Taking Inventory

Looking for ways to put off today's task of cleaning out the bathroom cabinets, Natasha spent a few minutes at the computer and created a household inventory spreadsheet.

In a matter of 21 months or so, everything in this house will be outta here. So, it all has to go somewhere. This nifty new spreadsheet will help us make note of what we have, and where we want it to go --Bullwinkle? Storage? Sell? Gift? Trash? There's lots of stuff that we simply need to toss right now as part of The Great Purge of 2008. That stuff won't even make the list. But, most of the stuff in our house is stuff we use in one way or another. So, it's just a bit too soon to start packing it up and shipping it out. We'll need it for awhile!

With the spreadsheet created, Natasha began to catalog the two rooms with the least amount of stuff: the living room and dining room. She made quick work of both rooms, and tossed a few things along the way. The big surprise was how many things were on the list for such "lightweight" rooms. The thought of continuing into the kitchen was overwhelming. So, she set off on today's original "to-do" -- clearing the bathroom cabinets.

A full trash bag later, the bathroom drawers and cabinets were orderly and spacious. Yet, a mystery remained: We've lived in this house for about eight years. So, why would we have pharmaceuticals and beauty aids in this bathroom that expired in 1999? That means we actually moved this stuff here!

Who knows?