Week 52: Continued with Freecycle

I wasn't able to get rid of 10 items, but I wanted to again highlight Freecycle of Champaign-Urbana.  You do have to join before you can use it, but that's easy.  Once you're in, you post a message like this:

OFFER in SE Urbana: Pillows, Tree lights, Car Air Filter, etc.

2 Standard pillows made of down
3 strings of tree lights with alternating blue and white lights
Car air filter CA4309
Wok scrubber made of bamboo
All from pet free and smoke free home

It will send an e-mail out to members.  Those interested in your stuff will e-mail you to arrange for pick up.  Usually, I just leave my stuff on the front steps soon before I know someone will arrive.  I posted this yesterday around noon and it was picked up before 4pm.  Piece of cake for #262-265 and closing out a year of PURGE!

Week 52: A Change of Plans

As soon as a pulled into the driveway and saw the "OPEN" sign unlit, I knew that my plan for this past month to PURGE to my 4 favorite organizations around CU was foiled. All Things Kids was closed for the holiday season so employees could spend time with their families, according to another posted sign.

Understandable. But still I felt let down. 

To the "T" I followed the directions they laid out in their e-mail, facebook page and website: all consignors were allowed to bring only the 30 best of their clothes during the month of Decemeber.  I carefully picked out some of the items I was sure they'd accept.  Lately I've been feeling a little rejected by the amount of my stuff they've been turning away.  On December 27th, those feelings of rejection were replaced by betrayal.

Why hadn't they posted on fb that they were going to be closed?  No e-mail either!  Some forewarning would have been appreciated considering they'd be closed for a whole week!

When I got home I realized that they had posted to fb. Twice.  And on their website (though I never check that). Whoops! It was my fault. I felt so guilty. 

Like last January and February when I was getting really ticked at the MTD because anytime I rode a bus, I would get nauseous. On top of feeling frustrated with the circumstances that made it a necessity for me to ride the bus, I was angry at the drivers for their hard braking, making me sick to my stomach.  I was jealous of people who could productively read while in this cage and all I could do was squeeze my eyes closed and hope I wouldn't vomit.  Turns out it wasn't the fault of the MTD, but I was pregnant.  Whoops!  Luckily all my angst was bottled up inside or else I would have had to write a very apologetic letter to them.

Anyway, in the bind of not being able to PURGE to ATK, my back up plan was to donate to Empty Tomb again.  Perhaps this is more fitting as it is my favorite place to PURGE. I was able to get rid of #255 a pair of Maternity Pants, #256 7 Maternity Shirts , #257 a jacket, #258 a Suede Jacket, #259 a sweater, #260 a pair of pants, and #261 15 pairs of baby socks. 

Perhaps I could have gotten some money for the maternity clothes or baby socks, but with PURGE the main point is to just get it out of the house.  I'm happy just  know that it will be used again and for the time being stay out of a landfill.

Who's "Purge?"

Me: Hold on, let me just put this on the front steps for PURGE
Bean: Who's "Purge?"

Week 51: The I.D.E.A. Store

Look at all that JUNK!  This is the kid of stuff that ends up 1) in your junk drawer, 2) at the bottom of your kid's toy box, 3) in the back of your pantry until 4) you throw it away.  

No MORE!

Take your little reusable items of metal, plastic and paper to The I.D.E.A. Store.  It's on Springfield, just East of Neil, so you probably pass by all the time and drop off is easy.  Check out this list of stuff they accept, because you likely have several items they take.

Here are some items we collect regularly (#245-254):

Metal Bottle Caps

Metal boxes and tins from Altoids, cookies, candy

Plastic Tab Closures from food bags

Plastic Toys no larger than 2"x2"

Toy Parts

Wooden Crates from Clementines

Brown Paper Grocery bags 

Shoeboxes

Sleeves from hot drinks

Paint Sample Chips

My junk draw is now the collection spot for this stuff.  When I open a bottle of beer, the cap goes in there.  When I finish a loaf of bread, the plastic tab goes in there. When a cheap small toy breaks, it goes in there.  After a couple weeks, I make a run to the I.D.E.A Store where it will be sold to support the work of the Champaign-Urbana School Foundation and the Champaign-Urbana Public Schools.  

I love PURGing for a good cause and keeping my crap out of landfills!

Week 50: Goodwill

I had a great idea to end PURGE with a bang and try to get rid of 10 items and donate them to some of my favorite organizations around Champaign-Urbana.  Mei Mei kicked it off last week with 10 of her clothes to Empty Tomb.  This week we brought the 10 items to the left to Goodwill. 

Bean snagged #233 surf board from the Clean Water Garage Sale, during the buck-a-bag deal.  #324 The album used to hold pics of my flower arrangements, but I have no sentimental attachment to them. #235 The water bottle is from my college dancing days, but as you know, I have a fear of drinking from plastic now. #236 The incense sticks have been in the basement and I've owned them since junior high. I can't remember when I got #237 the globe candle, probably high school when I was in to black-light responsive stuff.  There's #238 a small pin just below that that says "Diva" from when I bought my DivaCup.  #239 The red shot glass was definitely from college when we got a gift set of Tuaca.  I dunno when/where I got #240 the journal from.  I think #241 the phone was my dad's from when he and my mom separated.  And #242 the blue box was given to my from a garage sale where I bought a bunch of diapers.

I also purged #243 a 5-pack of pink Christmas ball ornaments as well as #244 several santa ones.  I took pics, but then accidentally deleted them off my computer.  Bleh.  That's bonus for thr 10+ PURGE this week.

Week 49: Mei Mei's contribution

With Bean, my firstborn, every time he outgrew an outfit I got sad about how he was growing up and how he'd never wear it again.  I might have even shed a tear, or two, or three. 

With Mei Mei, things are a little different.  I've grown to savor every minute of each day, treasuring it because I know she will never be that many days old again. And each day that passes brings new experiences we share and new skills she learns.  I'm excited about her potential for growth the the possibilities of her future.

I see her outgrown clothes with different eyes too. I'm not bummed that she is no longer tiny enough to fit in them, I'm excited about the opportunity to clothe another cute newborn with those same clothes, likely a newborn that is born into a family that is not as financially blessed as we are. 

So it is with a happy heart that on behalf of Maewyn, I donated these #323-#232 10 newborn clothes to Empty Tomb.  We've been having horribly cold weather, so I'm hoping these onesies and undershirts will keep a baby warm.  We've been so blessed with so mnay clothes for her from friends, it's a joy to give some away to those in need.

Week 48: Random Kids Stuff

This is from a really long time ago (probably two months), but I never got around to posting about it.  I guess that's what happens when you have 3 kiddos! All Things Kids accepted #315-317 all that is pictured to the left, #318 the blue striped shirt to the right, and also a knit sweater (not pictured).

All that is below: #319 that Turkey Outfit went to a friend and #320 the blue and brown striped one underneath it went to another. #321 Shoes and #322 Clothes went to Empty Tomb.

Week 47: Bathroom Makeover

On Bo's paternity leave after Mei Mei was born, he took it upon himself to give our downstairs bathroom a makeover. Fabulous idea, if you ask me.  Part of the reason we are PURGing is so that when we move from this place, there's less junk to throw away because we don't want to move it and don't have time to deal with it.  Instead we PURGE slowly and find good homes for all our junk.  Our eventual move from here means first selling this place, which means sprucing it up.

And did he! Not only did Bo paint, but he also replaced all the fixtures too. So now instead of chrome like we have in each of the other bathrooms, the downstairs bathroom is outfitted with brushed nickel.  Our original fixtures (#309 Towel Rack, #310 Light fixture, #311Toilet paper holder, #313 Faucet) plus a #314 wall decoration went to Habitat for Humanity Restore.  They take all sorts of household stuff.

These are just the types of things that would end up in the basement, attic or garage. They still have many great years of use, so why not hang in to it.  Trust me, you'll never use it.  Save yourself the time and get rid of it now!  Bring it to place that can use it right away and you save it from going into a landfill too!

Week 46: Similac Sharing

The hospital gave us a bunch of free Similac stuff when Mei Mei was born, but we likely won't use because I'll exclusively breastfeed.  A friend of mine who had a baby 2 days after I did requested all of it.  So I gave Lisa #304 4 bottles Similac, #305 4 Nipples, #306 2 canisters of dry formula, #307 3 Coupons and #308 a cute gift bag (gotta count everything that leaves the house!).  It feels great to help a fellow mom!  I know I'll keep getting stuff from Similac in the mail and the rest will go to Lisa and her baby.

Week 45: Coats for Kids Drive

My kids' children's ministry at church are sponsoring a Coats for Kids drive to benefit Empty Tomb.  Actually, they are collecting all types of winter outer wear: coats, hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, etc.  So, when I went through our tub of stuff from last year, I found some extras that we won't use.

My mom loves to crochet scarves, so my boys picked the bright blue ones located in the middle row and we donated the rest of #299 Baby hat (Mei Mei already has too many) and #300 6 hand-made scarves.

If you'd like to donate, I'll be collecting them for ET even after the drive at church is over, so just post a comment or contact me directly.

I also made a drop to Empty Tomb myself after taking another look at my closet and PURGing some stuff that I thought a mom of 3 shouldn't wear.  At the top is #301 some lounge wear that says bride '04.  Yep, that was me over 6 years ago.  The drawstring waist doesn't quite hold up to my newly shaped waist and the hoodie is a little bleached on the cuffs.  In the middle are #302 hospital socks.  Really no one should wear these outside of the hospital, but what a waste to throw them away.  The 4 long sleeve shirts #303 were all too short and too tight.  Granted, I tried them on right after I gave birth, so that's understandable. But I'd like my clothes to be flexible enough that if I gain a few pounds the still fit alright.

There are several more tops that fit this description, so I'll go through them slowly.  I'm finding it so much easier to PURGE but not as easy to buy clothes for myself.  I hope I don't run out of clothes soon!

The Challenge to Live Simply with a New Addition

My daughter, Mei, was born in the middle October, and I've been maternity leave from PURGE since then.  Hee-hee.  J/K.  I've still been setting aside items to get rid of, but just haven't quite gotten them out of the house yet. 

With our new addition to the family comes a LOT of things in the house that will eventually need to be PURGEd again: clothes, play gym, co-sleeper, carseat, etc.  In fact, part of what is already set aside to PURGE soon is some of her freebies from the hospital and stuff she's already outgrown.  

Despite all the stuff that coming into the house for our baby girl, we're still committed to living simply.  We've bought very few things brand new for her if any.  We got a lot of hand-me-downs from friends and freebies from freecycle, which got us mostly covered.  The few things that I did buy, I got from consignment, garage sales and craigslist.  Getting used items instead of buying them new helps lessen our impact on the environment.

We still need a crib mattress and  we prefer to not get a used one, so we are looking into new organic ones.  Too bad all are several hundred dollars (eeep!), which is why we still haven't gotten one yet.  We've got our eye on the Pebble Mattress by Nook.  It would last her for years and should also last for her kids.  Now if that's not green, I dunno what it.  But is that worth $500 green ones?  I love this dad's review of it, especially when he calls it "nanorganic!"

Professional Clothing Drive

It starts tomorrow and run this week with multiple drop off locations benefiting the Center for Women in Transition and the Salvation Army.  See here for details.

Week 44: Stuff That's Been Around WAAAAY Too Long

I wouldn't characterize Bo and I as hoarders, but there are a few items, especially in the basement, that needed to go long ago.

For example, #294 5 Cans of Expired Soup - I can't even remember what recipe I had that called for broccoli cheese soup, but the cream of mushroom was for a Beef Stroganoff recipe.  At some point I swore off "cream of whatever" soups, and at that point should have donated these to someplace who could have used them.  Instead, this week I cut the labels off to donate to Red Bird Mission, as I have done in the past.  Then I opened each one up to wash it out and recycle the can.  What a waste! Surprisingly, the soups looked and smelled just the same as brand new cans of soup.  You decide if that is good or bad.
UPDATE: After I posted this, the Eastern Illinois Foodbank tweeted me: "FYI, food past date doesn't always mean we can't use it. Bring it by and if it's unusable, we'll toss."

On that same food rack in the basement (our pantry is small so we store extras downstairs), I found #295 Several Other Non-perishable Foods that were not expired (sounds like an oxymoron) and that we'll likely not use.  The Jello-Os were actually in the pantry, but still hadn't been touched in years.  The rice was for making homemade rice pudding (yeah, right!, well at least not anytime soon).  The pasta is not tasty compared to our fave: Barilla.  And the tomatoes won't get used cuz we rarely cook with them anyway, and if so we'll get fresh or jarred.  These got dropped off at County Market for The Food for Families Drive of Eastern Illinois Foodbank.  FYI, the foodbank can do a LOT more with monetary donations, so if you wanna support them, give moolah, but if you're not gonna use something in your pantry, give it to them instead of tossing it, like I shamefully did with the soups.

Also in the basement, and it has been not only since we moved but since I came here for college 12 YEARS AGO, #296 a Bunch of Used Candles and Wax.  In high school, I was crafty (not at all like I am now), and used to make candles as a hobby and give them to people too.  I have not made a single candle in at least 12 years.  It will also be a while before Bean and Monkey are old enough to help with that.    I thought the I.D.E.A store would take it, but they only take unused bricks of wax. I tried to Freecycle it, but no takers. Would this be the first time since I started PURGE in January that I'd need to throw something away?  Nope! Yesterday, I posted it for Free in the arts and crafts section of Craig's List and some picked it up today!  That was a close call :)

We've also owned this #297 Full-Size Mattress and #298 Full Size Box Spring for over a decade.  Bo had it before we met and he thinks it was his brother's.  I've had it since 2001 when I moved into an unfinished apartment, then it became "ours" again when we moved into our current house and it's been in the guest room.  Bean decided it was his (as was the guest room) soon before Monkey was born, which worked out well cuz we needed him out of the crib/toddler bed and out of the nursery.  So yeah, it's old but it's served us well for a while, especially as Bean's bed for the past 3 years or so..that is until he puked on it a couple days ago. Luckily 2 mattress pads saved it from bad damage, but it still got stained, and we've been looking for an excuse to get Bean a new bed.  So out to the front porch it went while I posted it to Freecycle yesterday.  I was really hoping to not have to chuck it because even Bean was wondering "Someone wants my bed with my throw-up on it?"  Yes.  It also got picked up today too :) YAY!

Week 43 PURGE: Summer Wardrobe

Apparently, PURGE has really helped us pare down the closet.  

Recently, when I dropped off some stuff at Empty Tomb their sign said they officially be collecting fall and winter clothes on October 1st.  That inspired me to take a look at our closet and see if there was any summer clothes that we wanted to get rid of before the end of September.

There was not much to give away!  We are finally at a point where we are actually wearing almost all of the clothes in our closet on a regular basis. :)

Granted, I've been pregnant this summer, so there were several things that I didn't wear by virtue of that.  Still, I found a couple tops that I was pretty sure I could part with for one of the following reasons:

1) It looked too "young."  A mom of 3 should be wearing it. (#287 Black T-shirt with glittery turtle)

2) It was cut to short.  With my body changing, even at the same weight, I'm wider, so shorter tops are exposing my tummy.  Not cool. (#288 Green T-shirt)

3) It hung too low.  I hate bending over to reach something fearing that I'm exposing myself to the world. (#289 Creamy yellow short-sleeve shirt)

Bo got rid of #290 2 polyester v-neck T-shirts.  He was convinced when I told him that there was dust on the exposed parts of the hangers because he hadn't worn them in so long.  He also parted with #291 a slithery button down shirt, which I know he hasn't worn in a while.  He said that sometimes when he picks the kids up, the slithery-ness makes the buttons undo themselves.  Not like I have a problem with that...but others likely do ;)

Lastly the T-shirt on top is #292 Bean's famous manatee shirt.  It's so hideous, but I convinced him it was cool by telling all my friends to compliment him on it.  I got it from All Things Kids for 50 cents.  It lasted the summer, but then the stuffed manatee that's sewn to the front (no, I'm not kidding) started falling off.  

In addition to the clothes, I donated #293 two water jugs.  With the baby being due soon, I know I'll get another one from the hospital.  Still, I prefer my stainless steel Kleen Kanteen, so I'll probably donate that other water jug too. 

SNAP Hunger Challenge: Day 2-4 Reflections

Not eating free food at work is hitting Bo pretty hard.  At first it was just candy and cookies that he couldn't touch, but today his employer provided Papa John's Pizza for everybody.  Well, everybody except him; he had to graciously decline.  It did give him a chance to share about the Hunger Challenge and for that I'm so proud of him.  Still, he's frustrated.  To make matters worse, tomorrow is Friday, when all his co-workers always to out to eat together and he will have to stay at work and eat what he's packed.  He's not thrilled about that. He wonders if the SNAP challenge is extra hard because he's not surrounded by other people in the same boat, experiencing the same struggles.  Though this is a simulation, I'm sure that are real people who experience this real isolation on a daily basis.  No one should have to face this.

For me, I thought the hard part would be not going out for lunch most everyday, but that part is not so bad.  The worse is not enjoying the frills.  I like freshly grated parmigiano reggiano on my pasta.  No can do on a SNAP budget.  I've been trying to prioritize healthy, fresh, local foods if I can, which leaves little money for treats.  It makes be feel guilty about spending money on a sweet treat when I could be filling my and my family's tummies with something more nutritious.  So I made Jello and have rationed that for the week with a loss of only 50 cents.  

On a happy note, I've fallen even more in love with squash soup than I was before.  I made organic butternut squash soup for about $5.60 (not including the cost of dry spices) and it was enough for two dinners for my kids, 1 dinner for each of us adults, and one lunch for me.  Because my kids love it so much we'd already been eating it about once week, but I"m even more convinced that it needs to be a staple in our dinner rotation.  Though next year, we're growing our own squash, so we can save even more money.  

I hope that my next post will be a compilation of ideas that have come from this enlightening experience.  I won't lie, I can't wait for this challenge to be over, but much good has already come of it.

SNAP Hunger Challenge: Day 1 Reflections

This is hard. Not so much the feeling full part, but feeling satisfied. I'm also probably eating too much, but we've decided to not fixate too much on keeping track of every cent, but being very aware of being as frugal as we can.

PB and Pekara is good - The peanut butter sandwich for lunch was delish and filling. Even Bo only used one slice of honey wheat bread from Pekara because it's pretty large and dense (4.59 for a loaf). I may be sold on bulk peanut butter from the Co-op too ($4.49 a lb).

Living without the frills is the biggest challenge - Poor Bozie managed to survive without his free Starbucks coffee from work, which has apparently become a staple for him over the past couple months. He was also bummed to have to turn down homemade baked goods that coworker brought to the office and as well as candy on someone's desk. I had the same issue with the candy. It kinda helped that it was Dove chocolate, and I could not rationalize how someone on SNAP would have free access to that. At dinner, I also skipped on the freshly grated REAL parmigiano reeggiano that usually makes my pasta look like a blizzard swept over it. THAT was hard.

I know we definitely broke the bank - The apples we got cost about 70 cents each. Yikes! But it fairly satisfied the sweet craving that hit me in late afternoon. In general, my philosophy is that if it's healthy, especially local and organic, it shouldn't matter what it costs, just get it into my body or the kids' bodies. It's also important to us that we expose our kids to a variety of foods like mangoes, plantains, and kiwis. True story, last week when Bo took care of the boys while I had an evening meeting, they all went on a special trip to the grocery store and picked out coconuts to bust a hole in, drink the milk, then whack open and eat the flesh. This is their daddy-son bonding activity, but costs over $2 per coconut. Wouldn't you rather our kids being doing this than snacking on unhealthy food? It's too bad that some healthy food, even a simple apple, can be a luxury.

All of a sudden that box of Jello that has been gathering dust in my pantry for 4 years looks good - That afternoon sweet craving lasted into the evening. So I made Jello. Not my preference, but it was the cheapest option we had on hand. I'm looking forward to Saturday because also in my pantry are 2 Reuben's chocolates. At $1.60 a pop, they are totally not doable on a SNAP budget.

We're not really doing it with the kids, but kinda - They still have their Kashi cereal each morning (to the tune of almost $4 a box and their whole milk from Kilgus farm to the tune of $4.49/gallon). This is their thing, so we left it alone, but I did skimp on them. They get food at school, so that we don't count. At dinner they each had an egg, while they usually have 2. I might have caved and gave them more, but that was all we had in the fridge. 1/2 slice of Pekara honey wheat bread was good for Monkey, but Bean asked for another 1/2 after his first 1/2, so I obliged. They also had a banana and yogurt smoothie. No veggies, but we'll make up for it tonight with squash soup. They weren't hungry after dinner, I don't think, but I know they usually eat more. Each of them can eat 3 slices of pizza and it's not because they're big boys. They're only 2 and 4 years old and each of them are in he 30th percentiles for their heights and weights. I can't imagine only being able to spend $4.50 a day on a teenage sons!

SNAP Hunger Challenge: Day 1 Breakfast

Breakfast:

Cream of Wheat made with:

1 c Milk (Kilgus Farm Whole Milk from the Food Co-Op)

3 T Cream of Wheat

Reactions: Very satisfied and full. This is comfort food for me. I think I could eat plain Cream of Wheat like this pretty much every day, but we'll see after a week. Milk, however, is a "must" or else this would be gross. It could be made even healthier with mix-in of fruit or nuts, but I can't complain about getting nearly half my daily value of iron in one sitting, which is important while being pregnant. So far so good.

Week 42 PURGE: The I.D.E.A. Store Continued

Well it turned out that The I.D.E.A. Store was interested in ALL the items I packed in this sack that I wasn't sure about. Besides the little toys, none were specifically listed, but I thought I'd give it a shot. One September 30th, you can be the proud owners of any of the following:

#281 Edges to foam play mats - I gave the mats to church, but they don't use these parts

#282 Paint stirrers - These were a freecycle find, but I only needed a couple

#283 Glass Brick - I got as a momento

#284 Misc little toys (in circular container)- random knick knacks from the basement

#285 Plastic lids to baby bottles (in orange shoe box) - I gave away the bottles and forgot to include these

And last but not least the 2 finds that started began this whole PURGE to The I.D.E.A. Store:

#286 Colorful Toothpicks and #287 Twist-ties - both of which were scattered along the bottom of our kitch junk draw.

After I dropped off my donation, I also got to look around the store, and it's incredible. At this point my limited artistic ability renders me mostly interested in the bulk markers and crayons, which were really cheap, but I'll go explore with the kids sometime and I'm sure we'll have fun. I also got more ideas of things to purge including those wooden crates that clementines come in and the metal tins for cookies and such. I'm going to start seeing junk in a whole new light. I dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing...

Week 41 PURGE - The I.D.E.A. Store

It all started Sunday night when I bravely decided to attack the junk drawer in the kitchen. One word: "scary"...there was a Daily Illini, in there from December 2002.

It was motivating to expect that basically everything in there could be PURGEd because we hadn't opened the drawer in months *cough* years *cough* except for recently when Bo was looking for a spare car key, which by the way, wasn't in there.

Armed with the confidence that when I was done I'd have a whole drawer of reclaimed space, I started to PURGE and managed to salvage several candle sticks and put into separate sandwich baggies a bunch of colorful toothpicks, a handful of twist-ties and a couple dozen aluminum can pull tabs.

I thought someone might be able to use them for something, so I tweeted about it. Gotta love social media because chambanamoms almost immediately replied that The I.D.E.A. Store might take them.

Haven't heard of them? Neither had I, but it's my favorite combination of being able to PURGE and help a good cause, in this case, the Champaign-Urbana Schools Foundation and the Champaign-Urbana Public Schools. Plus, for those of you who are creative, this seems like the Mecca of craft supplies!

Here's a list of what they take. Unfortunately in my excitement of PURGing, I had already trashed some fun stuff they could have used like old keys, key chains, string, and some straws, just minutes before I had heard about this place :( Luckily this list inspired me to scour the rest of the house, especially the basement, to find more stuff to donate. Here's what I found:

#274 5 Shoe boxes (one is buried)

#275 9 Advertising Magnets

#276 6 Brown Paper Sacks

#274 18 Paint Chips (in the plastic rectangle box)

#275 1/2 Bag of Rafia

#276 Foam Egg Carton

#277 Straws

#278 Altoid Container (cinnamon, yum!)

#279 Wrapping Paper

#280 Quilted Fabric Scrap

Until they open on Sept 30th, they are taking donations on Fridays from 4-7, so I plan to drop these off tomorrow. I also have a sack of stuff I'm not sure if they'll accept but we'll see and I'll report that for Week 42.

I'm not one for being crafty, but at their prices and knowing that I'm not wasting money on new products and also not having to clutter my house with supplies, this may be just the perfect thing to get me to do more art with the kids. When we're in the mood to create, we can just head to The I.D.E.A Store and buy what we need then and there!

Week 40 PURGE - More to Empty Tomb

I feel like it's been a while since I've PURGEd to my favorite (cuz I believe in their mission and also cuz they are close to my work, making donating easy) local charity: Empty Tomb. So they are the happy recipients of this week's PURGE.

#270 2 girls T-shirts that I got from a freecycler for Mei Mei - The are ever so slightly off-white but I didn't think I could whiten them without ruining the design.

#271 One of Bean's shirts that he made in the fall of 2007 - He just grew out of it now. Considering it's slightly stained and has his name on it, I knew there was no use in attempting to consign it.

#272 A shirt of mine from my church's children's ministry - A bunch of kids signed it and they're all grown up now, plus it's also a little discolored. I shouldn't wear it anymore.

#273 2 plastic cups - I've had these since high school. They are very fun, but I'm paranoid to drink out of plastic anymore.

#273 Fleece Blanket of Monkey's from when he was a wee babe - We just have too many blankets. We got so many compliments on this, I hope someone else can love as much as we have.

Just FYI, Empty Tomb will start taking fall and winter clothes starting on October 1st. I can't wait! I already have some stuff set aside to PURGE ;)

Another Challenge: SNAP Hunger Challenge 2010

Easy Cheese, Vienna Sausages, Ramen Noodles. I refuse to eat these things. Unfortunately, one may not have much of a choice when surviving on $4.50 a day, the average SNAP benefit (formerly known as food stamps) in Illinois.

Last week, Bo and I made the hard decision to take the SNAP Hunger Challenge 2010, which means that we have a budget of $126 our family of four for the week of September 19th-25th.

*GASP* No going out for lunch for the entire week! That's my daily weekday getaway during my lunch hour with a plethora of options on Green St. At least as far as the kids go, we almost never take them out to eat except we've started taking them on Friday nights as a new tradition. I think they can manage one week without that, especially if we make an activity of cooking together.

It will also be harder for us to keep our food local and organic, which we've been really trying to do recently. Will we be able to afford our Kilgus Farm milk or our eggs from T&S or Moore's? I think I'll be ok with just even just having healthy options like fresh produce and whole grain bread. I'm afraid that if we buy those we might only have enough budget left for unhealthy processed food product, or even worse, that we'll run out of food. 84% of Feeding Illinois clients report that over the previous 12 months they have been in a situation where the food they bought just didn’t last and they did not have money to get more.

What do you say to your kids when they tell you they are still hungry and you have nothing more to feed them?

I can tell already that this challenge won't be nearly as fun or therapeutic as PURGE, but I have no doubt that it will be an eye-opener for us. Care to join us?

Garage Sale PURGE - Christmas Stuff (Wk39)

Looking through my camera today, I realized that I had one more group of items that I PURGEd for the Clean Water Garage Sale but forgot to document on this blog.

Behold, my Christmas junk:

#264 - Hand towels - the cardinal set, the teddy bear set, and the two mini ones in the middle were both really soft, and I hated to see them go.

#265 - 6 Pink Ball Ornaments - These we got when we first got our tree to be fillers, but now we have enough ornaments with meaning.

#266 - 6 Mini Ornaments - Just got these last year as a gift and we don't need them.

#267 - Pair of Ugly Ornaments with faces on them (one tree, one pine cone. ewww). White Elephant gift.

#267 - Candles - These are cute, but again, just trying to streamline.

#268 - Stuffed Bear - I've have this since 2nd or 3rd grade from my best friend. I've put it out each year since then. It holds a special place in my heart. But I have a pic of it and that'll due.

#269 - Snowmen decorations - These are kinda cute too. I like things that match but are not exact duplicates, but they are not exactly the look I'm going for.

Last Christmas I set these aside in the basement to be donated before this holiday season to Goodwill or something like that. I'm glad I didn't have to wait that long! I know for a fact that many of these sold at the garage sale, so that's a bonus too.

Ugh, I really need to find this pic today. It's been harder to PURGE as I get closer to my due date because there is so many other things on my mind and to prepare for. And at the same time I'm refilling my house with more stuff for the baby. I'm hoping that in the coming weeks I can get a little farther ahead because I have no idea how PURGE will go when my baby girl gets here.

Week 38 PURGE- Paper to be Shredded

This morning Monkey and I made a fun trip to the University of Illinois Employees Credit Union. Nope, not for banking. For PURGing!

As mentioned in a previous post, the UIECU periodically hosts a shred event for confidential documents. So this week, I cleaned out our file cabinet of archived #262 bills and PURGEd anything over a year old. I also had a box of #263 confidential documents related to graduate school which made up the bulk of this box.

Thankfully Bo helped by loading it into our trunk. I'm pretty sure this box was the second heaviest PURGE item (the heaviest being a tub of textbooks). And then luckily two friendly UIECU staff unloaded it from the trunk to the large semi truck-shredder machine. There wasn't even a wait!

Despite this being a fairly simple PURGE project, I learned a lot. I've already requested that my bank bills be sent electronically. I plan to do that with more financial statements so there's less I'll have to shred and recycle.

PURGE is helping me realize the small ways that I can reduce what comes into our house, so there's less to PURGE later. What a fun and insightful challenge for the year!

What do your rooms look like?

Check out the Clutter Image Rating that I found. It is used to assess if a person has a hoarding problem.

For us, our bedroom is a 1. We've gotten good about making this our getaway retreat spot. Only our nightstands have some clutter on them.

Our living room is between a 1 and a 2, but much closer to 1. I have a a couple small piles of books that I want to PURGE, but haven't yet. We don't have anything on the couches that would prevent people from sitting.

Our kitchen is a solid 2. We don't have anything on the floor, but the counters are currently covered with dirty dishes and the kitchen table has an assortment of papers on it. I LOATHE cleaning the kitchen, so the counters and table issue is a more-often-than-not type of situation.

They should have one for your vehicle. Both of ours would be like about a 4 today and 2 to 3 in general.

So, walking through your house RIGHT NOW, no cheating, pick the numbers that describe your bedroom, living room, then kitchen. Be honest!

Week 37 PURGE - College Textbooks

Another school year has begun! While U of I students are buying their textbooks for the next semester of higher education, I got to PURGing mine.

I'd like to think that all the important stuff I learned in college and grad school is still stored in my head. So my "library" of textbooks (really just an unorganized pile on the floor of my basement) is doing nothing but providing hiding places for spiders and crickets.

Remember I mentioned that the Urbana Free Library collects books to sell for a fundraiser? This gave me extra motivation to donate my books soon because the next sale starts tomorrow and runs through this weekend during the 35th Urbana Sweet Corn Festival.

With an imaginary deadline (not a real deadline because they take books all year round) to work towards, I headed to the basement and dusted off over 25 books (#237- #261) from mostly my college years. My grad school books I plan to give away to friends and students of mine.

I contemplated selling them to earn some extra cash, but convinced myself otherwise after thinking about the hassle of looking up each book's info, posting them online or elsewhere and dealing with people who may or may not be interested in buying then. Kudos to you who can both PURGE and sell stuff for some extra cash! Maybe someday I'll have the patience to do that too. For now, I was happy enough that they were PURGEd and will likely get reused, not recycled, or worse, trashed.

And many thanks to my hubby for his help with this week's PURGE. Books have been by far the heaviest thing we've PURGEd and he did all the heavy lifting to get these out of the house and to the library. Gotta love a man who loves to PURGE!

Week 36 PURGE - Toiletries

In the past I have Freecycled toiletries, but thanks to friend, fellow blogger, and PURGEr, I know now how to donate them to a good cause.

Local charity, Empty Tomb, collects new and barely used cosmetics such as lotions, perfumes, make-up, etc. and assembles them into gift baskets. At Christmas, children from families of limited financial resources gift baskets for their parents. How sweet it that?

I was motivated to PURGE my bathroom drawers and under my sink and this is what I found.

#227 1 Full-size Conditioner

#228 2 full-size Face Washes

#229 2 Travel-size toothpastes

#230 1 Tube of Acne Medication

#231 1 Body Mist

#232 2 Travel-Size Conditioners

#233 1 Travel-Size Shampoo

#234 3 Trial-Size Body Lotions

#235 1 Travel-Size Soap

#236 2 Trial Size Eye Creams

You too can bring your donations to Empty Tomb at 301 N. 4th St. in Champaign on Monday through Saturday from 9:ooam to 12:30pm or 2:15pm to 5:00pm. The drop off door is on the north side of the building; just ring the doorbell. You'll love the feeling of less clutter and knowing that your donation helped a child give a beautiful gift to a parent this upcoming holiday season.

Week 35 PURGE - to Friends

PURGING can be hard enough, but to keep things out of landfills when you are PURGING can be even more challenging.

It will take a little extra work, but finding a new home for your stuff (as opposed to the trash) is well worth it. This week I PURGEd specifically to people I knew and it left me with a positive feeling that I was helping them out a bit too, in addition to all the usual perks of PURGE.

#219 Parenting Magazines - went to my friend Cyndi. This is the same Cyndi who received several of these during Week 3. She's a preschool teacher and uses them in her classroom for

arts and crafts.

#220 Size 12-18 Month Tops and #221 Pajama Sets - This went to a friend, Declan, who was the recipient of some of Monkey's clothes in the past, such as in Week 4. Several things I gave him were returned, so I don't count them as an actual PURGE, but Declan's mommy told me that he's in this size now and his growth has slowed, so he should be able to make use of Monkey's clothes this time. I can't wait to see him in these!

#222 Size 9-12 month boys's winter coat, #223 Tops, #224 Pants, and #225 Pajama Sets - Jay, the recipient of the 0-3 pants from Week 4 and the baby food from Week 19, got this lot. His mom my told me on the phone that they LOVE hand-me-downs and he just started wearing this size. Hope they still fit him when it starts to cool down.

#226 Stickers - I just got these from my mother-in-law last week, so it hardly seems like a PURGE, but we also got a small tub of stickers from her too and we're keeping those. Because this was basically new and in the box, I thought it would be best to let someone else have fun with them. I'm thinking that our children's ministry can use them for prizes or rewards or something. (no pic, got rid of it too fast).

All of this stuff I just brought with me to church and handed it out like it was Christmas in August ;)

You probably know people who could use some of your stuff more than you. It just takes asking around, but it's a great opportunity to help out a friend. Give it a try, you'll like it, as you know you're helping them with something they need and not just adding to their clutter.

Last of Garage Sale PURGE (Wk34)

The first Clean Water Garage Sale of 2010 created a lot of momentum. I was inspired to clean out even more for Part 2. I just forgot to document it until now.

#211 Wireless Router. We got a new one a couple in between the two garage sales. SOLD!

#212 Bag of Rags - These have been on the floor of my closet for months. We've done fine without them during that time. SOLD!

#213 Boppy Pillow. We now have 2 and no one I knew needed this one. SOLD!

#214 Bag - I used this a lot this year, but I got a new one. I can't remember if it sold, but if it got donated to a local charity, I know someone will make soog use of it. It's nice looking and in great condition.

#215 Photo Album Book - This was made of phthalates, so I didn't want my kids to play with it much. SOLD!
#216 Box of 12-month Boys Summer Clothes and #217 Blankets - Monkey still was wearing these, but he can fit in the next size up too, so I thought I'd PURGE these while they were in season. SOLD!

#218 Bag of Stuffed Animals - There were the few that didn't have as much sentimental value ans were just collecting dust. All were in good condition and some still had tags on them. Some SOLD!

What Not to PURGE #1: Recyclable Water Bottles

Welcome to "What Not to PURGE (WNTP)," a new segment of this blog.

My quest to PURGE is not just to get rid of junk in my house, its also to reduce my carbon footprint by living more simply. I've been trying to get better about buying items used or getting them from Freecycle because it crazy how much energy is needed to make a new product and how many harmful byproducts come from production. If you've seen "The Story of Stuff," you know a bit about this.

In light of the Clean Water Garage Sale, I wanted to put another challenge out to my vast (yeah right) readership. Watch "The Story of Bottled Water."

In my family, we switched to stainless steel water bottles. Everyone in my family has their own, actually, Bean and Monkey each have two: one they keep in their bed/in the house and one they take out with them. We take these everywhere we go so we always have access to water from our own faucet or a water fountain somewhere.

In my opinion, stainless steel is the way to go. Plastic sippy cups and water bottles that you can buy are harmful for your own body when you drink from them, they release nastiness when they are produced, and then you are done with them they end up in the trash, or if you recycle them, more nastiness is released into the earth.

Stainless steel is more indestructible, lasting for years before needing to be replaced, if ever. It is inert and non-reactive to what you are drinking (as opposed to some aluminum water bottles you may have seen around). Also when you finally do toss it (I dunno why you would) the metal is easily recoverable, reducing the amount of emissions when recycling it.

If you can't find yourself a stainless steel water bottle used (like I found one at the Clean Water Garage Sale for our baby girl), this is one item totally worth buying brand new. In the long run, it will pay for itself and the impact on our Earth from producing it will be far less than the alternatives of buying bottled water, or using another type of drinking canister.

In sum, those recyclable bottles from bottled water are #1 on WNTP, because you should try not to buy them in the first place. I know, it's a challenge. I never said PURGE was going to be easy but, are you up for it?

Next UIECU Shred Event Coming up!

I don't think it's only open to members, so I thought I'd spread the word.

The University of Illinois Employees' Credit Union is hosting it's next "Shred Event" on Saturday, August 28. You can bring up to five boxes of your old documents and they’ll shred them for you while you watch....and it's for FREE!

There are two locations and times:

Five Points Branch

206 East University Avenue

Time: 8 am-11 am

First Street Branch

Urbana 2201 South First Street, Champaign

Time: 12 pm-3 pm

Photo Credit: juvencioroldan

Book PURGE for Urbana Free Library

In case you haven't noticed, purging for fundraising has been on my mind!

Photo Credit: PaPeR.cLiP (It's good to be back!)

We all have books lying around the house that we aren't likely to read again any time soon. Why not PURGE them and have some extra shelf space?

3 times a year the Urbana Free Library hosts a book sale, which raises over $20,000 annually for the library. Some of the book they sell are ones removed from the library's collection, but most are donated by people like us! UFL takes book donations anytime at the circulation desk and they will give you a form so you can even write off your donation on your taxes.

It's so easy! This weekend after the Clean Water Garage Sale, I brought a trunk-load of books over that didn't sell. The librarian brought a cart out to my car, loaded it up for me and wheeled it all back in. So, all you need to do is go through your bookshelves and PURGE.

I'll be doing this over the next couple weeks because the next book sale is on August26-30th (but like I said, they take books all year). I need to attack my school books from grad and undergrad most importantly. I know we also have some cookbooks we can get rid of and a couple novels. I'll be updating with pics and stuff about what we manage to get out of the house.

What books can you PURGE?

PURGE for another Garage Sale Fundraiser

If you missed donating to to the Clean Water Garage Sale, you can still get rid of your stuff for a good cause. A friend of mine e-mailed yesterday about a garage sale she is organizing to build a women's shelter in Ecuador. I pasted her e-mail below so you can see the details. You can contact them for delivery times or pick up. So it's very easy! Happy PURGing for another good cause!

~~~~

Attention Friends and Lovers of Chambana:

I need your help! I am broke broke broke and trying to get to Ecuador to collaborate again with the women in my "extended family" to work to get the shelter we dream of having for women there built and functional! Together with the help of a generous friend of mine, we're calling upon our friends to donate items to be sold in

a garage sale on Saturday, August 21st, 2010 in the Cherry Hills Subdivision in Champaign. All proceeds will help send me to Ecuador!

Please help a sister out and donate what junk (I say that lovingly!) you can to the cause! All donated things can either be picked up by me or dropped off yourself on location between August 19th, from 6pm-9pm (during set-up) at:

2811 Cherry Hills Drive, Champaign, IL 61822. My phone
Organizers, Rachel Storm and Joan Wingo can be reached at:

217-840-8517 (Joan) and 630-677-7219 (Rachel)

We also are looking for volunteers to do the following:

• Staff the sale itself anytime on Saturday, August 21st from 7am-5pm!
• Help set-up on Thursday, August 19th beginning at 6pm!
• Pass the word around! Do you know more people who might want to get rid of their stuff?! Forward this message!

I plan to fly to Ecuador over Winter or Spring break this year and every penny counts. Please help me get there!

_____________________________________________

Kind regards,

Rachel Storm
Program Coordinator, Illinois Women's Resources Center
The Women's Resources Center, University of Illinois

Student Affairs--Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations
703 S. Wright Street, Champaign, IL 61820
MC-302
(217) 333-3137 (office phone)
(217) 244-3167 (fax)
(630) 677-7219 (cell)