• one tablecloth. not so very lovely.
• one book on tape. actual cassettes; may as well be as eight-track or wax cylinder.
• one toy. multi-colored plastic beads that you melt into permanent useless toxic patterns. not as bad as it sounds.
• one cd. a childhood favorite of my child. now burned.
• orange mesh tube organizer. again, way better than it sounds. better get it out of the house before someone notices i've tossed it.

• one rock. a giant one that was (ma)lingering under the bed.
• three books. how on earth did the novelization of sabrina the teenage witch ever make it into this house?
• the stub ends of: a candle, a pencil, a clif bar.

• extraneous divorce paperwork. getting married is easier and requires fewer trees. more fun, too. though somewhat more expensive, in my case.

• one shirt. bad color for me, and it's sprouting a hole.
• skincare samples. blister pack nightmare.
• kid's book. more shelf space is not going to magically appear.
• kid's ski gloves. on to a smaller kid.
• rubber neon toy. i am annoyed that resources both natural and human were depleted to create this thing.

• extra earbud cushions. i assume there is a technical name for those.
• camera wrist strap. i think it's for a camera.
• ipod dock guard. again, guessing at the actual name.
• digital camera cd. not compatible with my operating system.
• printer cd. isn't everything online? electronics spawn many accessories of questionable value.

• my bank of america account. yes, bank transfer day was three months ago. i've been occupying a very busy life.
• one piece of kid art. the kid herself never really liked it.
• a bunch of ink cartridges. yes, they should be recycled. no, i will never remember to take them to the store with me.
• twelve erasers. disintegrating. only the pink pearls have longevity.
• three pencil grips. you will never have used one of these if you were born before 1990.

• five children's books. slam dunk.

• fifteen vintage nancy drews. none of us like nancy drew, they just look really cool.

• a blue towel. we have plenty of towels, but most of them are usually on various bedroom floors.
• a blue skirt. i just can't get the hang of skirts.
• a fantastic homemade new year's banner. put it up or put it out.
• two books. favorites, going to two favorite people.

• a bottle of makeup. wishful thinking.
• a bottle of theanine. not one of my essential aminos, apparently.
• a pair of pajamas. the easiest kind of clothing to keep around for too long. 
• a pile of dead ballpoint pens. one of which i picked up at a juneau hotel during my honeymoon twelve years ago. it outlasted my relationship by three years, though probably got less use.

• a rock. a very cool one, which i'm sure we will not miss.
• a tiny flower pot. recyclable? reusable? trash? rule one of throwing away: don't pretzel your brain over five ounces of garbage.
• another rock. seriously?
• reusable shopping bag. with holes. now less recyclable than either paper or plastic.
• a magazine. not mine, but i am stealthily reducing the community piles.

• a sweater. i feel like i've thrown this one away at least once before.
• a skirt. a one-season skirt, apparently.
• a cloth bag. these are ubiquitous if you have friends who buy really expensive shoes.
• paperwork. a packet of stuff that seemed important but is not.
• a poster. this was not mine, but we are all better for its absence.

• this year's course catalog for next year's high school. um, yes, useless.
• candle incense fusion mess. and yes, i am throwing it away, not recycling it, even though there is a glass somewhere in the midst of it.
• the extremely beautiful thank you card my aunt sent the kids. which was probably purchased in an exotic locale forty years ago. it has been enjoyed.
• three tubes of medication. for a condition i sincerely hope never to experience again.

• one pair snowboard boots. they don't get worn out when you only get to go a few times a year.
• rock. button. pencil sharpener. plastic craft needle. okay, they're small, but in the way.

• one metro card. the unused portion will be much more useful to a denizen of nyc than one of pdx.
• a bathing suit. kept past usefulness because the joy of finding a bathing suit that fit just right made the object precious beyond utility.
• a bag of clothing not accepted for resale by buffalo exchange. now i must give it away for free.

• a fleece sweater. once a favorite, not always a favorite.
• a fleece jacket. down to a single button and several safety pins.
• a chunk of plastic kickboard. lingering on a rarely used shelf.
• a random piece of metal shelving. ditto.
• the lame inner soles from my new ski boots. you'd think a pair of boots that retails for $500 would have decent arch support.

• two addresses. no longer needed (memorized) or wanted.
• one sweater. much loved, but no longer cutting the mustard.
• tired, outdated coupons. moving on...

• the notion that i could maintain stuff stasis for very long without daily purging. three months later it feels very crowded in here.
• returned: kid underwear in the wrong size. yes, she would grow into it someday...
• returned: first of two christmas presents purchased for my sister. second was much better.
• cracked plastic cd case. trash is trash.
• (small) stack of magazines. always a tricky temptation.