Trying to get some balance. Stuff is still going out, but stuff coming in, especially books. I'm becoming more obsessed with old, musty books and papers. The tooth of the stock, the little engravings -- even books that are destined for the trash because their bindings are shot or because there is some staining still have some pages of exquisite typesetting or tipped in prints. There's an artist in Victoria who makes beautiful geometric panels from small pieces of the hard covers of old books. They are lovely. I am getting more ruthless about getting rid of the crime fiction. I've started three books this last week and only read one of them. The others I abandoned after a couple of chapters. Out with them.You'd better give me a good plot and some engaging writing to keep my interest. Also ruthless with poetry. I'll read up to five poems in a book. If none of them intrigue me, resonate with me, off they go to someone who might appreciate them. I ordered a couple of books of poems recently that were so bad I won't even give them away. No one should waste their time reading them. Recycling.

I'll never wear these slippers again -- I've switched to wearing indoor shoes. The clothes were from when my mom was here and we went through my closets. Two large garbage bags full to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Tags: clothing, shoes

I had big plans to take part in a neighbourhood yard sale today. But it is pouring rain. So I slept in and am just gearing up for a day of work (and watching the US Open men's final) instead. I haven't taken photos yet of the things in the big box by the door, but I will for another post. Today I'll post some of the stuff I got rid of when Big Brothers Big Sisters phoned to ask if I had any household items to donate. I managed to put together a green garbage bag full. My husband and I were a bit slow in getting to our clothes closet, but the day before the pickup I found a big box of free kids clothes — in excellent condition — at the end of someone's driveway, so I pilfered the best togs and put them in my own bag for BB. It feels great when a pile of stuff goes out at once.

Tags: clothing, kitchen, purses

Just got back from a few days away. A cabin. No computer. No phone. We snuck into town one day to find a cafe with wireless. Why does it feel like the time off never happened? I saw my parents. Gave my dad this dark blue shirt that was too big for me to wear even for around the house or for working out. The thing with the illustration of the dolls is a cardboard holder, not quite a box, that once contained writing paper and envelopes. My distant cousin Wendy gave it to me — yikes, I'm thinking more than 30 years ago. I was a teen and wrote lots of letters. The illustration was beautifully rendered. Another pair of shoes that I've come to think are a bit old-fashioned for me. They came from my mother, so that might have been obvious when she gave them to me, but sometimes you have to wear them a few times to figure it out.

Tags: paper, miscellaneous, clothing

A blouse I think is a pretty colour but is too long and smock-y for me. Some of those episodes of What Not To Wear are sinking in. I'm going to see my mother tomorrow. See if she wants it.

The light fixture is from the kitchen, where we replaced it many years ago. The sort of thing that is still useful and sits on a shelf in the storage room. The now overflowing onto the floor of the storage room sort of stuff.

Don't know what happened to the warmish weather we were getting last week. Huge wind storm -- we lost power on Friday. I thought it might snow, it was so cold. I have a massive brugmansia overwintering in the family room that I would like to put outside, but it's obviously still too unpredictable out there. Tulips are up, about to bloom.

Tags: clothing, building supplies

Even though I haven't worn this thing in years and it has been carefully folded in a drawer, away from heat and light, the elastic has completely deteriorated and doesn't do what it's supposed to anymore. Not to mention that this no longer fits me. I no longer even own a strapless dress -- it's been at least 20 years since I've bared my shoulders in one of those (the bra is at least 20 years old too). Unfortunately this has to go in the garbage. The fabric is stretchy and synthetic -- can't even compost it or use it as a rag to shine my shoes.

Tags: clothing, March 2010

When a local shopping centre built a new food court, one of the promo items I did artwork for was this mug. It's a blue enamel camping mug. I didn't drink out of it. I used it as a container. My mom took it. She also took the binders. But the pants went to Value Village.

Does it count as getting rid of something if my mom takes it? I'm not sure. I worry that I have just postponed having to deal with certain things for a second time when I help her downsize. So mom, I know you read this, please use the binders and mugs responsibly and dispose of them when you no longer need them. Thanks.

Tags: clothing, office, kitchen

My mom hooks rugs. The old fashioned way. Cutting up pure wool clothing into strips and hand hooking onto burlap backing. She makes beautiful rugs. I don't have any here at the moment, otherwise I'd take a picture of one. (So I've taken an image from www.goprimitive.com. Check them out for patterns and greeting cards.) I used to have a couple, but my cats would stretch up to "investigate" them a bit too frequently for the health of the rugs. I could never put them on the floor, because, as anyone with cats will tell you, the preferred place to vomit is a throw rug. (Or into a pair of shoes.) I had a wool skirt, sweater and shift that I'd been saving for awhile -- I used to wear the sweater, but the moths ate holes in it. I have shrunk it once so far -- it needs to be shrunk a bit more before cutting it up for hooking. The skirt makes for good hooking because the variegation works to make its own subtle pattern. In addition to the clothing, my mom took some of my extra rags, a large rectangular magnet (she's going to use it to attract the sewing needles and pins that drop out of her arthritic fingers onto the floor), and dryer sheets that I won't use.

Tags: clothing, crafts, household

My mom and I are still sort of madly cleaning. There is a pile of stuff to take photos of, but it's hard to interrupt the flow. The laundry room is almost finished. Sorting the tool closet will be a whole job unto itself. There are little containers full of screws and nails and fasteners. Light bulbs. Sprays. Old tape. Looking for the charger for the hand held carpet cleaner. It's got to be in there somewhere. The only carpeting in our house is up a flight of stairs, and believe me, that carpet is ready for a wash. Found an old hot chocolate tin. And a New Year's Eve mask from 2000. Haven't worn it since. Someone else can hide their face.

Tags: tin, household, clothing

Went to Value Village with a friend this afternoon. I'd been waiting to get enough things together to make the trip worthwhile. Took two boxes of stuff — officially out the door, no longer taking up space here. I threw in a few extra things on my way out. A puffy vest from the 80s, bbq tongs, and another tea tin. Some cards, two 2010 calendars I don't want — one arrived addressed to the former occupants of our house. They haven't lived here for 11 years. Shoulder pads, a car headrest cover, frame for a certificate, and a tray for cassette tapes. I only came home with two new things from VV, and one of them is being given away as soon as I see a certain person again.

Tags: clothing, kitchen, paper, miscellaneous

Tonight I looked around for a group of things I haven't sorted through yet. Found 35 ties on a tie rack hung on the inside wall of one of the clothes closets. Last century I went through a year-long phase of wearing jeans, a man's shirt, and a tie. But I haven't tucked anything into a pair of pants in a number of years. More into comfort now than style. Some of the ties belong to my husband. He wears one to weddings and funerals. There are more to send to the Sally Ann, but I'll start with this one. I keep trying to get a good photo of the love bugs (or "bonded pair" in cat terminology), but Mika is very skittish when the camera comes out. The mutual grooming sessions are a daily occurance.

Tags: tie, clothing, December

I bought a ticket ($15) for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Swap-o-rama on November 5th. Dropped off a box of clothing, shoes and accessories — 20 items in total I think — three of which are pictured here. At the event, I get to take up to 15 items home. The plan is to come back with some fun new additions to my wardrobe, having shed things I haven't worn in ages. I'm not sure how many items I will actually have gotten rid of after the swap. Depends what I find. The flowered folded piece is a pair of patterned leggings that have never been worn. A bit heavier than regular pantyhose material, more the weight of trouser socks. The gloves are a kick. I hope someone at the swap is thrilled to discover them.

Tags: clothing, socks, gloves, October

My friend (AR) from California gave this t-shirt to me 7 years ago. I wore it a few times, but really, all I need to convey this message is the look in my eyes and the set of my mouth. On the other hand, the fridge is in dire need of cleaning out. We tend to leave things in there too long. The contents of glass jars may be past their expiry date, but as long as the lid is on, there's no smell. Until the jar is opened to put the contents into the compost, and rinse out the jars. The garlic chutney was particularly pungent. The dark lump in plastic wrap is tamarind. An ingredient I seldom use. But if a recipe calls for it, I have to buy a chunk that is bigger than I need. I've had it at least 3 years. That's not the oldest thing in my fridge though. I have a container of silica at least 15 years old, and husband has a piece of pulp (as in from the pulp and paper industry) that is at least 20 years old. He used to write manuals about such things. Wood pulp. A whole bag of it. In a drawer, in the fridge. About once a year we discuss turfing it, but it doesn't take up that much room.

Tags: fridge, food, October, clothing

I used to wear this tunic/top to work or to go out at night. It's very comfortable, but it doesn't fit the "What not to wear" rules for my shape. Sadly, I am letting it go. I don't know what the random flower is called. It's not in my garden, but it caught my eye. Nice fall colour.

Tags: clothing, October, random flowers

Not the best colour for me. The fabric is really nice on these, and the vest has mother of pearl buttons (made in Germany, good quality), but I don't wear them. The blazer is too long for me — I've been watching What Not to Wear. Broken applicance update: Phoned Sears today because we bought our dishwasher there. They can send a repairman on Sep 22. That's 11 days from now. Phoned someone else, the ad in the yellow pages said “same day service,” and they will be here tomorrow. Hope it's not a serious problem. The house call to give us an estimate for repair will be $65.

Tags: clothing, September

I’m back from overseas. Lovely long visit with my great aunt and her family. Didn’t speak English for ten days. Back to work tomorrow. Here’s a catch-up post. Too many clothes. I have a bad habit of keeping them around long after I’ve stopped wearing them. My husband as well. First there’s the decision to get rid of an item. Then a discussion about whether or not it would make a good work shirt or painting shirt. Follow up question: would it make a good rag? So many uses for clothes besides wearing them. But none of these will end up as rags or work shirts. They are outta here. Seven shirts, five pairs of pants, a blouse and a blazer.

Tags: clothing, August

But it doesn’t suit me anymore. It’s a man’s shirt, but it looked ok on me when I was thinner. I even went through a stage of wearing ties when I had on a shirt like this one. Jeans. Shirt and tie. I wouldn’t have bought a United Colors of Benetton shirt new, so I must have snagged it at a thrift store or at a costume sale after a movie wrapped. I got fabulous clothes once when a Spelling series went off the air and the wardrobe for a couple of seasons was sold off. One of the benefits of living in Vancouver – a lot of TV movies made and a lot of stuff left over when the movies wrapped. Random flower is a big red poppy.

Tags: clothing, July, random flowers

I was positive these came in with my husband and his belongings when we merged our stuff, but he says no, so I can only assume this is detritus from a previous ex that got missed in the shuffle. Two 1994 Canucks t-shirts. I don’t watch hockey. The only sport I follow is tennis. Love the grunting. Anyway, these were part of the big pile of clothes that went off to Big Brothers Big Sisters. I suppose I could have taken one photo of a huge pile of clothing, but this way I can cover a few more days and write about individual items. I didn’t even want to keep these as rags. Random flower is an iceberg climbing rose that goes up and over our back deck.

Tags: clothing, July, random flowers

I got talked into hosting a clothing party for a friend (at the time) who was trying to get some extra money. I should have just given her $100 and saved the bother of trying to rope in other people I know to come and buy clothes. I bought three things, two of which I still wear once in awhile, but this I will never wear again. Not even as a layer to keep me warm in the chill of my office in winter. It was a happy day to donate this to the thrift store. I’m posting another friend’s beautiful cat Hattie to cleanse the visual palate.

Tags: cats, June, clothing

I don’t care what is in style or what is out of style. I shop at secondhand clothing stores and wear what I like. But my tastes change, and what I think looks good on me changes. So no more pleated pants. I have more than these two pair to discard, but posting two at a time means I have more to post later when I think I can’t possibly find anything to get rid of on a particular day! Backup pleated pants post.

Tags: clothing, June

I am grateful my husband is participating in this venture and going through his closet too. We’re so bad about getting rid of stuff that when we moved to this city we just packed everything up and said we’d sort through it later. That was 11 years ago. To my recollection he has never worn these pants the entire time I’ve known him. I have however seen a photo of him wearing them. Now all we have is another photo to remember them by.

Tags: clothing, June

At one point many years ago my husband was able to wear this blazer and look vaguely retro. Now he can’t get away with it at all, nor does he even like it anymore. You should see the shoulder pads in it... This went out in a big bag of donated clothes.

Tags: clothing, June

But just right for the woman wearing bright red Naots, a red hat and plastic globe earrings. She bought it for $1 at the yard sale. Random flower is a foxglove from a path near Comox.

Tags: clothing, June, random flowers

This is too short to wear on its own as a shift — I did once upon a time wear it, but it must have shrunk, because it’s way too high now. Too long to wear over pants. Nice cotton fabric. If I was into quilting I would keep it and cut it up. Good news: the white cabinet (May 18) vanished from the front lawn today. Sometimes it takes awhile. Random flower is Ceanothus victoria peeking out between slats of a fence.

Tags: clothing, May, random flowers

I certainly didn’t buy these jeans new. They would have come from a thrift store. But they are tapered and Trini and Susannah tell me I am too old and have the wrong shape to wear tapered jeans. So someone else can have the Esprits. Sigh. They don’t fit anyway. I found a couple of other pairs I can live without. Random flower is a newly acquired aquilegia I couldn’t resist.

Tags: clothing, May, random flowers

I’m posting four things today to make up for the past few days. I’m much more intrigued by Lau’s poetry and later novels than her first book. Will never re-read it. Went through the sock drawer again. That’s seven more pairs gone. Also found more shelf paper (Jan 4) that I will never use. The hole punch works great on two holes but needs a bit too much help to push the third hole through. I just found a great old-fashioned desk hole punch for $2 at a thrift store, so technically this is a replacement. At least I’m not saving the original as a backup, my usual MO and how I end up with multiples of something.

Tags: office, clothing, books, household, May

One of my husband’s sweaters. It has been in an upstairs closet, in a stack of four sweaters, for the past couple of years. He hasn’t worn it once in that time. He agreed to let me take it o the Sally Ann. One of the other sweaters in the pile was the one he was wearing the first time we kissed, so even though he hasn’t put that one on in years either, he said it has too many memories for him to give it away. (Bear showed up to sniff as I was taking the photo. Now just have to catch Mika in a picture and all four cats will have been posted to the site.)

Tags: clothing, April, cats

It’s lovely having a mom with the same size feet as I have. If I go for a visit and haven’t packed a pair of trainers, I can wear hers. Got this pair from my mom. Have never worn them. Have many other pairs that were hand-me-downs from her; they suit me much better than these. It’s late, I had to take a quick photo — these shoes are on top of the cat scratching post. A lot of cat hair on there. I’ll scout a different location for tomorrow’s shot.

Tags: shoes, clothing, March

My husband thinks the 80s called and want their sunglasses back. I think this pair is nicely retro, but I do have several other pairs that we both agree on. These hardly weigh anything, are very comfortable. Anyone want them?

Tags: sunglasses, clothing, March

Age innapropriate clothing. There just comes a time... haven’t worn this in a couple of decades anyway.

Tags: clothing, March

I have a drawer where old leggings go to die. The inside seams eventually wear out, I sew them up, the repaired seams are irritating and I never wear the leggings again. In the past I have cut off them off above the knee, to wear as weird leg warmers around the house (we skimp on heat, preferring to wear lots of layers than to spend money on making air warmer), but I have enough to keep me warm for the next few years.

Tags: clothing, February

So I’m not single. But I love socks. I always have to have at least one pair of brand new, waiting for a special occasion socks in my drawer. I don’t get rid of them until they are threadbare. Last week I heard Patrick Lane read a new poem called A Woman Cleaning Out Her Sock Drawer and was inspired to tidy up mine. I’m recovering from a broken wrist, so for the past few months I haven’t been able to fold my socks the way I normally do and have just been pushing them into the drawer. Feels good to have it tidy again. Found two pair that I am willing to toss.

Tags: clothing, February

Today I have something fabulous coming in and some old clothes going out. I went to physio today (recovering from a broken wrist) and received a tin of my favourite coffee in the whole world from my therapist. We’d spoken about Africa last week and discovered we’d both been to Tanzania. Somehow we ended up on instant coffee — she’d brought a tin home but wasn’t drinking it, would I like it? Absolutely! I had an especially lovely coffee break this afternoon. Thanks Kim. I’m sending $20 to the charity you support, www.fortheloveofafrica.org. As for the clothes, the checked pants are tapered (I no longer wear tapered pants) and when I tried on the batik top in front of a friend, she said I shouldn’t ever wear it again.

I took my first big bag of discards to the Sally Ann this afternoon. It feels great to get these things out of the house. Small steps I know, but purging has been low on my list of priorities for the past decade or so.

Tags: clothing, February

I bought a beautiful blouse 15 years ago which is still one of the tops I wear most often as part of a “going out” outfit. It had small shoulder pads in it, very subtle, but I’d often look in the mirror and wonder I’d prefer the blouse without them. I got out the scissors. I do like it better without them.

Tags: clothing, January

I loved this dress. It’s vintage, it’s sparkly, it was fun to wear. There’s a woman who sings and performs spoken word at Tongues of Fire — she wears vintage and I think this will fit her just fine, with a little nipping in at the waist. I’m hoping to see her tonight and pass the dress on.

Tags: clothing, January

My husband’s stuff counts too. Here’s a trio of lovely shirts headed for goodwill. He didn’t ever wear the Hugo Boss pinstripe. I’m not sure where it came from – it was either a hand-me-down from C. or I scored at a thrift shop (almost). But if a dress shirt doesn’t fit, it just doesn’t look right. One winter I had a two-week gig a couple of blocks away from a huge Value Village. I spent every lunch hour wandering the racks, picking out shirts for my husband. I brought home more than 20 of them. It was a fabulous store. Give me VV over a mall anyday.

Tags: clothing, January