five more books. there will always be five more books.

a small cat.
a small rabbit.
a very small dog.
a very small seal.
a very small lizard. volume isn't everything.

• a pile of plastic bags. not so necessary now that i no longer have a dog.
• a book. frida kahlo for first graders. brilliant.
• three paint brushes. we have a lot of paint brushes.
• a piece of hardware. part of a doorknob?
• a box of stationery. wish we used more of this.

• one jar of polyethylene glycol. you would throw it away too.
• one cookbook. i know it's probably sacrilegious, but i get all my recipes from the internet.
• one cloth wine carrier. if were to buy twelve bottles at once, they would come in a nice cardboard box.
• two more books. i belong to the greatest library system in the country.

• five more books. it gets harder as the shelves get lighter. i am determined that i will be the only book blogger on the web who does not actually own books.

• a t-shirt. with writing on it. never going to happen.
• a nightgown. worn to a literal rag.
• a cloth bag. a very nice, soft cloth bag. yup.
• an ice cream scoop. seriously, i buy ice cream twice a year.
• a very small notepad. i must stop taking these from hotel rooms.

• five more books. must keep striking while this iron remains hot.
• a picture frame. another case of put it up or put it out.
• a rock. surely other houses are not plagued by rocks in this manner?
• a magazine. snuck into the recycling while no one was looking.

• five more cds. honestly, gritting my teeth here.

• five cds. whittling away at that final, hard-to-let-go-of stack.

• five books. i do not have small children, i do not need shelves of books for small children, no matter how great they are. repeat, i do not have small children, i do not need...

• two flower pots. they seem to replicate when i'm not looking.
• three jars of vitamins. they only work when you swallow them.

• a shirt. which i love, but which does not look good on me. boo.
• a fleece headband. worn twice by one child.
• a pair of gloves. men's gloves. very large.
• two books. school book sale is coming soon!

• four books. one shelf left, then i can throw away the bookcase.
• a pair of tights. i thought i would rock the polka dots, but no.

• one tiny toothpaste.
• two tiny soaps.
• three tiny lotions. just because it's free doesn't mean you need it.

• one jacket. jackets are my weakness.
• one shirt. i just do not wear red.
• one tiny green chair. you know how something invested with fond memories seems very precious, then you realize that it's really junk? um, yes.
• one jump rope handle. i have no idea.
• one tube of lip glossy stuff. yuck.

• one large metal mixing bowl. and then there was one...
• one sports bra. which is not so helpful languishing in the bottom of a drawer.
• one picture frame. ugly.
• one pair of slippers. which have seen a lot of use.
• one growth chart. too late, we've been using the hallway wall for years.

• three ikea light bulbs. they do not seem to fit any lamp or fixture in this house.
• one plastic container. a great one, it housed a shirt. probably could be very useful. someday.
• a pair of pink rubber boots. that do not fit anyone who lives here.
• a gorgeous silk cushion cover. this has resisted many purging attempts on my part, but now it's time.

• five more books. kids outgrow fiction genres a little less quickly than skinny jeans, but outgrow them they do.