one guy's trash is another girl's excuse to dumpster dive ...


I am in the process of de-cluttering my life - making space for something new. This is a big undertaking for a packrat like me. Things and thoughts and emails and ... well, mostly crap actually ... is making life feel a little heavier around here than I like it to feel and even though I mostly love my crap

some of it just has to go ...

In the process of my own de-cluttering, I discovered that in a totally unconnected passion to untie some knots and clear some space, my brother and his wife were doing a massive de-cluttering of their own house -

they rented a huge metal dumpster, to toss everything that is not recyclable, and it has been sitting in their driveway for a week.

(they are totally lucky they live where they do because in my neighborhood a dumpster in your driveway for a week would be filled while you sleep with 3 barcaloungers, 2 tires from a '79 Pinto and a toothless guy named Pete would already be unpacked, settled in and receiving mail and guests)

When I heard about this I had to head over there and check out just what they were throwing out -

(I truly tried to hold back because I really don't need anyone else's stuff - I paced around my house, bit my nails, reread the Oprah cut the clutter issue, ate a poptart, tried to remember just what the hell they had in their garage anyway - but finally I gave in to my inner dumpster diver and drove over there)

It was kind of like this ----->


(except I was wearing way cooler shoes)



Anyhoo, I grabbed up some of the beautiful pottery the two of them created at art school in Boston -

(not sure what I am going to do with it all or how it fits into my own de-cluttering, but something tells me my life can use the kind of grounding this large pile of lovingly handcrafted clay is offering up)
a book on HTML for dummies and some CDs that were about to go to Best Buy including Harry Chapin, Jeff Beck and Pat Benatar.

(WTH Vinnie - tossing Pat Benatar?!)

So maybe I took a little step backwards, but it is all good because life is a process after all and some things cannot be rushed. Things are still getting de-cluttered around here because I know I need to create some awfully large space in my life for the awfully large, awfully amazing stuff that is coming my way.

At first when hubby saw boxes coming into the house he was all - "what the heck, I thought we were getting rid of stuff" - but then he saw the gorgeous pots and bowls and thingamajigs and he was smitten, too

and the Frank Zappa, did I mention there was a Frank Zappa?

(WTH Vinnie?!)

* let it go print by the amazing Nan Lawson (who also has a locket or two)

10 comments

lynn bowes said...

Handmade pottery?!? Treasure! I'm tempted to pull our little farm dumptruck over to the garage but should probably invite my friends over to go through boxes, hmmm? Come to Davey, Nebraska . . .

Catherine Ivins said...

I'll be there Lynn!

xo

M.M.E. said...

Haha. At least your husband liked the stuff as well. I'm still going through the Less 365 challenge where I get rid of 1 thing a day (or 7 a week because it feels better to do it collectively). My boyfriend is now REALLY getting worried because I'm starting to run out of stuff and am eyeing his collection. He doesn't need every issue of Aperture, right?

Orion Designs said...

I'm wondering why they were getting rid of that pottery??? It's beautiful and functional. WTH Vinnie?

And I'm with you on the Pat Benatar.

(and my verification word today is suffera -- isn't that great?)

Catherine Ivins said...

they kept ALOT of pottery - they just had hundreds of pieces! it worked out for me!

magazines are hard to part with Megan- I always think I'm going to need tham again, too

xo

Suzanne said...

You're just guilty of what we all do. That's why you never invite a friend to hang with you when you do a garage sale -- she'll end up taking half the stuff home with her.

Catherine Ivins said...

that's why I never go to a friend's garage sale if I can get myself out of it Suzanne!

xo

Patty said...

You are hiLARious (the shoes)! But you totally hit the nail on the head. It's just so *hard* to think about such meaningful things meeting an untimely demise in a landfill. My personal issue is that I know I have too much stuff, but truly don't want to contribute to the whole landfill sitch. It's just a whole lotta work to try and find new people to adopt my stuff to keep it out of the landfill. So I keep it.

Karenladd said...

WOW!! What a score!! You saved that pottery's life! LOL! What an awesome find.

Anonymous said...

Man I am a pottery myself and to think of pottery being thrown away when it is that nice is heartbreaking. You might as well sell it or give it away to people or a hospital or something! I'm glad you saved it! haha I went through trash at the end of last semester when everyone was throwing anything and everything away to leave for summer. College students should not throw that much away, they should sell it or donate it but it still happens!