When you're living in America at the end of the milennium...

I have spent the better part of today sorting through boxes and inevitably, getting rid of and giving away a large portion of my posessions. This has always been a particularly difficult task for me. I might need those weird reminders of inside jokes I don't remember anymore. I look through these boxes and so much is the remnants of college and I don't recognize myself in these things anymore. As I sat sifting through boxes in my basement this afternoon, I felt none of that. I had three piles: PACK, THROW OUT, GIVE AWAY. The Give Away pile is by far the largest, but as I went through most of these boxes I didn't miss a beat. Throw it away, Jen, just throw.it.away.

So that's what I did. I saved a few marketing research reports and studies I headed up from university, but the rest of it went straight to the dumpster. College was great, but I don't need to relive it.

And it feels so great, I have to admit. I've had that shit in my basement or someone else's basement (namely, my granny's basement), for nearly three years now.

I feel happy giving my stuff away to Freecyclers. By the by, have you heard of Freecycle? They have them for most communities. Its a great way to find weird/nice/used things you're in search of or an even better way to get rid of your stuff! For free!

So far today, I have given away: a filing cabinet, a set of golf clubs, a food dehydrator, a fake Christmas tree and ornaments, plastic chairs, my kitchen table and matching chairs, my old CD stereo system, a microwave, a box of stuffed animals....

It feels really good to have less "stuff" in my life. An independent woman needs not useless shit in her life.

STILL UP FOR GRABS:
a paraffin wax dip for your hands or feet....oooh!
a candle water bubbley fountain thing.
a bunch of posters in Russian.
20 strings of white, pink, blue, and gold holiday lights


So much more stuff too...do you live near me? Do you want any of these things? C'mon, you know you want those Russian posters. I mean, let's face it: I am a person with cool, albeit, slightly kitschy things in her life. And now I am giving you the opportunity to live the good life, just like me! Do it.