Boomerang stuff interferes with my journey to minimalism

How am I supposed to become a minimalist when DD keeps bringing back stuff that we'd given to her? When DD went off to university, we furnished her condo with stuff collected over the years. These rainbow glasses I'd bought at an auction for only $7 bucks (in a box full of other stuff!) no longer fit in DD's life now that her home includes rambunctious kids. (We later came across a set of these at an antique store for $20 per glass.) Though I love these as much as she still does, I know I won't use them, so they've gotta go. *sigh*

As she was growing up, each year on DD's birthday we included a "good gift," something she could use later in life. For instance, we got her a couple of crystal lamps for her second birthday. Even though she hasn't kept all those gifts she received through the years, she's commented to me that she wished we still did that. Yet another birthday "good gift," this key caddy sat at DD's back door until Grandbaby's high chair recently claimed its floor space.

I'd been wanting a new fireplace tool caddy for ages (though it never made the priority list), so froggy turned the trick!

DD doesn't always bring me cluttering stuff; she brought me this turnip last week. Where she works, people often bring in produce to share. Determined not to let it go to waste, I peeled the turnip right away and cooked it in my small slow cooker with a little sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Oh, happy day--my seed order arrived yesterday. I'm still finding it hard to believe that Hubby (chief gardener around here) agreed to add starting all these seeds to his to-do list!

To brighten up this gray winter day, I'm looking for adventure, so this is where I'm headed next: Top 10 Adventure Blogs. Where are you headed next?

Teeny twist on tiny houses: a tipi!

Despite the fact that it rained on us now and again, we had a great time camping at Land Between the Lakes. More specifically, at Hillman Ferry Campground on Kentucky Lake. Definitely a fabuloso, unplugged time, and I hope to share some pics soon.
   Meanwhile, hope you like the video. Could YOU live in a tiny house...or tipi??
P.S. The latest copy of Mother Earth News magazine was in my mailbox today. Yea! Love that magazine! They have a homesteading blog some of you might enjoy checking out! It's where I found the tipi video, btw. If interested, see The Happy Homesteader. (Gotta go...it's margarita/movie night!)

Saying goodbye to my first set of dishes; Trying not to eat this ugly cherry pie

My very first set of dishes: Homer Laughlin Harlequin.

With only one year of college under my belt, I moved out of home at age 18 and set up housekeeping in a two-bedroom apartment with my brother down in Nashville, Tennessee. These dishes were one of my first purchases toward that new life "out on my own."
   Some are chipped, a few are missing and the top to the sugar bowl has been broken and glued back together, but I still love these and never once thought about selling them, even after all these years.
   Languishing as they were out on a shelf in our garage, these dishes were standing in the way of my minimalist ideal. Hook, line and sinker, I have absolutely swallowed the idea that having fewer possessions will equal having MORE life. But boy, giving up some things is like giving up my past, my younger me. In some ways I liked her better than the me of today. ;)
   Our DD is not "into" these chipped remnants of yesteryear, so I have just given these dishes to a dear cousin, a vintage-loving gal who will cherish them just as much as I did.
   Likely the dishes will earn some new chips as they help to create another lifetime of memories. What better tribute can I pay to my past than to ensure it has a future?

Ugliest cherry pie I've ever made, but BOY, do I want some of it! Too lazy to get out the recipe, I winged it and ended up using too much shortening in the crust.  Hubby says it tastes great, despite its ugly crust, so I will definitely be freezing a slice for me to eat on cheat day. Awfully glad I remembered to put a drip pan under the pie as it baked. After all these years, don't you think it's time I broke down and bought one of those nifty pie crust shields? Meantime, I'll wash and re-use the foil.

We had a perfect rain here in western Kentucky yesterday...the kind where you sit on the porch swing and watch the rain come down as the sun shines and steam rises from the road and the roofs. Hubby's in the process of painting our porch columns. He just painted them not too long ago but the paint was old and had taken on a pinkish cast. Bugged him enough for him to paint the columns again!

   When I saw my cousin's eyes shining yesterday as she looked at these, giving them away was easy. I truly mean that and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but it doesn't stop me from mooning over my dishes a bit today. Anyone else still have that first set of dishes or something else that takes you back to your very first home away from home?

On my mind: 'Always been there' makes unused stuff invisible!

Unused bread box, why did you continue
to take up space even after I stopped using you?

Space, glorious space--top shelf says goodbye bread box!

Some 29 years ago, Hubby and I received this bread box as a wedding gift. Don't remember who gave it to us. Not long after getting it, we learned the prevailing wisdom that nothing would make bread mold faster than being in a bread box. So we took the top off but continued to store our bread in the box in a cabinet, figuring it would keep the bread from being smashed.
   All was well and good while DD was living at home. Bread got used up quicker than it could go stale. When DD moved out leaving just Hubby and me, we soon learned a whole loaf of bread goes to waste around here.
   We then divided each loaf in half, freezing half, but even a half loaf would go to waste in the bread box...out of sight, out of mind. Nowadays when we have bread around, half gets frozen and half sits on the counter or in the fridge so we will see it and eat it.
   This unused bread box continued taking up space in the tiny cabinet by the stove. The box was in there only because the old habit of it always being there somehow made it invisible to me! It would be there still if I weren't inspired by Zero Waste Home to take a look at everything with a minimalist's eye.
   Hauled off a load of stuff to give to charity yesterday. Bye, bye bread box!
"Slow Carb" Update 
   On another note, I'm really getting a kick out of practicing my own version* of the 4-Hour Body recommendation of eating only slow carbs (veggies/protein/legumes) with one cheat day per week. (*As my goal is to eat less sugar, I allow cheese/yogurt.)
   Here's a pic of the mish-mash I made the other day. Yesterday, I put the little bit of leftovers into a bowl & topped them with a couple of beaten eggs & gruyere for a lovely makeover crustless quiche mish-mash. Too easy! I haven't eaten this many veggies in my life, so I'm really getting a kick out of this new eating plan.
   But don't get me wrong, I LOVE cheat days. I've got a cake cooling on the counter now--just have to keep my hands OFF 'til Saturday! Hope something yummy is cooling on your counter right now??

Latest minimal meat mish-mash: broccoli slaw, yellow peppers, sausage, Greek seasoning.

   Thanks, Rhonda at down-to-earth, for sharing this On My Mind concept. What's on your mind today? Share your link here or on down-to-earth. 

Playing a computer game got my closet cleaned!

 Oh, yes, I am shamelessly addicted to a mind-numbing computer game. So addicted that this game constantly calls my name...seducing me to play until my neck feels like it will break and my wrist cries uncle. Rather than worry about this addiction though, I am using it as an incentive to tackle the cleaning projects I kept putting off.
   Maybe a "grown-up" should be ashamed to admit the need for some sort of dangling carrot to get motivated, but hey, where's the shame in a clean closet? Each time I leveled up in the game, I made myself go remove/clean one section of my closet.
   As I cleaned, in my head I could hear the game still cheering me on:

• Cleared out shoes no longer worn. Good!
• Put unwanted clothes, etc., in a bag for Goodwill. Excellent!
• Recycled all empty boxes saved for products no longer under warranty. Awesome! 
• Removed everything from floor, put on shelves or found more logical places for them. Spectacular! 
• Cleaned wood floor, woodwork and shelving unit. Extraordinary!

   Finally a visible floor in my closet. YEA! And my minimalist-wannabe pledge to downsize my possessions means I now have some space in this closet for some of the shoes that had been shifted to another closet. Yeah, that closet's next.
   Now, if you'll excuse me, I hear the siren call of some game calling my name...another closet awaits!

Okay, I'm not completely shameless; this is embarassing:
This bag was on the floor in my closet--
with stuff in it from the job I left forever ago!

Why I need to embrace minimalism

Yeah, this picture frame falling off my closet cubbie is a definite sign. It's time to minimalize!
   Who'd have thought you couldn't keep adding things without ever taking anything away?!
   My closet is actually minimalist heaven compared with the closets getting makeovers on TV. But I guess the rules that apply to my closet should be no different than what I should apply to the rest of the house--its a question of whether I want to settle for "not as bad as it could be" versus "serene space."
    If you want to get motivated to clear the clutter before something breaks, you might like Choosing Voluntary Simplicity, a blog I found while working my way through the 2011 All Star List of Minimalist Blogs compiled by Minimalist Packrat.
   Or if, like me, you mainly have closet issues, check out this Transform Your Closet piece on Oprah's site.
   BTW, I love visiting your blogs. Just upgraded my browser and for some reason having trouble leaving comments on some sites, but I hope to troubleshoot the problem soon.
   Where does the clutter collect in your home? If you have any posts you'd like to share with the rest of us regarding clearing the clutter, please leave your link in the comments.