it, they’re not a nice colour. It’s that colour they reserve for dingy men’s clothes. I rarely wear leggings – they’re emphatically not trousers – but the nice ones I have are merino wool from Icebreaker. In my belurgied state I’m wearing them now, in fact.
I’m not going to use the serum so there’s no point keeping the sample for months.
The Withings instruction manual is a sad case. It was a small pedometer, basically. It slipped out of its rubber case somewhere between home and the airport on my first trip to India last year. So I replaced it. But then the information didn’t synch with Nike + or my phone so I gave it to the OH. And then he lost it somewhere. I blame bad design.
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9/7/15 Day 8
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Reasons
The Moonwalk 2013 finishers’ T shirt has never been worn. I guess I don’t do logo T shirts really, so goodness knows why I bought one. I wore the hoody for the walk but never since. It’s far too big and if I did the Moonwalk again it would be really off to wear an old one, wouldn’t it?
I’ve had the white linen dress for over a decade. Bought when I was at my fattest, it’s far too big even as a beach cover up now. It’s a pity because it’s a nice dress.
I bought the wrap about 13 years ago when we went to Portugal, just on a whim to spend some money at the airport. As one does. Actually it came in handy because that New Year in Portugal was their coldest for decades and we’d hardly taken any warm clothing. But it’s so blankety that I haven’t needed it since. The OH is telling me to make sure I recycle these good clothes in a clothing bank: people in developing countries won’t care about the T shirt logo. I think this is a little patronising but OK, I’ll put them in the big box at Shortlands station.
Otherwise there’s a felt sleeve from an overpackaged Chanel eyeshadow palette. Obviously I have no need for that.
The lanyard: who needs a white lanyard?
I’m cheating a little with the eyeliner brush: I’ll ask MsDD whether she wants it. Much as I am a fan of Bobbi Brown’s little glass pots of gel eyeliner, they dry up far too quickly and you end up throwing away most of the colour unless you dilute it with oil but then that’s so random. These days I prefer an eyeliner pen.
And finally another cheat: I was about to throw out the Vinci season ticket pass from the Paris RER train network but the OH has asked to have it to replace his decaying season ticket holder, which he will in turn throw away. So it’s not really a cheat.
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9/7/15 Day 9
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Reasons
I’ve had the iPhone 4 box for years. It’s one of those things one keeps just in case. I really don’t need it just in case. I’m not sure if the phone that came in this box actually exists anymore.
I’ve had the 3 OPI nail polishes for years and actually they’re not really clutter because they have their own dedicated box. They’re separating out but I can easily shake them back to a coherent nail polish again. Truth be told, I’ve never been any good at doing my nails: by the time they’re fully dry they’ve been smudged by a dog’s paw or brushed against some keys. These days I’d rather have gel nails done by someone else who’s far better at it than me.
I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought this pack of little Sharpies. They’re not even ergonomically sound to hold and who can see orange anyway? Plus I detest the smell of Sharpie ink.
There’s another Moonwalk 2013 badge, which is simply clutter now.
Also my old mouth guard. It’s like this: I grind my teeth at night and this has in the past set off excruciating headaches from spasms of my jaw muscles and jagged wearing away of my tooth enamel. I’m absolutely convinced this is tied in to breathing at the top of my chest too. Essentially, the top half of me is a wreck. The dentist first gave me this soft mouth guard but, when that didn’t work, he made me one of much harder plastic, which I wear every night. I know. It’s so sexy. And I am one of the apparently 10% of people whose bruxism has not been cured by a month wearing a mouth guard. I’ve worn it every night for three or four years now. So I no longer need this one.
SuDoku book: when does one have time? And if one does, aren’t there better ways of spending it.
Book of poems for stressed-out people: I”M PERFECTLY CALM.
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10/7/2015 Day 10
Day 10 feels like a cheat because these are little things and I know full well that I’m using them as displacement objects for avoidance tactics. It is becoming quite difficult to decide what to chuck now, you see, and decision time every night will become tougher from now on. But not tonight.
Today has been a little stressful and I am putting myself under pressure because I have a concert tomorrow night, I don’t know the programme well enough and I’ve been ill. Also: I had to postpone my singing lesson until next week and, mainly because of said illness, I’ve not practised for a week. Still, those thoughts are cluttering up my mind and this space and that is the opposite of what should be happening.
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Reasons:
Sharpies one and two. See above. No idea why I bought them. I suspect it’s because they looked purrty.
Set of Neal’s Yard rescue remedies. These were a present from a friend years ago and I suspect said friend might now have decluttered me from her life. Suffice it to say that they have not ever been used otherwise I would surely have been rescued.
Nearly empty L’Occitane foot cream tube. I love this cream but have squeezed the life out of it. Waste not want not: who am I kidding?
Another Moonwalk 2013 badge: see above
Another Moonwalk 2013 lanyard: also see above
A whiteboard marker for a whiteboard I had years ago. This has probably dried up by now.
A bangle I was given at Toni and Guy, I think. It is wood effect, made from pure plastic and I have no idea why I still have it.
Adaptors for Sony in ear noise cancelling headphones I bought and chucked years ago: only the first in a disastrous series of headphone purchases.
Moleskine highlighters to go with the Moleskine notebooks I bought, carried around in my handbag and barely used so that in time they became unusably dog-eared.
Aha. Now I am being forced to face my erstwhile hoardery. It is uncomfortable viewing.
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11/7/15 Day 11
OK it’s past midnight but I’ve just come in from choir’s post concert meal and raided the drawer in which I keep my sporty stuff.
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Reasons:
One pair of old Gap shorts: they are far too big and I’ve had them 20 years! Enough is enough, surely.
Fluoro running top: I’ve no idea why I bought this, except perhaps there was a time when I used to go running in Dulwich Park in icy January when it was dingy and dark. Maybe I needed this to be seen but, not only is the colour vile, but the fabric is quite odd too, like dralon that you wear.
Then there’s a Nike running hat that makes me loom like and idiot and a sweat band that I no longer use. A single sock and an old pair of running socks.
See that hair turban? I bought it recently from John Lewis thinking it would be an absorbent way to towel dry my hair. WRONG! It doesn’t absorb any water at all and is therefore a waste of both money and space.
There’s a bum bag that fitted my old iPod that’s now redundant.
And a Boodles ring box, or earring box or something. Lovely box, fantastic packaging but of limited use in the longer term.
Also a PedEgg. I must have been seduced by one of those television advertorials to buy that. I’ve used it about twice but generally use my Diamancel to dislodge hard skin on my feet before a shower.
Finally a butter dish. A butter dish? You say. Yes. I’ve always liked the slightly retro feel of this. And then I noticed a large chunk of glass missing from the bottom where someone had dropped it. So it’s now imperfect and therefore cannot be seen. Sorry butter dish.
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12/7/2015 Day 12
Lots of clutter here tonight, and it doesn’t appear so hard to find it but it is. Don’t forget that by tonight I shall have dispensed with 78 items, and that’s before any of my other stuff has come out of storage.
People on the #minsgame report finding paperclips and Post-it notes to throw away, so desperate are they to find the stuff. For me, I know it’s there, but it’s just difficult to access most of it.
The other thing is knowing that I have spent money on these things that I am throwing in the bin. It’s just like emptying one’s bank account and I guess that’s why I’ve kept them until now. But the cost is sunk and there they are gathering dust and unused so I might as well dispense with the reminders of my wastefulness.
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Reasons
Waterproof Nike running top: unused because I never run outside these days. Was about £70. *sighs*
Packaging from Brora, Aveda, Kerastase, The Urban Retreat. Just because they are cotton bags, it does not mean that they aren’t wasteful over-packaging. What can I use them for?
Water carrier. Unused gift from somewhere.
Random CD.
Another Moonwalk T shirt. I didn’t actually do the walk in it and I’ve never worn it.
Blue cardigan from Hobbs. I have worn this, actually, but I think it was always too small. I might offer it to MsDD.
I blue plastic rule. Why is it even in my wardrobe?
I bottle surgical spirit nearly finished. See tonight’s blogpost: it’s too harsh on my brushes and clogs up my vanity drawer.
Musician Joke Book. I think someone received this in a Christmas stocking. The jokes are appallingly unfunny.
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13/7/2015 Day 13
Ouch. It’s starting to get quite painful, this decluttering.
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Reasons
Red shawl was a gift from someone in India. It’s never been worn; it’s never likely to be worn. I mean, how often am I going to wear a shawl?
The Gerard Darel peasant blouse bought in Paris seemed like an (expensive) good idea at the time but every time I’ve worn it I’ve felt like a sack of potatoes rather than a floaty paysanne in a lavender field. It doesn’t even sit nicely on a hanger. MsDD in a pirate avatar might make use of it though.
Toni and Guy dry shampoo. Nope. No idea.
Round brush that I don’t use.
Another Urban Retreat overpackaging baggie.
A charger for Clarisonic facial brush that I chucked a few months ago.
An out of date tube of Dermaquest Zinclear moisturiser. There’s virtually nothing left in in anyway.
2 of those daft little blush brushes from Chanel palettes. They’re never big enough to be of any use.
2 little pots of Mac foundation or concealer. I forget which and tend to use stick concealer anyway these days.
A nasty pink belt that seemed like a good idea at the time of purchase but is broken past repair.
A thin black belt for a Jaeger skirt. It’s useful and smart for, say, interviews, even though I haven’t worn it much, but look at the state of the belt: disintegrating despite little wear.
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14/7/15 Day 14
I know @Morethanmum, who has been following this #minsgame closely, will disapprove of this because these are tiny things. In my defence let me say that I’ve just been packing to go away, it’s late, I had to do my daily blog post and I still have an email to write. So ner.
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After tonight I’m having a little break from the #minsgame because it seems utter foolishness to take away 75 extra items specifically to photograph and throw away. I might come back to this immediately after I return or I might wait until my stuff is back out of storage and resume the game then. I’m almost half way through the month of chucking, after all, if not half way through the items to chuck.
Reasons
One old iPhone case that does not fit my current iPhone and probably will never fit any updated version of that iconic Apple product.
A Nike+ thingy for inserting into Nike+ trainers. I currently don;’t have Nike+ trainers and the system is now obsolete.
Lid for something long gone the way of all things.
Socks with no partner
Directional nozzle from a hairdryer long ago thrown away.
Another ipod brassard. Goodness. How many of these did I buy?
A Rolodex card. No idea
A bra bought for me that has never really fitted properly. This is why it is seldom a good idea to buy underwear for other people unless it’s, say, boxers for your husband. Even then.
An Allen key for something long forgotten.
A fluffy bunny tail. No NSFW content here: I bought it when I dressed up as a bunny and managed to tear a hole in MsDD’s grey onesie, which I had to replace.
Some earhooks for earphones. I despise in-ear earphones now. I can never find any that stay comfortable and stay in.
A stand for an iPhone which never really worked properly anyway.
Some sort of plastic tray. What tut it all is.
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22/9/15 Day 15
Well, it’s taken longer than I expected but my stuff is finally back from storage, though quite a lot of it still languishes in boxes awaiting the redecoration of the utility room so I can put it away. Expect many redundant baking tins to appear here in due course – here’s a thing: why oh why is it that when you try a new cake, the recipe always specifies a tin that you don’t already have? In case you don’t bake, it’s difficult just to bung the mixture in any old timn because the cooking times and quantities will be up the spout.
Reasons:
You see before you in the case a home laser hair removal apparatus that cost a lot, a LOT, of money yet seemed like a good idea at the time because it was a case of investing to save on salon treatments in the long term. Supposedly. Boots specified that it is suitable for use on skin as dark as mine but there are, rightly, all sorts of extra safety precautions applied with home use machines. I didn’t want to combust spontaneously in my bedroom,. for example, or start World War III. Anyway, there’s a meter there which tells you if the area of skin you want to zap is too dark for the laser and, notwithstanding that this machine said it was suitable for my type of fairish Asian skin, the meter always told me I was too dark. Using the thing on its lowest setting wasn’t ever going to be very efficacious. This machine was the latest in a series of white elephants that seemed like a good idea at the time but have resulted in major post-purchase dissonance. It’s a sad reminder of what happens when you persuade yourself you need a Thing.
Then there’s a silk chiffon blouse that I’ve worn twice in four years and was a bad fashion mistake. No doubt MsDD will look stunning in it.
We have two pairs of glasses with an out-of-date prescription. I think certain branches of Boots take those back to send to people who can’t afford new specs, so that’s good Karma I guess.
Then there’s the hairbrush cleaner that has somehow lost all its bristles in the drawer over time.
The two Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundations that have come to the end of their natural life anyway and been superseded by formations that suit me better.
The nail polish that came free but I’m not going to use because I was kidding myself if I ever thought I’d be doing my own nails.
The wrong sort of concealer brush.
The mascara that’s been good but does need to be thrown out after three months, as recommended. It really is a luxury to have two different sorts of mascara, isn’t it. and I like the other sort.
The combination padlock that suddenly stopped working on the morning of our flight to Granada and had to be replaced.
I think the sticky label things were supposed to be a stocking filler but they’re a little prescriptive: what if one person labels something bad news that, to the recipient of the missive, is nothing but good news? It became clear to me that no-one thoughtful could ever use these.
There’s yet another Walk the Walk badge that no-one wanted and another free sample of some face stuff.
And then we come to the Nike Fuelband. Discontinued almost as soon as I bought it, it showed no calories burned, only fuel points which one accumulated and fed into an unwieldly app. One accumulated daily points but to what end, no-one knows. It never measured kilometres or tied in with the Nike running app so that was another little white elephant. It’s the downside of being Queen of the Unnecessary but Desirable Gadget: many things seem like a good idea at the time. Let us draw a discreet veil over this.
So there you are. We’ve restarted the #Minsgame. I intend to see this through to the end, but I’m currently not sure when exactly that end might be.
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30/9/15 Day 16
Now, I think @Morethanmum will be quite pleasantly surprised by this as I have grouped my chucking stuff into 16 categories rather than specified 16 items tonight. I have rather more than 16 items of which to dispose today after unpacking a couple more boxes.
It’s a kitchenware-themed post today:
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Reasons:
The saucepans were an impulse purchase of a sale item over ten years ago. I didn’t need them then and, now that I have an induction hob, I can’t use them now. They’re OK, I suppose, but I’ve never liked them as much as my Le Creuset and they aren’t even dishwasher safe. I know!
The two children’s aprons are now too small for either of my children. It would be more of a wrench to get rid of these if either of my children had shown more than a passing inclination to join me in the kitchen.
A stainless steel tin with a plastic lid that my mum gave me. It’s exactly the wrong size to be of any practical use.
Then there are the light bulb and water filter that go in our former fridge which is now an ex-fridge and languishes somewhere in the fridge disposal section of a rubbish tip.
The icing stencils to mark out brickwork on a cake. It’s good to be a little ambitious but I don’t think I was ambitious enough.
Then there are numerous Lock and Lock boxes without lids. When we bought these boxes we did not realise that they weren’t freezer proof, especially a freezer that’s so small and cluttered that the food stored in said boxes therein tumbled out all over the floor when the door was opened so shattering the non-freezer proof lids. The sample here is representative.
A burger set, tartlet set and tartlet tins have never been used and I have no idea why I bought them.
Goodness knows what that plunger like thing is. A cooker maker?
Various bits of plastic that go in cake storage boxes that have now left the building.
A curly wurly straw that has now been substantially straightened by becoming caught in a dishwasher. At one time MsDD used these to drink her small beaker of milk.
Sandwich boxes that were large enough only for mini-sandwiches.
One of those cupholders that we used to use at my previous choir. I have no idea why I still have this.
A steamer basket that does not seem to unfold. I have numerous steamers already so have no idea why this is still around.
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3/10/2015 Day 17
I’m still unpacking boxes and trying to sort out the house a bit. We’re making progress with the sitting room – this afternoon was spent mainly in installing light fittings – but I am making a virtue out of a necessity and using a #minsgame post for tonight’s blog post.
I am determined to get myself to Day 30 of the game. I’m not quite sure how long it will take me though.
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Reasons:
There are two banana guards. Yes, we might need one in the future, but no-one needs three, do they?
The loose bottom (no jokes please) round cake tin has somehow warped. It’s obviously one of those instances where I’ve tried to fit the base into the spring-loaded side, run out of time and left it for another day. Well today was that other day. I’ve decided that the base doesn’t fit and I’m chucking it out.
Ah yes. My bun tin. Every year, I make mince pies at Christmas. I never buy them: it’s one of my Things. I use a bun tin and make Nigella’s star topped mince pies. Now, I was told in school Domestic Science classes “Never grease with pastry,” so I never do. And every year, without fail, my first lot of mince pies, and possibly several lots after that, becomes melded with the material of the bun tin in which they are baked. Every year I vow I’ll sort this situation out but I never want to upgrade to silicone because I feel sure that I’ll check the method next year. (Here let me add that I have actually had batches of non-stick mince pies in the past. It’s not completely an idle hope.) This year I’m starting to contemplate Christmas good and early. I am biting the bullet and throwing out the bun tin. That I have ordered a silicone job from Lakeland in its place is probably completely at odds with the decluttering spirit of the #minsgame, but let us quietly draw a veil over that.
Let us come, then, to the Physics-defying loose bottomed muffin pan. Obviously, a cake batter will leak around the sides of the individual loose bottoms. Which damnfool thought that one up? Which damnfool bought the thing?
The grill pan comes from a built-in microwave that stopped working some years ago. It no longer fits. Out it goes.
Then there is the mezzluna. I’m sorry Nigella, I know that you swear by them, but I prefer a good old fashioned knife. Incidentally, I read in Kitchen that Nigella does not like kitchens with drawers and likes to keep an array of bottles all primed and ready by her stove. Primed and ready and cluttering up the place. I’m sorry but I disagree. I would find that terribly stressful.
Then there’s a pair of jugs. *stifles snigger* Nobody without toddlers needs plastic jugs, do they?
I am not actually chucking out the red Guzzini jar: I like those. I’m just using it to display its contents: loose leaf tea that I must have bought many months ago, and that must have lost all of its flavour. Into the compost bin you go.
The top of the range Gordon Ramsey Bamix blender will have to go too. I’m not a great one for stick blenders. I think being a shorthouse means that I never seem to get them at the right angle but my beef with this blender is that the blades blunt so quickly and I don’t think they can be sharpened. I’ve since bought a Magimix, and I love that so I’ll stick with it.
Some old cotton wool balls, bought, perhaps, for cleansing Oscar’s ears. I needn’t chuck them, I guess, but they are too small to do anything sensible with, unfortunately.
Then there are the plastic storage boxes for halves of apples or onions or other round fruit and veg. Have I ever used them? No.
Yes, that is a turkey baster and no, I did not use it to conceive a Satanic child, #thearchers Tweetalongers. No. I basted a turkey with it then realised that it could not be successfully cleaned. So I kept it, thinking I would come up with a cleaning strategy and I never did. Out it goes.
Yet another disagreement with Nigella: the potato ricer that seemed like a good idea at the time but that is so awkward to use that I’d rather not have it taking up space in my kitchen.
There are miscellaneous labels from our utility room units, left over from when the builders threw it up in a hurry in 2005 before quickly going bankrupt.
There is a stand for some long-defunct chopping boards and then some silver balls for cake decoration that have a Best Before date of November 2004.
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2/11/2015 Day 18
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m determined to get through to the bitter end of the #minsgame though.
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Reasons:
There is no use for old boxes. I had wanted to cheat and call these three items, but I have been told that they can only be one, which is fair enough, and that the #minsgame is about throwing out things that you don’t use that aren’t actually rubbish. So thanks for that, the OH. Anyway there comes a point where you no longer need the packaging for a piece of kit that you’e had for a while. If it goes wrong, you just have to pack it up in bubblewrap for the journey to the repairer’s.
The charger for someone’s Clarisonic. We no longer use these and, in fact, I chucked mine away on a previous #minsgame day.
A green belt from a pair of trousers I’ve already thrown out.
One of my mother’s old purses. Before I took her to India, she had several of these dotted around her flat with varying amounts of cash in each. This one, rather poignantly, contained a Post-it pad on which she’d written a friend’s address and the details of a taxi journey in India.
Some Chanel mineral powder foundation which has always been too light for me. I’ve nearly used it all up, anyway, and now I have a better coloured substitute from Nars, my latest cosmetic amour.
The last of a pot of Chanel Face Powder. It’s taken me two and an half years to use this up but it’s never really been satisfactory for me. I’ve now got hold of a setting powder that doesn’t add any colour to the face. The Bobbi Brown brush isn’t really big enough to be a face powder brush.
These four little Hourglass sample pots can go, even though they’re cute. I know my colours now.
The hair slide is too small to hold my hair. I now know where to go for hair accessories for thick hair.
The mascara is going because it has to be replaced every three months for hygiene reasons.
Then there’s an iPod adaptor. Remember those?
I’m throwing out the top for a new pot of foundation because I now have a transferable pump.
I have two copies of the crochet book so one will have to go. Let us hope this was not the copy that was a Christmas present from a family member.
The Selphy photo printer was given to me by a friend who works in a charity shop. It’s been knocking around the house for years and I bet you can’t even get the ink for it now.
The Beconase spray is five years out of date,.
The ballet music CD is grade four and five and MsDD has now given up ballet, after her grade six as she has too many other commands on her time.
There’s a DVD from the vacuum cleaner company. We don’t need that.
And a plug in mosquito killer thing. I’m a little dubious about throwing this out but I suppose if we need one in the future, we can always buy one.
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9/11/2015 Day 19
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Reasons:
The two remote control holders don’t hold remote controls and they look really tacky.
The ladle is too big for our drawer and it’s had its day now. I must have had it at least 15 years.
No idea what those miscellaneous candle holder things are.
The cutter’s been knocking about since they tidied out the study. I bought it in 2005 in Paris when I realised that there were no Christmas cards around so I made my own. If you received a card from me that year, know that it was a very special one. They took me weeks to make and the cutters aren;t exactly easy to use either.
That’s a Chanel eyeshadow palette. “It will suit you so well Madam. It looks so spectacular.” Yadda, yadda. The colours are too cold for me and they are all high shimmer, which I no longer want. I find matte much more flattering. I’ll give this to MsDD to add to her make-up collection – all mistaken purchases of mine.
Ah yes. The PS2. I only reluctantly bought the Boywonder a console game thing when he was about 8 or 9. They are such time stealers and I know how easy it is to become addicted to them. I deeply disapprove of these things but did not want my child to grow up a freak. Sure enough, he played it too often and it did distract him from all the other things he was supposed to be doing. We never upgraded, though the OH bough me a wiifit for a birthday which I only rarely used and I think some games can be played on that. When I think of the amount of time people spend on these to me it’s unbelievable.
The lid of a wok. I think that might the wok that went up in flames and had to be chucked out into our skip.
No-one in this house has hair fine enough to be held by this hairband.
Then there’s a meter to measure your electricity usage. which has never worked.
A pink wrap blanket. I think this might have been inherited from my late mother-in-law but I’ve never used it.
Keeping this pink tray that came with some flowers or something seemed like a good idea at the time but in fact we have rarely, if ever, used it.
The iomega drive has died, along with all our stored CDs and it is uneconomic to get it repaired, so out it goes.
There is an anonymous charger for an anonymous toothbrush.
And finally four empty jewellery boxes. I prefer full ones.They can go.