Day 108 - More 18 Month Clothes

Here's another batch of clothes from DD#4 as she's moving up a size.

I'm giving 3 sleepers to a cousin with a baby 6 months behind DD#4. Another outfit is a little hard to part with. It has embroidery of some birds and says "birdie" on it. We received it when DD#2 was a baby and her nickname is Birdie. *sniff*

It's been so hard to find stuff lately, the baby clothes have been a relief!

Katie

Day 107 - Laundry Finds

I have had a big stack of stained clothing in my laundry rooms for months waiting for some extra attention. I finally gave these my super stain treatment and about half come out clean and the other half I am not going to try anymore. If I haven't needed it for months, I don't need it now.

1. Stained onesie (terrible blue dye in a detergent from Amazon!)
2. Stained PJ shirt
3. Stained white shirt
4 & 5. pants & shorts that match the stained pj shirt
6. Stained pink shirt
7. Paint on Red sparkle shirt
8. Stained white infant sweater (terrible blue dye in a detergent from Amazon!)
9. Purple "fancy" outfit with faint stains
10. Heavy sweater DD#2 really likes but it takes forever to dry and I don't like it laying out for 3 days. Just slipping this one out. Shhhh.
11. Stained skirt
12. Tiny stain on a onesie that's too small by now.
13. Stained blue shirt
14 to 17. Washcloths - the girls got new ones for Valentine's Day
18 to 20. Kid tights with holes
21 & 22. Old socks of mine - look at those holes in the heels! When we first got married I never threw socks away. I would just save the "good" socks for when I was going somewhere and might remove my shoes. I remember being really embarrassed once at a mommy group when one of the toddlers came over and poked her finger right in the hole on the heel of my sock. Naturally it called attention and I was embarrassed and sad that I couldn't afford new socks. I'm pretty sure I called my mom and cried because it's like a family joke now that I always get socks as gifts.
23 & 24. Other old socks of mine.
25 & 26. These are ruffled socks I bought thinking they'd fit one of the girls, but they're actually adult size. Why would an adult wear ankle ruffle sock?

Katie

Day 106 - Larger Items & Misc.

I've been collecting photos of big stuff as it's been leaving the last month of two. The pile of stuff next to my bed just gets too big if I collect this big stuff for long. I also have a few random items in here that I just snapped quick photos of when I didn't have time to gather a full 26.

First up: Comforter and pillow sham. The older girls got new quilts for Christmas so we don't need to keep the old comforters.
An excellent crib/toddler bed mattress cover. I have another one that does the job and folds flatter in the drawer.

Ah, the Barbeque! I was so excited to FINALLY haul this down to my brother in Portland. Our neighbor gave it to DH last fall who took it thinking it was a big improvement on our exisiting grill. When it came time to take one of the two to my brother, DH opted to keep the familiar one. As we struggled to get the thing into our Suburban I suggested to DH that he remember this moment the next time someone offered him a hand-me-down of these proportions. He did not appreciate my suggestion or its timing.

DH really wants me to have less mugs in the cupboard. I have already gotten rid of several! My mom has several mugs in this style (famous art from various art museums depicted on mugs) so I sent this one home with her.

I bought this little table in my single days, when I shared a 3 bedroom apartment with a couple of girlfriends. My tiny bedroom needed a desk and this narrow table did the trick. Thanks to Judy, one of my Facebook friends, for taking this out of my house.

These are wooden frames to hang on the wall. I was planning to donate them after last year's garage sale but my mom asked me to hang on to them for a project she had in mind for my daughters' room. I asked her a couple months back if I could bring them to her and get them out of my house. She had no idea what I was talking about or what idea she had had in mind. Hm.

Baby rocker/vibrating chair with hanging barnyard animals.

Baby sound & light bar that all my girls enjoyed. I just got tired of trying to find a space for it in our playroom.

Another table. I got this as a hand-me-down from my friend, Angie. We used it in our office for a couple years and as a sofa table for a couple more. Thanks to Megan, another Facebook friend, who was willing to take it.

If you're counting we're up to 16 items. I'm kinda cheating here and calling this toy 10 pieces because well, it's 10 pieces. I didn't count the odd pieces hanging from the baby toys futher up this post, so I feel justified in including these ones. We have 3 shape sorting toys and it was really hard to decide which to part with! I finally settled on this one.


Katie

Day 105 - More Baby Clothes

Some of these are brand new! The kid just grows too fast to get her into everything.

1. Totally cute jacket
2. Black leggings
3. Striped leggings
4. Black leggings
5. Pink butterfly shirt
6. Black silver star shirt
Note that Items 1-6 all still have tags. Just kills me!
7 & 8. Cute outfit that's actually DD#4s LAST size, but I kept putting her in it
9 & 10. I picked up this lime/pink Puma outfit at a thrift store myself which is pretty unusual and made it special.
11 & 12. Stripey pants outfit. I love this one! I am keeping the matching stripey hoodie because it'll still fit for awhile and I just love it!
13 to 17. Shirts
18 & 19. White patent leather shoes with pink patent leather trim. Loved these on DD#3 but wrong season for DD#4 and she didn't wear them once. I kept them for 2 years for no reason!
20 & 21. Dresses
22 to 24. 3 piece pajama set

I must've miscounted today. Whoops! I'll get 28 items another day this week to catch up.

Katie
20.

Day 104 - Baby Clothes

Here are some of DD#4's clothes now that she's moving up another size. I love to empty thes bins!

11 onesies
5 - 2piece outfits
4 skirts
1 ruffle-bum pants

Katie

Day 103 - Kid Bits & Pieces

Some kid stuff that has been accumulating in my little box for just this purpose. I had to lock my bedroom door this evening to snap this photo!

1. Leaky bottle of bubbles
2. Box beads came in
3. Tiny princess notebook
4. Piggy toy destroyed
5. Straw that's clogged or something
6. Mickey eraser
7 & 8. Paper doll party favors that the girls enjoyed until I got tired of them fighting over them
9 & 10. Dried out erasers
11. Dalmation pin
12. No break crayon without a crayon inside
13. comb
14. Press-on nails, a stocking stuffer error that I keep picking up everywhere
15. Tinkerbell notebook
16. paper bug wings
17. dried up glitter glue
18 & 19. pipe cleaner bug legs
20. Cinderella shoe
21. another paper bug piece
22. market lid
23. another paper bug piece
24 & 25. Cinderella arm puffs - what do you call those anyway?
26. Cinderella headband

Katie

Day 102 - Office Ppaers & Books

I made another pass at the office this week.

1. 2010 calendar that was still hanging on the wall
2. 2011 calendar
3 & 4. Mail that's been hanging around since September
5 to 9. Old handouts
10. Bulletin board
11 & 12. Leaf art projects
13. Something kid-made with Perler beads
14. Kid-made bookmark
15 & 16. Party favors
17. Elmo's 12 Days of Christmas book
18 to 25. Books on European history - a favorite topic
26. Color Wonder marker

Katie

Day 101 - Old Books

These books have been on a shelf in the basement closet for over 4 years. They're of Donna Parker, Jean Craig, and Happy Hollisters series. I decided to run them by friends at my favorite local bookshop, McDonald's Book Exchange. They were pleased to receive the books and generously gave me a credit for $44.00. I'll take it!

I love to take books to this shop because I know my treasures will go to a good home and be well-loved. It makes it easier to say good-bye.

Katie

Day 100 - Cloth Diapers

Here are 26 diapers I gave to a friend at church. She, too, uses cloth diapers with a plastic cover unlike lots of moms who use the all-in-one varieties. I was happy to pass these along to another mommy who would use them. I still have more than enough to fill my diaper pail.

Katie

Day 99 - More Laundry Finds!

I am really starting to look forward to folding laundry! I generally find many items for ProjectTwentySix and as it's getting hard and harder to find stuff I say Bring It On!

1. Dress DD#3 outgrew and I don't like it well enough to save for DD#4.
2. Frou-frou princess skirt that isn't pretty anymore
3 & 4. Shirt/jumper outfit I love, but is stained and went through the wash with a nametag on it. Just don't want to bother getting that gummy stuff off when she has so many other clothes.
5. Organic baby teether
6. Baby tights with a run
7. Red turtleneck - a last option in DD#3's drawer
8. Striped turtleneck - too short for DD#1 and DD#2 won't wear turtlenecks.
9. Pink hoodie - trying to trim down the outerwear
10. Pink leggins with a little hole in the bum. The knit pants just look funny with a mend.
11 to 15. Cloth diapers that aren't uniform with the rest. Just makes folding a little hinky.
16. Threadbare washcloth - not even good enough for a rag, really.
17 & 18. Some of my very first rags! I cut up a pair of my favorite, but well-worn, work pants early in my career. I actually did use these in my first apartment but they never were great.
19. A rag with some black stuff on it. I can't even remember what it is - something melted on the glass-top stove I think and I tried to wipe it up fast ruining a rag in the process.
20. Baby headband in white eyelet. I found this buried in the sock basket.
21 to 26. Shirts that fit DH and are perfectly good. They're Eddie Bauer, Banana Republic, Tommy Hilfiger, 2 from Target and one from Macy's. They're also all 100% cotton. I don't iron. It really kills me to get rid of these because DH is really tall and thin it's hard to find his size. But what use are they if he doesn't wear them because I don't iron them?

A story about ironing: I was getting ready to iron a few months ago for something or other. DD#2 who must've just turned 5 or was about to turn 5 said, "Mommy, What's that thing?" DD#1, who loves to prove her 6 year old superiority in any way, piped up "That's an ironing board. I saw one at Grandma's." Ha!

Katie

Day 98 - Authentic 26

I mentioned that I toss items onto my bed as I find them during the day. Usually the end up in a couple of boxes on the floor next to the bed, sorted into groups so I can post like items each day. Yesterday we were home all day long and the pile of stuff accumulated like usual. I thought it would be interesting to post the miscellaneous assortment of one real, full day of twenty-six items.


1. A sweater I really love, but we are trying to trim down the outerwear our girls have to 2 coats (one heavy, one lighter) and 2 zip sweatshirts/jackets/sweaters for those days when they don't need a coat. DD#2 doesn't often choose this one.
2 to 8. Books that are duplicates. Grandma picked up a bunch of Junie B. Jones and Magic Treehouse books for a quarter apiece. Many fit into our collection, but these were duplicates.
9. A CD of Al's Alphabet. Boring. The older girls told me I should put in P26.
10. A spray bottle that doesn't spray anymore.
11 & 12. Dress-up crowns that broke
13. An insert to a Rapunzel toy set that DD#2 has been saving and plays with. It ripped, I'm not fixing it, so it's gone.
14 & 15. Princess cake toppers from a long ago birthday cake
16. Part of a McDonald's toy
17. A fish-shaped sponge
18. A magnet piece for a long-gone book
19. A blue animal stamp that just isn't worth the fights and scrubbing it results in
20. Infant-sized bracelet
21. Non-breakable crayon without a crayon inside
22. Water bottle full of rice and bits of stuff - class art project
23. Diaper cover DD#4 has outgrown
24. Fake flower - will these ever end? I was sure I had gotten all of them.
25. Crown to something or other
26. Bit of sponge from another class project

Katie

Day 97 - Bits & Pieces

These have been collecting in a little basket in the corner of my bedroom.


1. Card of 3 butterfly shaped hairclips. This was a gift from DD#2 when DH took her shopping at The Dollar Store. I mentioned "plain black or brown hairbands" to him, but this is what came home. =^)
2. Hello Kitty soft headband the kids fight over and doesn't work well
3 to 13. Pieces of a fairy game
14. Flower bookmark
15. Directions to fairy game
16. LPS insert
17 & 18. Nametags from our newly married Sunday school class
19. Book the kids destroyed
20. Pacifier
21. Pacifier tether
22. Some toy acessory
23 & 24. Some clips/hooks for something or other
25. Barbie lettuce that always makes its way out of the Barbie box
26. Another Silly Band! Do these things ever die!

Katie

Day 96 - Christmas & Kitchen

I finally got Christmas packed up! But it's all still sitting in my front hall . . . Maybe DH and I will get it stowed away this weekend.



1. A silver, fake flower ornament that I had hanging on a doorknob. Not my style.
2. A really beautiful panda ball ornament that we don't have sentimental attachment to.
3. Blue metallic ball
4. Silver metallic ball
5. A figurine from The Dollar Store that DD#1 gave me last Christmas. I am so glad she is not seeing this blog! I'm afraid it would break her little heart to see I'm getting rid of this. She picked it out because it looks like my Lladro figurines and proudly showed it to visitors all year long as it sat in my china cabinet with the Lladros. I just didn't put it back when I took all the Christmas items out. #BadMama!
6. A Christmas cupcake wrap
7. A green M&M figure that showed up this Christmas
8 to 11. Bibs
12. Collapsible measuring cups
13. A cookie scoop with a flexible silicon bottom for popping those cookies out
14. Chipped Cinderella mug
15 & 16. Bread pans I don't use often. I have my favorite sizes and these aren't them.
17 to 22. Old Tupperware sippy cup lids
23. A formula/snack box for babies
24 to 26. Empty salad dressing bottles. I don't buy/make huge quantities of Ranch like my mom did so I don't really need these bottles.

Katie

Day 95 - Mom & Dad Clothes

I thought I just cleaned out my closet! Guess not because I found all this stuff today!

1. Workout tank - I wore this once or twice. Not my style and I don't work out anyway
2. Dance leotard - I wore this all the time back when I used to dance. It's so old the elastic has got to be shot and again, I don't work out anyway.
3 to 5. Old t-shirts of DH's that are getting ratty around the neck.
6. A sock with lots of paint spots
7 to 14. Underwear - his & hers, worn out, some are those comfy pregnancy ones that you can't believe you actually wore. Yeah.
15. Navy sweatshirt I haven't worn in years, not even camping.
16. Some white garment I can't identify from the photo and I don't want to go dig it out of the garage sale box where I put it a couple of hours ago. See how much I used it?
17. A pink top I actually really like, but I picked up another one at a thrift store that is better quality and a little longer.
18 & 19. White & red cardigan sweaters I don't wear much anymore because the length is too short.
20. Down coat from the GAP. I've had this coat since 1997. It was my first ever credit card purchase. Ah, memories. Just out of style now.
21. Red Old Navy sweater I picked up from a thrift store. I have a different one from a different thrift store I like better.
22. T-shirt my Aunt had made for me and my 16 cousins back in 1996. It has a picture of all of us with Grandma and Grandpa and "MY COUSINS" printed on it. Just washed out, worn out, and I'm ready to let it go. A little sad moment looking at it today because my Grandma just passed away a couple of days ago. I still have the picture so I don't need the shirt.
23. T-shirt I got back in high school when I volunteered at the women's crisis center in town. One of my very favorite workout shirts whenever I attempted it and it's just super worn out.
24. A bridesmaid dress from my brother's wedding nine years ago. Why is this still around? And more importantly, why did this come through three moves?
25. Jacket from my college choir. It says "Sing With Joy" on it. Our choir director was named Joy and I thought it was so clever! Oh well. I never wear it. Pure nostalgia.
26. A Les Miserables T-shirt I bought when the traveling show came to the city nearest my hometown in high school. I was that kid who listened to famous broadway musical soundtracks with the other choir kids and we'd sing all the different parts and harmonize and all that. It's just another shirt in the pile of "workout" shirts that we've already established are unnecessary.

Katie

p.s. Thanks to my friend Kracinda who said she reads faithfully and likes when I am a little bit funny. I don't know if I'm that funny but it's good motivation to include some stories if I know someone's reading.

Day 94 - Laundry Finds!

I love getting the laundry caught up! I inevitably find at least a day's worth of things to discard for ProjectTwentySix and this round was no exception.

1. A tired thrift store fleece jacket
2. Cute jacket just too small for DD#1 and DD#2 has tons of her own jackets
3. A 12M white jacket all four girls has worn. It's so tired this one's going straight to recycle.
4. A pink sweater DD#4 has outgrown.
5. A white sweater DD#4 has outgrown. This was one of my very few "nice" purchases for my kids. I got this one at Macy's and loved it.
6. A Mickey Mouse denim jacket that's cropped and out of style.
7 & 8. Dresses I don't really like.
9. A shirt I don't really like.
10. Plaid pants
11. Pajama pants
12. Brown pants outgrown by DD#4.
13 to 15. onesies/shirts outgrown by DD#4.
16 & 17. newborn onesies that are really too big for the dolls. Preemie fits.
18. Boy short underpants the girls didn't go for.
19. Purple tights that got a run.
20 to 25. socks outgrown by DD#4.
26. Sock that's worn out and mate was part of ProjectTwentySix earlier.

Katie

Day 93 - Office Papers

Another round of office papers. DH found these missing reciepts from 2009. I have no idea where, but they appeared on our bed in the pile of stuff that accumulates all day long. I'll take it!

1 to 9. More kid artwork. I've been including about 25% of the artwork I find lying around. I know some is new and some is old, so I toss out most of it.
10 to 17. 8 Months of 2009 receipts.
18. Box some art project came in
19 to 23. Kid paintbrushes
24. Map of Pennsylvania
25. Map of New Jersey & Delaware
26. Car rental paperwork

Katie

Day 92 - Books & Bathroom

Today's selection:

1 to 9. Kid books
10 & 11. Lotion & Foot Soak that were in my stocking.  Note to DH: Please don't buy me Christmas gifts at the Dollar Store. I won't use them. 
12 & 13. Handmade soaps I received as gifts long ago. I'm passing these on to our MOPS group for door prizes
14 & 15. Bath & Body Works products I also received in a gift more recently. I'm also donating these to MOPS.
16 to 24. How many white washcloths does a girl need?
25 & 26. Cleaning rags that are useless as one is a weird material and the other has caulk all over it.

Katie

Day 91 - Diaper Covers & Baby Toys

1. Cloth Diaper in shreds
2 to 4. Baby links
5. Tinkerbell pad
6 to 11. Stacking/nesting blocks
12 to 15. Robeez - outgrown and likely headed to consignment
16. soft doll girls like but they got new dolls for Christmas
17 to 26. Diaper covers #4 has outgrown

Katie

Day 90 - More Kid Onus

Today we have a cheap, changeable calendar I picked up for $2.50 at Target. You get what you pay for. The flimsy pieces broke easily and the main board didn't stay upright very well. Just not worth the trouble. We'll "X" off days on a paper calendar and it will have to do. Those are items 1 to 16.

17. Generic pony with ballpoint pen art
18 to 20. Mega Blocks
21. OSU pop-pom from Uncle John that is falling apart
22. fake flower (very possible the final one!)
23 & 24. bracelets
25. Little Pet Shop sandpail. Does anyone keep the little pieces that go with LPS?
26. A red bead necklace

Katie