January cast-offs

I resolved at the beginning of January to try to get rid of something I no longer needed or would be better off without; I aimed to get rid of at least one thing a day, give away, reuse in another way, recycle, donate to a charity shop, and if there was no alternative put in the rubbish recycling and at a very last resort into the actual rubbish.

How did I do? I may not have managed one thing each day, but I did manage thirty-one items, of one sort or another:

1. favourite red dress and matching jacket which I’ll never wear again
2. cowboy hat, loved but never worn, and actually is a bit small (big head!!)
3. books, including some belonging to my uncle which I have no interest in and will never read
4. kitchen stuff, bowls, tools, other equipment
5. my aversion to making lists – haven’t quite got over that one, but I’m improving!
6. more kitchen stuff
7. playing fewer games… they do help me think and work out my stories, but I do waste too much time on them!
8. weight – back on the 5:2 diet
9. more books
10. CDs
11. costume jewellery I’ll never wear
12. my birthday – so casting off last year!
13. 5:2 day 2
14. cookery books and recipes from magazines which aren’t that interesting and I won’t ever cook
15. shiny boots – I love my shiny boots and they are so comfortable and I must have had them for over twenty years; they are a sort of mock lizard skin made from a patent looking material. They are so not fashionable that even I haven’t worn them for a long time. I am not throwing them away but I shall start to wear them as everyday boots for going into town etc.
16. my MA thesis… I’ll never read it again, nor will anyone else, I have the certificate, I don’t need those however many thousand words taking up space in a drawer
17. 5:2 day 3
18. old stories which really are rubbish – I can remember the plots and characters, so if I ever want to rewrite them I can… but I have so much else to write!
19. three old nighties… I love them, so soft, so cosy, so threadbare! They have to go! I have been bought a lovely new nighty so the old ones have to go! (into the fabric recycling, too old for any use other than polishing cloths!)
20. drinking alcohol as often but drinking other things more often
21. 5:2 day 4
22. old birthday cards from people I barely remember, and other old cards I’ve kept because I liked the picture, but now I seem to be just keeping for the sake of it
23. poetry books… yes, I know for a book lover that is almost sacrilegious but some of these books I think I had just as part of my collection, I never intended to read them it was just so I had a wide selection of poetry books sitting on my shelf!
24. old underwear… how can I be sentimental about old underwear! Good grief – chuck it straight into the fabric recycling bin!
25. half-used note books – from being at junior school, at the end of the year we had to pull unused pages from our exercise books and keep them as scrap paper – we were encouraged not to waste anything. It was so drummed into me that when I was a teacher I had drawers and drawers of pages pulled from old exercise books and half-used note-pads… and I do at home. it’s ridiculous! I’m never going to use all that amount of spare paper! So out they go, into the recycling!
26. This maybe slightly cheating, but it is still getting rid of stuff… I am working our way through all the mysterious boxes of food in the freezer; every box and bag had a label on, but somehow they have come adrift.  The other day we had beetroot soup, the day before we had squash soup. Yesterday, as I mentioned we had vegetable soup, pasta and chorizo in a tomato sauce and meatballs and new potatoes; sitting defrosting tonight is some beef stew, some spinach, some beans, something purple and something red.
27. old cutlery; our kitchen drawer is full of old cutlery… well, it was… out it went
28. old photos – actual ones and digital ones
29. old towels… many in good condition, but we really don’t need so many; last year I wrote about eight good bath and large towels went missing – after using hand towels for a few weeks I got fed up and bought new ones… and of course the old ones turned up!
30. Why have I got three copies of Hot Fuzz? My favourite film but I don’t need three copies!
31. not casting off but taking on – is that allowed, well, I guess if it is casting off idleness then yes – so last day of January, I’ve signed up to the 750 word challenge – writing 750 words for the month of February… If I can do the National Novel Writing Month challenge of 50,000 in November I can manage half of that, 21,500 words!

Will I be able to get rid of twenty-nine things in February? I think the challenge is going to get harder… not sure I will even make the spring equinox, let alone December 31st!