"Repurposing" at it's Finest.

I realize "repurposing" can't be summed up in "Days." "Repurposing" is on-going. The most you can hope for is to one day start a "repurposing" pile and keep adding to it as you come across things you don't need. I met my own goal of repurposing more stuff by October 7. This time Easter Seals got my donation. October 7 was the day Easter Seals had scheduled a pickup in my area. I was determined to get a healthy load ready by the time the Easter Seals truck backed into my driveway. My "Day One" blog told how I focused on repurposing large items, but this time I focused on the smaller stuff that I could carry to the garage on my own power--the things that I could fit into manageable sized boxes and bags. First I cleaned out my closet and drawers. If something hadn't been worn in a year or didn't fit anymore, into the bag it went. There was no room for sentimentality or for wishful thinking that "I might fit into that someday." Well, except for the two dresses I wore at each of my two daughter's weddings. Some sentiment is absolutely priceless. Next I hit the basement storage room and the armoire that was full of board games and remotes for video games that hadn't been played since my daughter's grade school days--some even from my grade school days! Collectible games? Things of value, you may ask? Perhaps. I didn't allow myself to think that way. I looked on line to see what kinds of articles Easter Seals accepted and noticed that "antiques" was on the list. In fact, there isn't much that Easter Seals does not take. I repurposed luggage, books, cassette and video tapes, boxes of yarn and fabric, light fixtures, small tables, to name a few--even my husband's old bowling ball. (Sorry Bill, don't know if you knew that. :)) We have a two car garage and I managed to repurpose enough to fill the area in front of one garage door two rows across. I felt good about my healthy donation, the space I had acquired in my storage room and armoire, and the fact that someone might find a purpose for things I no longer needed. My next project is the workshop and garage. The next Easter Seals pickup in my area is November 11. So if I start my "repurposing" pile now, I might get another load ready by November 11. I'm not looking forward to cleaning the workshop and garage, however. The recent "clean out" of my parent's estate including my dad's workshop resulted in lots of things being added to my own estate--the hazard of cleaning out someone's else's stuff. Yes, the "repurposing" saga continues.