Day 137 - Sweet Valley Twins & Other Books

I picked these Sweet Valley Twins books up awhile back thinking they'd be fun for the girls as they got older, but flipping through them I realized they're much more mature than I remember and I don't want to hang on to them for 5 years.

1 to 17. Sweet Valley Twins books
18. Pattern for 'Bangle Hats' from the 60's
19. children's paperback book
20. princess book the kids destroyed
21. The Mommy Diaries
22. beach read, of title I can't remember and is to small to read
23 & 24. Anne Perry mysteries
25. Cherry Ames, Student Nurse book
26. Psalms in Aramaic

Katie

Day 136 - CD/DVD-Roms

An assortment of empty boxes, various discs, and pamplets for web-cams. Twenty-Six in all!

Katie

Day 135 - Nintendo Power, Script, All You

1 to 17. Old Nintendo Power magazines. A few of these date back to 1989!
18. I don't remember what this black thing is
19. Blender magazine with Andy Samberg on the cover. DH is a big fan - you can see a blog he started here.
20 to 22. Script Magazine - a subscription I got for DH so sure he'd love it but as you can see some are unopened!
23 & 24. All You magazine
25. A local recreation guide that's been hanging around for months
26. Parents Magazine

Katie

Day 134 - Nintendo Strategy Guides, Gaming Brochures

DH found even MORE Nintendo publications this weekend.

Here are:
8 Player's Guides specific to games
1 SuperNintendo general guide
1 Gameboy general guide
6 Pamphlets from E3 about products
6 Nintendo Catalogs
4 Sheets of Star Wars decals

Katie

Day 133 - 3.5 Floppy Disc Extravaganza!

Do these look familiar? Did anyone under 25 ever use these?

I remember how much cooler these were than those big, literally floppy 5" discs I used on our Commodore 64. Quick, somebody comment about how they remember those, too or I'll feel really old!

We actually set aside 3 more of these floppies to mine data, if possible. One was labeled as correspondence between DH and I back before we were married so I want to save that, if possible. Can you believe we actually still have 2 desktop computers that read these discs!?! You'll be seeing those last three discs and at least one of those computers before ProjectTwentySix is through.

1 to 3. Zip Discs, for compressed data (Tee-hee!). We don't have a reader for these anymore, but we'll assume we don't need the data.
4 to 6. Cassette tapes - 2 sermons and something else
7 to 25. 3.5" floppy discs
26. A handbook for a TI-91. I figured this belonged in a photo with other, outdated technology.

Katie

Day 132 - Paper Miscellaneous

Today my mom told me she thought I was cheating on ProjectTwentySix when I posted a day of papers or stuff that would just go in the trash anyway. Sometimes stuff DOES go directly to the trash can after I take a photo, but the point is that before I started ProjectTwentySix those items DIDN'T go to the trash can.

Today's post is a good example of trash not making it to the trash can. These are mostly papers that have hanging around our home for years, literally. We were purposefully keeping most of them and others have just been hanging around because we never bothered to throw them away.

1 to 5. These are newsletters from the grocery store where DH worked back when we very first we married 8 years ago. DH wrote some small pieces/articles/funny bits that were 'published' in these, so he saved them.
6.Envelope that used to contain a computer game on a 3.5" floppy disk.
7 to 16. "Q" commendation cards that DH received on the job at that same grocery store. Notes of appreciation, mostly for a job well done. Yay DH! Working hard full time while he also went to school full time.
17. A card to record his collection of "Q" cards
18. A business card of an Uncle who has been retired for 3 years
19. A ministry card of a dear friend who passed away 2 years ago
20. Lego guide pages to build a soccer player
21. Pages of a Bible study I led almost 5 years ago!
22. A recipe I copied out of a book about 2.5 years ago
23. A potty chart I received between DDs #2 and #3 because I'm on a mommy mailing list. I completely forgot about it and managed to potty train DD#3 without it and figure DD#4 will do fine, too.
24. An invitation to get Lego Magazine
25. A Sunday school project that's been floating around (ha!)
26. Paperwork/Instructions for a toy set of Megablocks that's been gone for 9 months, sold at a garage sale last June.

I don't know about you, but I think al those papers are worthy of inclusion in ProjectTwentySix. Yes, some are small and every one of these items went to the recyle bin, but all have been in my house for years and just causing clutter. So there!

Love you, Mom! ;)

Katie

Friday Narrative - Update

I was looking back through old posts and realized I have completely forgotten about the Friday Narrative! Sometimes it's all I can do to get a post together each day (or almost . . .) but I'll see if I can manage to work this back in again.

We've been finding lots of items in the basement lately. My brother, who has a construction business with my dad, has been helping us from time to time with a remodel and since he's coming to visit again in the very near future we're trying to get stuff out his way. It doesn't seem to bother him at all, but it bothers ME when everything gets covered in dust.

There's also a city recycling event coming up in which I hope to get rid of lots of construction debris along with several electronic items that I hate to send to the landfill. Watch for posts on that as we prepare for it.

I love the idea of this project as it reminds me that the 'stuff' we surround ourselves with is not as important as we think. In application it's painful to realize just how attached I am to this 'stuff,' and the love I have for it is pretty sad!

Well, we're over 3 months in now and today I don't know how I'll keep it up through 12 months. Next week I might feel differently - One day at a time.

Katie

Day 131 - Kid Clothes

1. Baby Overalls
2 & 3. Baby pants
4. Sunsuit
5 to 7. Jackets
8 & 9. Shirts
10. Hooded sweater - just out of style
11. Sweater that got a hole in it
12 & 13. Stained shirts
14. tights with a hole
15. footie Strawberry Shortcakes PJs that are too small for DD#1 but there's no way I can pass them to DD#2 without drama so we'll just make them disappear.
16. dress that makes me cringe every time DD#1 puts in on.
17. baby blanket handmade for DD#1 - time to let it go.
18 to 20. rags/washcloths too stained/ruined/thin for practical use
21 to 26. Shoes

Day 130 - Husband Toys

These are all bits and pieces that DH found for me the other day.

1 Calculator
5 Star Trek: The Next Generation action figures
12 Weapons
1 Gremlin Head/Mask
1 Key
1 Pencil Grip
1 Pineapple Pez Dispenser (really old and suprisingly heavy)
1 Star Trek transporter badge
1 carved baboon
1 robot figure
1 figurine of Chuck E. Cheese's purple friend.
Total: 26 Husband Toys

Katie

Day 129 - Dollhouse & Other Toys

This dollhouse was actually purchased by DD#2 with her own money a couple years ago. All the little pieces fit inside but it has to be arranged just perfectly and takes more time and effort than I want to give it. We have a Barbie castle, a Little People house, and a collapsible castle/forest set for the squishy princesses still habitating our shelves.

There may be even more toys in the coming days as I'm hoping to move the girls' craft table out of our office and into the playroom. I'm so very tired of the kids' mess in our office and even more determined to move them out of there after I found several sheets of paperwork cut up into little pieces this morning. I do a few tax returns and these papers were only workpapers, nothing official. And they were from a prior year return. But they had client information on them and now my files are incomplete and it's just the impetus I need to make our office exclusive.

Katie

Day 128 - Yet Another Doll Magnet Set

This is another of those magnet sets. The girls really like this one, but it's been gone for about a week and no one's asking for it yet. I'm just tired of picking up the tiny pieces again. I'm a bit anal about toys getting put away properly so all these little bits that have to be sorted and put into the correct sets are big time suckers. And I'm way better than I used to be, too!

Katie

Day 127 - Magnetic Penguin Set

Oh, how happy I am to be parting with these! I pick up these little bits all the time. As great as this magnetic box is for storing and taking on road trips or plane trips, it's just not worth the clutter.

Katie

Day 125 & 126 - Double Magnetic Doll Set

Here is another large set of those magnetic dolls the girls enjoy. I'm parting with this one because the box is oversized and doesn't fit easily into our puzzle/magnet doll drawer. I'm really trying not to increase our storage capabilities and instead decrease the amount of stuff so it fits into our current storage space. As good a reason as any to send these away.

I'm counting this as two days because it is just barely short of 2 days worth of items and it's missing several shoes. I'm sure they will turn up. I've also had some other toys here on ProjectTwentySix with well over 26 small pieces so I feel justified.

Katie

Day 124 - Paper Items

1. Mailing envelopes
2. DH's college geology workbook
3. Business/Animation proposal
4. Business/Comic book proposal
5. Color page from kids
6. Homemade Christmas coloring book
7 & 8. Random discs - don't even know if they're cd, cd-rom, or dvd.
9. Gift tag we liked and hung onto for several months as a decoration
10 to 14. Game cards for something at Disneyland. One year on our anniversary we played this game where you collected cards and looked for clues on rides and stuff. It was fun, but we don't need these cards anymore.
15. to 23. Old greeting cards - mostly our 5 year old's Happy 3rd Birthday!
24 to 26. Disney Fairy cards of indeterminate purpose

Most of these items, particularly random ones, came out of the old basement office. I am expecting much, much more paper when I really dig into that room and the current office, as well.

Katie

Day 123 - Single Magnetic Doll Set

My girls have 6 large sets of these magentic doll toys. Two we've recently left at Grandma Janet's house so we can enjoy them there and I'm parting with more.

This set has 30 pieces and I'm missing a shoe. It'll show up soon, I'm sure. I'm constantly finding bits of these all over which is another reason to get rid of some!

Katie

Day 122 - Dad Toys/Video Game Pins

Here are some toys and a bunch of pins/badges that DH picked up at a video game conference, probably E3.

1. This batman figurine was a gift to DH from DD#1 when she was just 3 and choosing a Christmas gift for him. It was a nice memory when we found it.
2. This is a Spiderman villian (I think). We'll probably put these two toys in our gift box for some boy birthday down the road.
3. A noisy 'cat in a bag' toy.
4. A batman Pez dispenser
5. Part of a fast food toy
6. Die from Microsoft Surface team
7 to 26. Freebies from E3 (probably). Some of these look a little scary. My favorite one says "A** Kickers, Not A** Kissers Read [Whatever name] Magazine!"

Katie

Katie

Day 121 - Nerfuls & Care Bears

1 to 18. These Nerfuls are fun toys from DH's childhood. If you're over 30 you might remember these, too.
19 to 21. Carebears also from DH's childhood.
22. Donald Duck figure
23. Fish bath toy
24. Broken Hot Wheels toy
25. Pluto figure
26. Elephant figure

Katie

Day 120 - Basement Papers

This is just a huge pile of papers that DH sorted through. Most of it was stuff he brought home when he was laid off from a job back in July 2009! Also included is a cardboard box for the water pump we bought back in November 2009! Kind of embarassing how much junk we've collected.

Katie

Day 119 - Basement Bits

DH and I worked a bit in our basement over the weekend. It's living space but it was damaged with a water leak two and a half years ago and we don't use it too much because it's freezing down there without carpet! We do have a big area rug down there with some of the older girls' toys and our guest bedroom, too. This weekend we spent time in a big room that was our old office and sorted through a few boxes.



1. Empty CD case
2. Empty double CD case
3. Some PC game
4. A plastic cover for someting or other
5. Unknown plastic disc
6. A 2 year birthday card for our 6 year old
7. A roll of new film for a Kodak Advantix camera
8. Unknown remote
9. Award box
10. Printer ink refill kit (used)
11. TI-86 Calculator
12. TI-86 Manual
13 & 14. More fake flowers
15 to 26. 12 months of receipts from 2006.

Katie

Day 118 - More Kid Onus

1 to 4. Zipper bags from the dentist
5. Toy camera case
6. Toy camera
7 & 8. Dollar Store jump ropes. Learn from my experience, please, and don't bother buying these. The 'rope' is so lightweight the kids can't get it to swing over their heads. Just buy a good one with beads so it's actually usable.
9. Package of kid paints. These are almost all used up and the kids constantly beg to use them. Just tossing them so the temptation and whining stop.
10. Stackable block - I got rid of the rest of these earlier
11. Baby rattle/toy
12. Orange thing - I have no idea what this is
13 & 14 - Paper doll fairy things
15. Bubble wand
16. Color wonder marker
17. Crayon with no crayon inside
18. Tiana lipglass
19. Mary Kay eyeliner sample
20. Kid microphone
21. Top of a kid microphone
22. Play-dough container
23. Paper doll fairy
24. makeup sponge
25. makeup brush
26. lipgloss

DD#1 got several makeup items at a birthday party over a year ago. I stowed these in a cupboard for about a year and she recently rediscovered them. I'm tired of seeing her begging to paint herself. Just making them disappear.

Katie

Day 117 - Baby Gear

I love that I am getting all this stuff out of my house as DD#4 outgrows it, but it's also a little sad to be leaving the baby stage behind. I figure when we get the baby bug again we can get new things - in moderation - for baby.

1. Changing pad
2. Girly burp rag
3. Strawberry Shortcake burp rag
4. High chair back pad
5. Carseat infant head stabilizer
6. Infant Bib
7 to 9. Diaper covers
10 & 11. Baby headbands
12. Sunscreen stickers (to gauge how much sun exposure baby has had)
13 to 17. Various pacifiers - these things just keep turning up!
18 & 19. Pacifier tethers
20 to 26. Air fresheners for a diaper pail - I still have a diaper pail but I have never used air fresheners so why have I kept these for 6 years? I don't know.

Katie

Day 116 - Kid Bits & Pieces

1. Piece of a fake flower
2. Broken dress-up ring
3. Medallion off a Mardi Gras necklace
4. Bubble bottle
5. Microphone grip
6. Fairy paper doll
7. Bracelet
8 & 9. Silly Bandz
10. Cinderella lipgloss
11 & 13. Sea creatures from the dentist
14. Doggie from the dentist
15 & 16. Dinosaurs from the dentist
17. Glow bracelet
18. LPS cake
19. Paper doll dress
20. Rubber stamp
21 & 22. Play-dough tubs
23. Doll stand
24. Magnet to a book
25. Marker
26. Piece of a fake flower

Katie

Day 115 - Magazines

When we were pulling all of DH's Nintendo Power magazines out of the basement closet I also found 13 Better Homes & Gardens magazines that are about 5 years old. I found a few more to bring up today's total to 26.

1 to 13. Better Homes & Gardens - old
14 & 15. Magazine storage boxes
16 to 20. All You
21 & 22. Better Homes & Gardens - more recent
23. Parents
24 to 26. Script (these are DH's)

Katie

Day 114 - Baby Clothes

I found the camera! Thanks to DH for reminding me where we'd last used it. And shame on me for blaming the kiddos!



Here are the baby clothes:

1. Turtleneck
2. Tunic top
3 & 4. Bird outfit
5 & 6. Bow outfit
7 to 26. 10 pairs of socks

Katie

Missing Camera!

One of my sweet daughters must have tucked our camera away somewhere. I'm collecting my items but can't photograph them!

Look for posts on baby clothes (114), my magazines (115), and kids' little items (116) soon!

Katie

Day 113 - Nintendo Ads & Publications

DH had a bunch of other Nintendo paraphenalia mixed in with his Nintendo Power magazines. Today's selection includes those items. There are Toys'r'us ads, Blockbuster Video ads, catalogs specifically for Nintendo gear, and some Pokemon magazines, too.

Thanks again to DH for happily including these in ProjectTwentySix!

Katie

Day 112 - Nintendo Power Issues 91 to 120

Here's the last of of DH's Nintendo Power Magazine collection from December 1996 to May 1999 with a few missing. I didn't even know what this stack was down in the old office closet and it was good for 4 days of ProjectTwentySix Purging!

There's lots of other stuff in that closet that we haven't looked at since October 2009 (!) so we decided we'll attack it next weekend and see what we can part with. Hooray for DH being my buddy in ProjectTwentySix!

Katie

Day 111 - Nintendo Power Issues 66 to 90

Even more Nintendo Power Magazines! These issues date from November 1994 to November 1996.

This issue caught my eye. I'm a baseball fan and a Seattleite so I thought I'd show off this cover.


Katie

Day 110 - Nintendo Power Magazines Issues 40-65

Here are more of DH's Nintendo Power collection. These isses date from September 1992 to October 1994.

Does anyone know if I could sell this collection or should I just recycle it?

Katie

Day 109 - Nintendo Power Magazines/Player Guides

A huge thanks to DH who immediately offered to get rid of these magazines when I was lamenting that I was having a hard time finding items for ProjectTwentySix.

These include 8 Player Guids for Nintendo games and 18 Nintendo Power Magazines dating from early 1991 and through 1992.

Katie