Looking for permission to throw out the 9 bean soup mix and other lentil mix that has been in the cupboard for 10 years.
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Do it. Youāre not eating it.
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Permission granted. Theyāll be rocks if you try to cook them. Even dried beans have a shelf life. At least if you compost them they can become soil. 
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I will dispose of them this week. Thank you all for making me not feel guilty (or less guilty).
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Should I keep all the fleece fabric scraps?
Fabric scraps are handy; you just never know when you might need them. Especially now the kiddo is in school and has various projects.
But also, for the first time in over a decade, Iāve put my sewing machine away. Am I REALLY ever going to use small amounts of fleece?
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You probably wonāt use it. I have always lived in apartments so Iām excellent at getting rid of stuff. This question always helps me, maybe it will help you:
In 5 years (or whatever amount of time) if you desperately need INSERT ITEM (fleece) will you be able to purchase some?
If yes: give away now.
If no: find a place to store it by getting rid of something thatās a yes.
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Iāve seen a 20/20 rule. If you can replace something for less than $20 in less than 20 minutes, then thereās literally no point having it around. Obviously thereās a lot of financial/transportation/mobility and energy assumptions at play there, but as a basic framework I feel like it can be a powerful one. Like, do I REALLY need many spare water bottles when I live very close to a 24/7 Walmart??
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I had a bunch of fleece scraps that were in the way ābut I could do something with!!ā
I kept one 1/2 yard piece of fleece for crafting emergencies (or the biggest contiguous piece of smaller bits) and got rid of the rest. Still havenāt needed fleece since then.
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Soup mixes gone into the composting, as well as some pine and pumpkin nuts. They looked pretty questionable and did not smell right. A pair of running shoes that were too snug also went in the trash, with another pair of socks.
Donated 2 tiles (for tracking keys etc), some handy wipes and a phone stand to my neighbour. She was happy with all of it.
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I took 5 of the last 8 boxes from the storage from the living room and put them in the attic. DH and I made a donation to the Salvation Army. We returned the piece to Harbor Freight we decided not to use, and they gave DH the refund in cash.
Two things have really helped us: 1) not shopping for recreation and 2) being willing to return or get rid of things that donāt work as we intended. Neither are things we did when we were younger, and we acquired a lot of āstuffā we didnāt use and didnāt want and didnāt get rid of because we had $X into whatever it was. Weāre over that. Everything we ever bought we have $ into; you canāt keep it allā¦
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I so get that! If I had āarrivedā or achieved my goals, then I wouldnāt be looking at content for ideasā¦ Iāve gone through a batch of cooking/ cleaning /frugality /lifestyle folks and sites who got where they wanted to be and then lost me.
The interesting part is the struggle before the success. Iām happy you achieved your goal(s), but, itās just not as interesting as what you did to get there.
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Yes! I certainly donāt want them NOT to meet their goals. It just isnāt the same once they have, though. The natural life cycle of content production. Like a minimalist I used to really like built a huge clean amazing house with all their Creator monies. Great! But I get zero inspiration from the fact that a California modern mansion looks amazing 
show me the 1920s worker cottage with 3ā thick paint on the baseboards and the angry toddler and how you kept THAT home clean and functional, and now weāre talking. (Side note I did live in that home I described but pre toddler. Still, the fact that it always looked dirty and crowded no matter what I did was such a struggle for me, and not something I saw reflected in the Organizers and minimalists of the time)
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I followed a woman for a long time who dragged her kids from SoCal to the family farm in WV. She had no idea how to be a farmer and learned. Got to where she teaches classes all the time, makes enough to keep her farm going, etc. and wrote a book. She lost me.
The L.A. woman who had no idea how to milk a cow was interesting. Her kids learning to cope in WV was also interesting. After they got acclimated, etc. and she became a master gardener and a successful seller of farm products and how to classes, I lost interest.
Same person, same website, just not as interesting anymore.
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I think that is very true about the nature of content creators. Lots of finance blogs I feel the same way.
But I guess I do the same with TV shows- like, the first 4 seasons are great, but then, OMG, this is awfulā¦
I got rid of my Book 5 Harry Potter CDs. Iām a little sad about this. Those were so good to listen to on long road trips. And they cost like $60 when I was in college. But seriously- when am I ever going to listen to books on CD? There were like 30 CDs in the box to get through the book.
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I rented Stargate on DVD once, and I was flabbergasted that there were only 4 episodes on each DVD. How am I supposed to binge watch something if I have to get up every 3.5 hours to put in the next one?
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I went through my clothes and took a garbage bag full to goodwill.
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We did this on Sunday. Spouse got rid of some clothes! Omg. Once he was started, I also culled some low hanging fruit.
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We passed on a baby bouncer! That thing was so big and neither kids used it much after all.
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Topped off the donation box with end of season dresses and too-small PJs and got it into the car right away, plus the donation center was open on my way to work, so done and dusted!
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I always try to drop off stuff right away too. Because otherwise ā¦
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