I can go 3 Months without Washing My Underwear....

For clarification: I can go 3 months without washing my underwear AND wear clean underwear EVERYDAY!  And that is AFTER having removed 53 pairs!!!!

Maybe no one will get this , or maybe it will really help somebody get started . Sometimes I just need a small manageable project that will make me feel good so here's what I did today . Here's the question how much underwear, how many pairs, do we really need? I figured that when it's difficult to shut the underwear drawer it is time to sort through it and declutter.

So we probably need at least seven pairs. And you probably want to have 7 pairs that are best pairs for you know that time of the month. However upon counting:

8
I have eight pairs of underwear in my drawer that don't even belong to me.

27

Yes that's right 27 pairs that only deserved to be in the trash can.

10

10 pairs that I really haven't worn, these will get donated.

So far that was 45 pairs of underwear I'm not using taking up space in my draw.

Also have one pair of underwear that I hadn't been wearing because I bought it new, love it, washed it at a hotel and it turned dingy gray. those are being soaked right now, if the gray doesn't  come out I'll toss them in the bin.

48

Turns out I put 48 pair of underwear in my love it keep it then bin. I'm thinking I probably don't even need this many pairs of underwear. Meaning that really I should be able to Chuck everything in my middle, maybe keep box. I won't do this today because, I don't want to burn my decision making power out, I'm on a roll.

41

Pairs that made it through  a second sorting to the maybe bin. 

8
More pairs getting tossed, as I was putting them into purgatory I decided they really didn't make the cut.

HELPFUL CRITERIA:

THROW AWAY: 
These are my criteria for throwing something away. These are  the easy to toss items, they don't fit well, they are well used and don't look good anymore, I've never worn them, or they are not comfortable.

DEFINITELY KEEP (this time) :
So the things that I put my definitely keep box were the things that when I picked them up I said, "this is something that I've worn recently, know that I like and fit well. It was in good condition and I know I would wear it again soon without hesitation.

MAYBE KEEP:
As this was the first cut and I did not want to slow myself down, I gave myself the middle zone. I put items in this is one that I thought these are useful, and I remember really liking , are in good shape, and I probably paid too much for. This box will go in the front of the draw and I will use only these for the next few weeks. If I pick something up in the morning and I think I don't like that because _____,you fill in the blank, then I will get rid of it. However, if I wear it and like it it can stay, if at the end of the day they were uncomfortable it is out. Since starting to clear out, I have been known to actually take something off mid day and get rid of it.

All that said, I highly doubt that I actually need 89 pairs of underwear! So obviously I have a long ways to go. However by being easy on myself I now have a lot more room in my drawer. & I am NOT stressed out rather I am elated. Even knowing there's more to go I cannot work at it slowly, or do this again on another day when I'm motivated. Now if I just said its only reasonable to have seven pairs for that time, and maybe 14 pairs for all the time, I would probably stress myself out and be unable to make any more decisions.

And I got rid of an amazing 53 pairs of underwear. As ridiculous as I feel writing this, I bet I'm not alone in this.

Bacon Grease Enlightenment

Two posts in one day, wow! off to a crazy start, but wanted to update on what i have accomplished.

I have finished the cabinet and will have to take a new photo.  Some paper goods went down to easily accessed storage, but not my prime kitchen space.  Some went out to our camper...maybe i will use it when we are not 'hooked-up' ; but to be honest, I usually have enough reusable dishware to just use it while we are on the road and stack it in the dish pan until we get to water--and if I know we are having several meals, a couple of gallons of water will wash the dishes--there is just plain no excuse for me to waste trees and energy! And that is why I ended up with thousands of disposables.

I have also just put away my first ever bacon 'drippings.'  With dreams of seriously reducing our waste, this was an effort.  Before we had kids i had one small grocery bag every 2 weeks or so...

My husband was very skeptical when told that soap could be made from it, not sure he wanted to smell like bacon.  I saw this idea on Zero Waste Home http://thezerowastehome.com/  a very inspiring site I came across a few days ago and spent last night reading.  Sorry that is not a direct link to the bacon comment--although it was really just mentioned that the grease was saved for soap, rather than thrown in the trash.  The recipe is rather simple and like the soap-making at Old Sturbridge Village where the fat is mixed with a lye and water mixture.
 After a quick search on bacon grease while it was cooling, an amazing number of uses for bacon were revealed--such as pie crust.  This site convinced him it was worthwhile http://www.thingsyourgrandmotherknew.com/2008/11/thirteen-uses-for-bacon-grease.html

He was onboard, as we have been talking about simplifying our foods by reducing the amount of processed foods we eat, especially the scary stuff like "shortening," preservatives, and L-cysteine (human hair found in bread--seen yesterday in a Yahoo article-don't have that link handy). 

bacon drippings

It is not much bacon grease, and we don't eat too much of it, so one cooking foray should use it up.  Should i amass enough to actually make soap, I will be sure to post both the adventure and the outcome here.  If this is something you have experience with, please comment, I'd love to hear.

Challenged by 100 Things : Paper Goods Overload

half-emptied cabinet

I have been working to simplify my life for some time.  At first thought this should be a SIMPLE process but no....

I actually started a reduce 1000 things challenge through the Ravelry site years ago, and it caught on!  I was posting so much on Freecycle that people were sending requests, and some people (not sure what their angle was?!)  Even wrote to ask if i would ever be done posting.

Then i saw the 100 thing Challenge, and didn't even *want* to attempt it LOL!

Well today I realized that for someone who detests waste, I had an entire cabinet devoted to paper goods!  My MIL loves disposable :(  I try not to start a war, so i simply accept and stash...not working.  I do love to volunteer to bring these items to events that i know that i cannot get them to change their ways, i.e. school parties--but there just are not enough!  So I started using it when my MIL came, which did use some, and pleased her greatly.  However, it simply fueled the fire, and she brought more :(

What  was removed from cabinet in above photo-and the beginning of a blog

Today I decided that I would:

1.  politely show my MIL my stash and let her know that we would "let her know when we need more"

2.  Move the whole lot into a "module"   
      Previously I referred to these as boxes, and had been using this technique of limitation prior,but
      found Miss Minimalist Blog last night)http://www.missminimalist.com/.  I will keep one box and  
      donate the rest.

3. Get the stuff that I use more often often the top of the fridge and into the cabinet  :)

as the paper goods pile on the kitchen floor grew I looked down and laughed at the thought of the 100 Thing Challenge!  I think that I have more than 100 Paper goods items alone....well, if you count each separate item I am sure there are thousands, but if you count each package of items maybe i could squeak in under 100 check out the photo.  I decided to sit down and start a blog I have been thinking about to log my progress instead of counting...

Now I am off to finish the task.  My hope is that this blog will keep me accountable.  Perhaps it could even help motivate another by sharing my journey.

Update:  see pictures of the finished cabinet in the Bacon Grease Enlightenment Post!  Where I ponder the appropriate use of disposable dishes.  Also, I really only *reduced* about 10 bowls, where the water-proof finish had delaminated, these were tossed into the trash unused!