Looking around my living room, it sure doesn't feel like my 2013 is off to a very organized start. However, that's because, I decided to start attacking those boxes in the garage.

They look pretty neat all piled up in the garage, maybe it's best to let them live there? Nope!!!

If you read my New Year's Resolutions post, you will remember that I resolved to unpacking a minimum of one box a week. Well, I dove in and did eight in two days. All of the stuff is currently scattered all over our downstairs and looks like a tornado hit our house. I think that it's going to be this way for awhile too.

A few discoveries have been made. First, when I packed up everything last winter, I thought that it was essential stuff that I wanted to keep. Now, I've lived without it for nearly a year and I am realizing that half of it (maybe more than half), I simply don't need or want.

There are a lot of books that I couldn't bear to part with, that I know realize, I can just re-buy if I miss them. I read a lot, but really, I very rarely re-read a book, even those that made a huge impact. Most of these, I've passed along to friends that I think would enjoy them and now, they are just gathering dust. I think that like myself, books deserve to go on adventures and so I am sending them out into the world.

A lot of what's in those boxes are things of percieved value, which may or may not have actual value. Nothing staggering, not like we can take it on Antiques Roadshow and hit a jackpot. It's collectible stuff that I can't just give away to charity, without trying to sell it first. Maybe there is a nice vacation in there. It's going to take a lot of work, which is why I have blissfully ignored these items for years.

Dishes. I have a ton of dishes in those boxes. I have my wedding china, my everyday nice plates and my mom's Christmas plates. When I say plates, I mean multiple settings with dinner, salad, dessert, cups, saucers, et...the whole deal. For years, I felt like I should hang on to them, because they are too nice to just get rid of, however, who needs so many dishes? Not us. I happen to really like the dishes that Dan had and those are the ones we used everyday. Some of my china bowls and serving platters work with his dishes and that's enough.

Stuff can be overwhelming and stressful. I am really hoping to make this the year where we minimize our ownership of stuff, because it often feels like the stuff is owning us. I am saying this knowing that we don't hold on to even a fraction amount of stuff that most of the people I know horde. To clarify, I am not calling my friends hoarders, just like most everyone, they have a lot of unnecessary junk! It's so nice to living in a space with neatly organized, minimal things.

Speaking of a few unnecessary things, here are two of my favorites, that I uncovered in the boxes today. I can't bear to part with them yet, but maybe I will reach that point this year. I know that these two epitomize the saying "One Person's Trash, is Another Person's Treasure". My trashy treasures.

My bottle with the musician. This is one of the only things that I have from my paternal grandparents, which makes it impossible to throw out. I also love the utter kitsch of the object and my grandma made it.

Can you imagine, one of my best friend's considered this trash??? It's a Billy Bass fish that sings a Happy New Year song in Chinese. How is that trash? I actually considered theming an entire bathroom around it and had the bathroom painted orange, much to the dismay of many people. I do love a bit of kitsch!

Just so you don't think that I only had utter junk in those boxes, I also found a kitchen tool that was much missed and should never have been packed up last winter.