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.

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!

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 ;)

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!

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!

Garage Sale PURGE - Closet (Wk33)

#200 Box with cat on it - Got this from a very dear aunt when I was like 10. It's served me well but I found new home or PURGEd the other things in it. I don't think my kids will use it.

#201 several envelopes - These are from the office stuff I had left in my closet and said that I'd attack them another time. That time has come ;)

#202 Perfume bottle (it in the case with the envelopes - I can't even remember where this came from but it's nice.

#203 Cell phone charm - same story as #202

#204 U of I lanyard - from college obviously. Haven't used in years. Coulda let the kids play with it, I guess but off it goes.

#205 Peace Shirt - Wore this to my church's murder mystery party last year when Bo and I were John and Yoko.

#206 Chinese-looking Purse - got this from my mom. I think a friend of hers made it. It's cute, but I won't use it.

#207 Japanese-looking bill fold - I remember my dad using this. I never did.

#208 Dia de los Muertos card - Bo's brother got us a bunch of pretty cards. I didn't know who to give this one to.

#209 Day Runner - Electronic works just fine for now, though this helped me get through grad school.

#210 - Little Christmas notepad - Got this from the kids I sat for in college. Very sweet. Way to tiny to actually use.

Garage Sale PURGE - Basement (Wk32)

#193 Egg-crate bed cushion, #193 3 Small Rugs, #194 Over the door shoe holder, #195 2 chair cushions, - all of these my cousin left here when she moved from U of I. I don't even remember how long ago that was, prolly before I had kids.

#196 Willow Tree Figurine - I got this for serving at church. It's my only one, so it kinda seems outta place.

#197 Jesus plate - got this as a gag gift to our small group from a member when she moved. A relative got it for her cuz she was Christian. LOL! Seriously? I'm a Christian, surely I want a plate with Jesus to eat off of! ;)

#198 Water bottle for large rodent - left over from when I/we had guinea pig(s). Won't be needing that anytime soon, though that's what I said when I PURGEd baby stuff back in January, when little did I know I was pregnant.

#199 Candle/scent thing - I can remember getting this in high school and Ive just let it collect dust. It was so gross, I had to put it in the dishwaher on "pots and pans" to get it clean. Ewww...