Once Upon a Time

Happy New Year! Let's Catch Our Post-Holiday Breath, and Catch Up!

Okay, now, let's finish off October, then we'll parse November and December, and slide gracefully into the new year, shall we?

October 21 - 31 is easy - ten days of poking through our Halloween stuff! Halloween used to be a big, big deal at our house, much-anticipated, with eager anticipation of the weirdness of wearing an alter-ego costume and walking house-to-house at night, receiving free candy, wow!

It's low-key now, just a sort of novelty holiday; not heart-stopping or giddy, not even scary, except for the price of that candy. So, it's time to downsize the holiday and its accompanying stuff, though we all continue to share a more mature appreciation of the excitement. . . and the candy!

Gone to a new home are:
Halloween tablecloth,
Halloween lights (orange!),
paper plates (grinning pumpkins),
paper napkins (more pumpkins with attitude),
paper cups (orange),
plastic treat bags & ties

and used up from previous years' stock, and not to be replenished (yay me, yay me) are:
paper goody bags
paper plates (haunted house theme)
paper napkins (black cats)
giant bagful of plastic giveaways (spider rings, bats, etc., etc.)

November, hoo boy, thirty days it hath, so let's get cracking:

1. - 8. Eight whisks, plastic bags, and mugs, bought last year, used up this year to make festive "We whisk you a Merry Christmas!" cocoa mix 'n' mug gifties for the church fair. Hmm, technically, 8 x 3 counts as 24 items, yes? Cool!
9. Off went a coat, appreciated but not beloved, to the coat drive. Hooray!
10. - 12. Time to go through the boxes of cold weather stuff! A review of mittens/gloves reveals three old pairs with finger holes. Not useful for shoveling snow; tossed!
13. - 15. Three brand new pairs can go to the coat drive, though. That's heart-warming!
16. Then there's a goofy looking hat. . . maybe it will appeal to someone, so away it goes, too.
17. - 25. Plastic containers, for Thanksgiving leftovers, for my mom, who is hosting the big meal - that equals nine T'day dinners for her to heat and enjoy, later, at her leisure - yum!
26. Thanksgiving-design paper napkins, purchased last year on discount. Stop the stockpiling!
27. Ditto for the attractive Thanksgiving paper plates, use them!
28. Cans of soup from our own pantry, donated to the food bank.
29. Boxes of cereal, too. It is shameful to hoard.
30. And also, extra toothbrushes - better to have them used up than cluttering the linen closet!

And now, may I introduce: December!

1. - 11. Eleven pipers piping? No, eleven unloved t-shirts! Ones I had been "saving" for the gym, or for sleeping in, or for, I don't know, re-roofing the house or rototilling the garden, two things I don't see myself doing, like, ever. How about if I go to the gym in clothes that reflect pride in my body; sleep in pretty, cozy, and sweet little nothings; and hire somebody to do that other stuff!
12. A partridge in a pear tree? Oh, one resin planter in the shape of a creepy turkey, which held a Thanksgiving ivy several years ago. It had a malevolent gleam in its painted eyes. . . plus, the ivy died.
13. - 15. Three turtledoves? Nah, three turtlenecks, because I'm coming to grips with the fact that I really don't have enough neck for a turtleneck. Ow!
16. - 17. Two ladies dancing, to continue the metaphor, painfully. . . a pair of handsome boots with a tendency to pinch my toes, and a cute pair of ballet flats that are just too narrow: donated to smaller feet.
18. Paper Christmas napkins - made to be used, not kept as collector's items, sheesh!
19. - 21. Three half-full/half-empty bottles of nail polish from I don't-remember-when.
22. Does using leftovers from the freezer count? I say, sure - so, thank you and goodbye to the last of our Thanksgiving ham ("Thanksgiving ham?!" you ask? Yes, it was a supplement to our Thanksgiving turkey - which is long gone!).
23. One roll of wrapping paper - from last year - used up. No new paper bought; we've switched to re-usable cloth and paper gift bags for the bulk (gulp) of our presents.
24. Cute Christmas tin from years gone by, filled anew with yummy treats and given away.
25. Half of a box of Christmas crackers (the snap, hat, joke, gifty type; not the cheese-and- type!), bought in 2007 - part of the festivities of our Christmas dinner!
26. - 28. Sock intervention! Three pairs with pokey toe holes, begone!
29. I'll claim in one big lump the gazillion magazines that I brought to the Public Library for resale. . . since I bought half-a-gazillion magazines, paperbacks, and hardcovers from the resale shop, while I was there!
30. Oh, dear, an unopened bottle of expired aspirin. When will this clutter headache end?
31. Gone with a bang: the other half of the box of Christmas crackers!

And, welcome to 2009 -

January 1: From the turn of the century, seriously: "Happy New Year!" paper napkins, three meals' worth, used and gone, baby, gone!

My new year's resolution continues to be - use, reuse, donate; reduce, refuse, and. . . blog! Happy 2009 to us all!

Love, LD