I have had this in the get-rid-of pile for a long time now, but don't think I've ever posted it. There have been so many items over the past year and a bit. Sometimes I get rid of something without taking a photo or writing about it. I did a quick search through the archives, but didn't find it -- heaven forbid I should repeat an item. But you should see the various piles/boxes. Some to try and sell. Some to take to the thrift store. Some to try and consign at various places (depends what type of stuff they take) and some to take to recycling. Some to post on usedvictoria.com and give away. Eventually things do leave. I collect clear pressed glass. This is a pretty little candy dish. Make way for another piece that's been stacked in a cupboard.

Tags: glass, March 2010, household

I have had this for years. Not my favourite colour, but I loved the shape and the glaze. It's quite large, about 16 inches long. I looked at it a lot, but I think I only ever used it once. A long time ago I used to have small parties and have friends over. It's one of my goals to eventually do that again, or find a book club — when it's mine turn to host I can use something like this for refreshments. However, I no longer want this particular party dish. I took it to the consignment store, but they said it wouldn't sell. I thought this sort of stuff was coming back in style. Oh well, I will find a new home for it one way or another.

Tags: household, retro, March 2010

What to do with two touch lamps that don't work anymore? When there are three cats on the bed, it's pitch black in the room, and one of the humans wakes up because one of the cats is commencing to vomit, it sure is handy to reach over and touch a lampshade to shed some fast light and assess the situation. Is there time to move the urping cat onto the floor away from the rug? Musn't move too quickly or the two cats who hate each other might be pushed towards each other, take it as a sign of agression from the other and lash out with teeth and claws. It's a long way to the light switch -- both of these lamps stopped working last summer. We haven't been able to find replacements that we can stand to look at. Most of the ones we see look like the bottom example. Yuk. I don't know if I can recycle any parts of the lamps yet. That's why they are still taking up space in the shed. Took two boxes of dishes to the Sally Ann today. That felt good.

Tags: household, lamp, March 2010

I got sad news last week. Enough said. Not very inspired or imaginative discards today. Some small melamine dishes (actually 3 of them) that I used for cat food, but I prefer porcelain. A metal screen to stop oil splatter from a frying pan -- don't use it. And an insert for a pressure cooker. Don't have a pressure cooker, haven't used one since I lived with my parents. Can't remember where it came from. I need a drink.

Tags: kitchen, household, February 2010

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

These are napkin holders if I remember correctly. I just thought they were cute. Back in my cute phase. I had them displayed on a shelf when I lived in a Vancouver apartment, so that would be ’round about 1994 and 1995. They have been packed away ever since. Now that I know a couple of little girls old enough for tea parties with their dolls, perhaps this pint-sized furniture will be played with.

Tags: toys, December, household

This is Scandanavian I believe. Metal with a teak handle. I liked it. Bought it at a yard sale. Never used it, not even as a vase. Don't need it. Cold today, hovering at and just below the zero mark. Could drop as low as -7 tonight. The photo of bushtits on suet isn't from today, but these darling birds stopped by twice today to load up on fat food.

Tags: household, kitchen, December, birds

My mother was an Avon lady. For years and years. Every elementary school teacher would get an Avon product for Christmas and as thank you presents. I don't have much Avon left in my possession. These bathroom accessories don't fit in with the decor in either bathroom in the house we're in now. I was putting spare change in the soap dish for awhile, but both pieces have been out of sight in a cupboard for the past couple of years. Don't want them any more.

Tags: Avon, household, December, random flowers

I don't have a table large enough to use this as a centrepiece. I have used the rectangular containers on their own to hold flowers, but have never used all the pieces as one unit. I don't know where I will get rid of this, perhaps the household consignment store. At one point I gave it away to a friend, but she didn't use it either, so she gave it back to me when she was decluttering. This time I will make sure it goes away never to return.

Tags: vase, flowers, November, household

This was not a cheap pan. A Heritage Chef ceramic coating pan, using recycled aluminum. Chemical free using natural ceramic powder for the coating. It was supposed to be non-stick. It wasn't. Here's a shot from the internet of what it looked like new. My photo is what it looked like after a few uses. I have replaced it with another Heritage pan, a cast aluminum one, which is fantastic.

Tags: household, frying pan, October, kitchen

This bottle was filled with a delicious soy-ginger-lime-sesame marinade when a friend gave it to me for Christmas about ten years ago. It came with the recipe written on a card attached to the bottle with a ribbon. I planned on making the marinade again; it truly was tasty. I am going to put the bottle in my thrift store box.

Tags: bottle, glass, household, October

This pitcher could be yours — I'm putting it in my “getting rid of” pile, but will hang on to it for awhile in case anyone wants it. It's quite sweet, not very tall, pressed glass. It's been a long time since I've gotten a donation for my friend's African projects — even a toonie or two helps. I never got around to sipping iced tea on the patio (you can imagine how pretty the slices of lemon would look in this pitcher) but if you don't have time for such pursuits either, you could always put a bunch of flowers in it.

Tags: household, glass, pitcher, October

We bought a set of these glass food containers at IKEA a few years ago. Various shapes and sizes. Most of the lids have chipped and have had to be discarded. The containers are thick and heavy. For awhile it was difficult to find food storage containers that weren't plastic, but there are more choices now. We've opted for lighter, more practical designs. This container is about 7" across and at least 6" high. Clunky. Random flower is a hydrangea — can't for the life of me remember the latin name.

Tags: glass, kitchen, household, October, random flowers

I can't seem to manage posting on a Friday. I go to regular poetry readings on Friday nights, and when I get home I just can't switch gears and write about my junk. These little glass bowls all start to look the same after awhile. I collect them in ones or pairs or threes (my favourite) at yard sales and put them in the sideboard. The sideboard has glass doors on it, so I can see the collection whenever I walk by. Plus I have various glass bowls and square dishes in front of my books on bookcase shelves. I want to whittle down to the ones I like the most. This one can go. The magazine is from the '60s. I sold it for a whopping $5. Convinced a guy it was worth it just to put it on his coffee that night for a party he was giving. I tried to read the articles — no offense to writers who were making a living back then, but despite the provocative headlines, the magazine was unreadable. My favourite headline is "Can retarded sex development be cured?" At most a conversation piece.

Tags: books, magazines, glass, kitchen, household, October

A bit of a scramble today. Trying to get rid of rats. Set another trap. Filled in their tunnels going under the deck. Of course they will tunnel back out, but perhaps it will be a bit more inhospitable. The problem is we closed off the deck on the sides so the racoons couldn't fit under anymore. So the good news is no more racoons. The bad news is the rats have a safe, dry breeding ground once they make it under the deck. Sigh. I have lots of little shot glasses. Even though I hardly ever drink. Mostly I use them as tiny flower vases to hold a single flower. Nice in threes. This one has no matching partners. I haven't had much time to pick flowers this summer and now it's almost over anyway. (I used to take a photo every time we caught a rat. I gave up. It would have been a large album.)

Tags: kitchen, household, September, shot glass, random rat

In her later years, my dear cat Phoebe, who died in July, took to squatting on the edge of the litter box. This meant she ended up spraying pee outside the box. So I had to buy lids for the plastic pans (why do we call them boxes?) so at least the liquid could be contained and easily wiped off the inside of the covers. Thank goodness the remaining cats manage to confine their business to inside the box, meaning I have three covers not being used. Today someone was over helping me move stuff into the shed and asked if I was getting rid of any of the covers because they knew someone who wanted one. Just like that. One cover gone. I will probably post the others on craigslist. I babysat Lucy this afternoon. She looks angelic, but she can chew her diaper off in a couple seconds flat if she wants to. Stayed outside to keep her away from feline hostility and because it was a gorgeous end of summer day. I put things into the shed, Lucy watched. I sat in a chair and watched kids play in the street, Lucy sat by my feet. When Lucy's mom came to pick her up we humans went to a street market nearby. Lots of crafts, some produce, music, wine tasting — a lovely evening.

Tags: household, cats, dog, September

I take photos of everything that leaves the house now. Sometimes more than one thing leaves in a day, but I don't end up writing about it until later. I bought this salad set at a yard sale on the street where I live, about 6 years ago. It went to a friend, who said she was planning to give it to her daughter. I loved the colour, the packaging, the fact that LIFE magazine endorsed this salad set — it was neato. I would never have used it though, just would have kept it the way it was and looked at it occasionally. Now I can look at the photo whenever I want to remember it. Just as good as having the actual item in the cupboard. My parents have been visiting for a couple of days, so I haven't been out in the garden to take photos for random flower of the day.

Tags: household, kitchen, September

I only had this one black arcoroc bowl, not a set. Kept pennies and spare change in it. But there are three or four bowls/containers around the house with spare change in them. I consolidated. At some point I will have to roll up all the pennies and nickels and take them to the bank for some real money.

Tags: kitchen, household, September

Continuing on the theme of renovations. When we moved into our house 11 years ago the previous owners left some extra lino for patching. We did end up using some of it a couple of years later — the problem was that the scraps had shrunk from not being glued down, and when we patched the floor after fixing up the kitchen it was (and still is) very obvious because the squares no longer lined up properly. Never redo a kitchen without redoing the floor! Patching lino sure didn’t work for us. Ah well, we’ve lived with it a long time and will probably continue to live with it for another year. But there’s no way I’m keeping these pieces of lino around any longer. Random animal is my friend’s dog Lucy in her new wheelchair. She just stands in it and glares most of the time, but there’s hope yet. (For my Mom who keeps asking how Lucy is doing.)

Tags: household, building supplies, September, dog

This was in the shed. It went off to metal recycling with a few other things. Must have weighed 15 pounds. One of those things that ends up in a shed, me thinking someday I’ll find a use for it. I had it out on the street for a few days, but no one took it. Here’s another photo of my crew doing the demo.

Tags: household, August, shed

My garden helper took this little fan. Too bad I wasn’t here during the heat wave a few weeks ago to give it to him then. I’m glad I was out of the country, enjoying warm weather that wasn’t extreme. We have two other fans, and I’m thinking of getting one of the tall cylindrical ones next year. The big oscillating one I have now is too powerful and noisy, even on the lowest setting. I have to set it up outside the bedroom, in the hallway, and point it towards the bedroom doorway. Otherwise it’s like being outside on a windy day. This one hasn’t been used in two or three years — can you see the dust on it? Random flower is a Rudbeckia fulgida “Goldsturm.” They are just beginning to bloom. Cheerful and showy, when not much else is flowering.

Tags: household, appliances, August, random flowers

It’s a birthday today. Not mine. Went out for dinner (2 for 1 coupon but at a very fancy place). Thought about having a martini. $18. So I just thought about it. Gave this clock away. Enough reminders around here that time never takes a nap. A dear friend gave it to me years ago (thanks E!), along with a beautiful matching frame. I will keep the frame forever and ever, but the clock has a new happy home.

Tags: clock, household, August

My cats loved, loved, loved this drinking bowl/fountain. But it ran on electricity 24 hrs a day and the filter needed regular replacement and it seemed whenever I went to the pet store there were no filters in stock. The worst feature of this CatIt product though was that it became very slimy very quickly and had to be completely dismantled and carefully washed. Taking it apart was not easy. Whoever designed it made it really tough to keep clean. So as much as the cats, in particular Mika, enjoyed drinking the moving water as it burbled over the top dome, it is now being recycled. I can’t recommend this product. The fig was part of my breakfast this morning. Fresh picked from our tree. Yum.

Tags: cats, household, August, garden

Can’t remember where I got this. Haven’t ever really used it. It’s been on a shelf in my sideboard. Don’t need it. It is now in the donation box, which I’ll take away once it is full. If you want it, it’s yours. About 7in across. Random flower is a climbing red rose.

Tags: kitchen, household, July, random flowers

This is a wooden match holder. When I was younger I had a vision of living in a quaint Victorian house with nooks and crannies, with antiques and doilies. Now I’m paired with someone who likes open plan and is emphatic about no doilies. We live a mish mash of styles, if we are even able to sense a theme under the chaos. Getting rid of things is supposed to be helping.

Tags: household, antique, July

I had this changing pad around for when my nephews were infants and came to visit. This afternoon I went to visit Lucy the longhaired dachshund, hit by a car about a month ago. She is home now, and dragging her paralyzed back legs around behind her. There are small improvements, but she has no bladder or bowel control, so every time she is on a lap or on the sofa, she needs to be on a pad. Her mom is doing lots of laundry. Lucy is as sweet as ever and is so happy to be out of the animal hospital. She still manages to steal Max’s bone away from him and scootches down the hallway making her getaway.

Tags: bedding, household, July, dog

Unless you’re like me and keep things, you won’t discover how long it takes for rubber bands to deteriorate to the point of being useless and crumbling beneath your fingers as you try to stretch them. Actually I haven’t learned that either, because I have no idea how many years ago I put this collection of rubber bands in a baggie. I only know they are rotten now. I’m reusing the baggie, but I’ve had to throw the bands away. I hate putting stuff in the trash. Random flower is Cephalaria gigantea.

Tags: household, office, July

My friend is going to visit someone in the hospital and didn’t want to take a huge bouquet. So I found another little flower holder I am happy to give away. It’s only about 4 in high. Perfect for flowers fresh from the garden. Random flower is a rose I bought at the Government House plant sale a few years ago. The same rose graces the beautiful gardens there. (I won’t be blogging again til after the weekend. Hope it’s nice and sunny and warm where you are.)

Tags: vase, household, June, random flowers

I knew this was bound to happen. I got rid of these utensils in the past couple of weeks and today I really could have used the masher. Of course I hadn’t used the masher in the previous few years, but today I was making stewed rhubarb (for the first time in years) and realized the masher would have been the perfect tool. I used a fork, which did the job. But I had a laugh about it. Did the masher really take up that much space?

Tags: household, kitchen, June

I went to the Victoria Cat Rescue Society strawberry tea and sale today. Had the strange experience of seeing my donations on various tables at the sale. CDs, salt and pepper shaker, books, bowls, Christmas decorations, candles, and more. One thing I know for certain sold today was this set of ice cream dishes. They scored $10 for the rescue cats. I bought them years ago at a sale, used them once or twice, but somehow my visions of entertaining friends outdoors in the summertime and plying them with custards or sorbets or ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and whipping cream never materialized. I even bought long handled sundae spoons. Random cat is Jasper Friendly Bear.

Tags: household, glass, June, cats

Another project. Just needed a paint job. Thought I could put something on top of this. Another object left out on the front lawn with a “free” sign on it. I see the neigbourhood kids playing with it in their yard a few houses down now. Random flower is a poppy in the side yard.

Tags: household, June, miscellaneous, random flowers

I don’t like these anymore. Don’t know if I ever liked them. Am positive I bought them at a thrift store or yard sale. No pain. Random flower is a parrot tulip sharing a vase with a stem of Hebe hulkeana flowers.

Tags: household, June, random flowers

I make my morning coffee in a French press. I like the design of the stainless steel case, and that’s what I used for years. About once a year though, I would break or chip the glass carafe. When the all steel version came out, I splurged, figuring it was worth it because I would save on carafe replacement, which was about $28 a pop. I’m not sure where all the spare parts came from, because I only remember buying one bodum. The plastic one came from a yard sale. It was my back up. But the plastic cage cracked. I love the shape of my new bodum.

Tags: household, June

There were originally six coasters in this set, but only three by the time I got them from a friend of my mother. I’m a fan of birds. But they remained in the box. I have in use some great coasters with bowling pins on them — part of my bowling collection (and a gift from a friend who is always looking out for great bowling items for me). Rhinestone pins, brooches, salt and pepper shakers, piggy bank, vases, etc. — all with pins or balls or bowlers on them. So I’d rather use those coasters than the bird ones. Gone.

Tags: household, June

I’ve decided to get rid of my pink glassware and only collect clear or green. This isn’t old. It’s a sweet little teacup, but as a practical object, it’s too small for me — I drink from big mugs so I don’t have to refill as many times. As something pretty on a shelf in my sideboard it was nice for awhile. Random flower is giant allium.

Tags: household, June, random flowers

This lamp did not sell in the yard sale. I bought it at auction for $2 about 5 years ago, but never found the right place for it, nor the right shade. Plus, husband didn’t like it, so it stayed upstairs in a corner of the lab. It was out on the street for a couple of days, with a “free” sign on it. We watched one evening as a woman got out of her car, picked it up and took it over to her trunk...oh the anticipation. But she changed her mind, put the lamp back on the driveway and drove away. Yesterday, the postman rang the doorbell and asked if I could put the lamp aside until he finished his route; he was planning to come back for it. And he did. I love this combination of purple heuchera with the white hellebore.

Tags: lamp, June, household, random flowers

I have a couple of very nice old sewing baskets in which I keep my needles and thread. I don’t need a third, not so nice one. I believe I picked this up from someone’s yard sale leftovers for free. I’ve never cleaned it up nor put anything in it. So today, at the yard sale, I put it out in the free pile and someone took it. The sale was moderately successful. It all depends on who shows up looking for what. The vacuum (May 27) sold for $15, and the quilt (May 23) also sold for $15. That’s two large items I am glad aren’t taking up space in my place anymore.

Tags: household, May, miscellaneous

We used to live in an apartment with wall to wall carpeting everywhere. Now we only have carpet up the stairs. So we haven’t used this vacuum in over 10 years. It still works really well, and we even have some bags left. The vacuum has been stored in back behind the hot water heater this whole time, so it hasn’t taken up much useable space. Sort of forgot it was there. I’ll see if someone buys it at the yard sale. Random flower is a rhodo next to some of my favourite variegated grass.

Tags: household, May, random flowers

Evidently I had such a good time yesterday I came home and forgot to post something. Today’s item is a quilt I am putting in my friend’s yard sale, which has been moved to next weekend. I remember the quilt was on sale for a pittance (for handstitching) and I liked the pattern so much I actually bought two. Gave one to my mother years ago. Now this one can go away too. Random flower is a little iris that didn’t do so well over the winter. When I bought the clump last year there were over 20 iris, about 5 of them came back up this spring.

Tags: household, random flowers

Of all the things I’ve posted since January 1, I have only put a few in the trash. An old cat toy, a scrunchie, one suitcase, shoulder pads, chapsticks, two pairs of polyester socks that I can’t use as rags and maybe a couple of other things. I really wanted to spray this old duffel bag down with the garden hose and recycle it, but after hanging in the shed for 10 years and likely housing a rat family or two during that time, it is not only dirty, but all the metal bits have rusted and there is mold inside. So it went out with the city garbage today. Random flowers are pansies in a pot on the front step.

Tags: household, random flowers

Yes I’m getting rid of this tomorrow at the recycling depot, but two months from now I will have just as much again. If I had a garage I could wait until there was more to take, but these bags and containers take up a lot of space in the laundry room. I just wanted to show what accumulates. At least it’s not going to the landfill. Pacific Mobile Depots takes milk cartons and styrofoam and old electronics, soup and juice boxes, toothpaste tubes, soft plastics and much more. Check them out at www.pacificmobiledepots.com. There’s one in North Vancouver now too.

Tags: household, May

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

This mug was made in Kenya, with Kenyan clay and glazes, by a potter whose studio outside Nairobi I remember visiting with my mother. This would have been between 1976 and 1979. I have kept it for sentimental reasons. It was chipped long ago in a move so I don’t drink out of it. Part of my challenge in getting rid of things is to let go of sentiment. No one is going to use a broken mug, so I will break it down and consign it to the garden for drainage at the bottom of pots.

Tags: kitchen, household, February

I actually don’t want to get rid of this, but I haven’t found a place to hang it up, so have been unable to populate it with photos, clippings, cards, receipts, etc. It has been leaning up against a wall in the upstairs bathroom. It is a small bulletin board, about 3.5ft by 2. The rain has stayed away for a couple of days now — if it is still dry tomorrow, I will put this out on the street with a “Free” sign on it. Maybe someone will take it away.

Tags: household, February

The last day of my first month of getting rid of things I don’t want anymore. Things in boxes that have been shoved into the back of closets or stacked in the tiny storage space we have. Only 334 more items to go! Yikes. I might be down to pencils and paper clips and old pairs of socks in my last month.

My friend renovated her 40s bathroom several years ago and I scooped up some of the tiles, wanting to make some garden mosaic stepping stones or ornaments with them. My interests have changed. I’ll try to give them away to someone crafty.

The tile sphere is a project from http://craft.dow.com/craft/proj/1495.htm

Update: I posted these tiles on craigslist this afternoon in the free section and within an hour and half they were out of here! Who’d a thunk it?

Tags: household, January, projects

Another item I bought years ago and have never used.
I thought I was going to line some drawers with this.

Tags: household, January

This suitcase set has been stored outside in the shed for a decade. The larger one has rusted clasps and doesn’t shut properly. The lining is ripped. The smaller one is still in decent shape and could be used for storage, but I wouldn’t trust it through an airport luggage transfer system. I think it’s the trash for the big one and I’ll see if the Sally Ann wants the little one.

Tags: household, January