Thing #205: Green Duffel Bag

Taking a break from donating books!

My dad came to visit, then needed an extra bag for the trip home. This was certainly his to begin with -- the IAFF logo is a dead giveaway -- so I was happy to give him (back) one of my extras.

I've always called this kind of a bag a "duffel" bag, although I'm not sure if that's entirely accurate, since Wikipedia says duffel bags have drawstrings.

I actually have a second bag like this that I'll probably get rid of later.

Thing #185: Duffell Bag

I tried to clean this by sending it through the washing machine. It looks washable, but evidently there's some kind of cardboard piece keeping the bottom flat and sturdy. That piece -- which is completely sewn into the bag -- got all soggy and folded over itself and was never really going to be sturdy again, so I decided to just chuck the whole bag.

It was a useful bag, but I think I can substitute a suitcase or a backpack in most of the scenarios where I'd use it. We'll see!

Thing #179: CD Cases

I used to carry CDs and/or DVDs to and from college in these album-style cases, to avoid lugging a bunch of jewel cases across the country.

Thing #174: Backpack

I had two backpacks, and then a cat peed on one, so instead of trying to clean it, I threw it away.

Thing #167: Snowman Gift Bag

When you give somebody paint and brushes right around Christmas, you can also give away an old gift bag you found in the same storage bin, and it counts double!

Thing #131: Water Bottles

Found in various locations throughout my apartment. They tend to be free, and I rarely use them. Plus, I just found out they're made of #2 plastic, which means I can recycle them out my back door.

Thing #123: Desktop CD Holder

This is one of those things you buy at Ikea for a dollar because it seems like a helpful item that will help you organize your space. Then you never use it, and you realize you spent a dollar on something that just takes up space, instead. Eventually, you throw it away, and you realize that for a dollar, you learned a pretty good lesson.

Thing #122: Wedding Placecard

Found in a box, from the same wedding as the aforementioned chocolate-flavored tie. Goes in the "why did I even take this home?" file.

It's actually a little picture frame, so I'll use the "containers" tag, because it could hypothetically contain a little picture.

Thing #91: Stackable Trays

I'm sure I had really great intentions when I first acquired these. I've had them longer than I can remember, yet I don't remember ever using them for their intended purpose, which is... sorting paperwork, I suppose? Really, it's like the child me just assumed that grown-ups sit around doing grown-up things like organizing all their important papers, and decided I'd better have somewhere to put them when I was done.

Despite hauling these trays from one apartment to another, I've never had adequate desk space to accommodate them; they end up on the floor somewhere, getting in the way. I finally got tired of looking at them and just threw them out. Stacking them up for the photo was kind of fun, though. Child me would be happy about that, anyway.

Thing #32: Duplicate Christmas Gift

I ordered a gift online, with plenty of time before Christmas. Then, the online UPS package tracking system showed that it was delivered. Except that it wasn't here. I waited two days, still nothing. So I called customer service at the place I'd ordered it from.

Their representative was very nice, and she refunded the first order and initiated a second. She even gave me a discount that I hadn't even known I was eligible for the first time around. Christmas was saved!

The very next morning, the original package mysteriously reappeared in the common area. Evidently a neighbor must have accidentally grabbed it, finally noticed they had my box (after two whole days!) and returned it under the cover of darkness.

Which meant I had a box in hand which I had been refunded for and another on the way. I called customer service again, and we decided I should keep the current package (to make sure I had one by Christmas), then return the new one once it arrived.

It did arrive safely. So, well after Christmas, I finally got back on the phone, initiated a return on the second item (but without the typical refund since I had a refunded item already). They issued me an electronic return label, which takes 24-48 hours to arrive in my inbox. When it showed up, I was able to print it out, attach it to the box and drop it off at a designated UPS pickup spot.

The moral of the story is: if you take a box into your apartment, please check that your name is on the label. Thanks!

Thing #27: Reusable Shopping Bag

Well, in theory one could reuse this. I just used it once: to hold some other things I dropped off at the Salvation Army store. Better than throwing it away, I guess. For me, I mean. They'll probably throw it away soon enough.

Thing #22: Orange Swag Bag

This was among the giveaways I received as part of a 5k race I ran last summer. It's small and cheap and I didn't think it was worth donating, so I was going to throw it away.

But I didn't want to throw it away without ever doing anything with it, so I've just been holding it until I thought of a way to use it, even just once.

Today I finally thought of something: I wanted to bring an extra pair of shoes to work. We just had a big blizzard, so I've been trudging through the snow while my car stays in the parking garage. I didn't have a separate bag to carry with me this morning, so this turned out to be perfect: a small waterproof bag with strings to carry it on my shoulders like a miniature backpack.

And the funny thing is, now that I found a really great use for this previously useless item, it's surprisingly difficult for me to just throw it out. But I will, because that's what this project is about. Plus, I can probably find another way to carry a pair of shoes if that need comes up again.

Thing #6: Mysteriously Empty Margarita Mix Bottle

I had margarita mix in my kitchen cabinet. Or I thought I did. My plan was to use whatever portion was left to mix a drink, then recycle the bottle. I think I brought this bottle with me when I moved, so it was definitely overdue for retirement. Sounds like a plan, right?

No. The bottle was empty. Mysteriously empty. Why would there be a totally empty bottle in the liquor cabinet? If I had used it up, I would've tossed it already. Or at least put it with the recycling. But no, it's just been sitting there for months and months and months. Years, actually.

So how did it empty? Did the liquid slowly evaporate through the glass? Through the plastic cap? Was it not fully sealed? There were a few drops left, maybe a small sip, implying that somebody did not just finish it off and then put it back. Besides, who would do that?

Anyway, I was going to taste the drops but the whole bottle just looked gross, like something that washed up on the beach. I wouldn't have been surprised to find a crab living in it. So I rinsed it and I recycled it, forever to be haunted by the mystery of the empty bottle.

Thing #5: Bags of Bags

I had enough old plastic bags to fill three plastic bags! Luckily you can just take these right over to the supermarket and dump them in the recycle container, which is itself also a bag.

Bag bag bag bag bag!