EDP Item #42: Bag of Brand SWAG

Reason: I still had a bag of this stuff that I may have accidentally hoarded from my previous run with my current employer. It's branded pens, LED lights and a multiple tool. Whenever I go visit my clients they always ask me for this kinda stuff (we call SWAG) but my company doesn't buy a lot of it these days.
Destination: I will put it with my work stuff and circulate it out to some if our enthusiastic brand advocates. It should be gone within the week.
Comment: I like to think I have more to offer to our selling partners than some junk people with throw in a drawer until they get tired of looking at it.

- Jason K

EDP Item #41: expired meds

We have a 3 drawer bin where we have "organized" our various medicine. The top 2 drawers are for human needs and the bottom is for puppy illnesses.
I don't take meds for just any reason I tend to think there is usually a practical solution. Example: For headaches I usually shake my head just right in order to usually realize I am just dehydrated. Trust me, I have a sensor of some sort that tells me what dehydrated feels like by shaking my head. But,... when I do decide I'm in dire need of the good stuff, I find myself rummaging for 5 minutes or longer trying to find just the right thing. Often not the best time for a delay. I usually end up settling for something less than my initially projected solution.
I have been thinking about how we have innumerable choices of everything. Coming back from east Africa tends to make you see things a bit differently. For instance, I am fighting a cold right now and in addition to the five expired cough syrups and flu pills we already had, Carrie brought me home a new one by a company that I thought only made cough drops and vapor rub. Even they are in the cough syrup game now! But their version is mixed with bits of naturally Honey, because everyone knows that honey takes cough syrup to the next level. But these choices are in everything we buy and they don't bring me peace and convenience as promised. Instead only confusion and frustration. Can't they use the same rule we are using for Excess Depletion. "If you bring in something new something old has to go"

Reason: my Doc told me to toss any pills that are more than a couple years expired and any liquid that has expired fairly recently.
Destination: meds went down the drain or in the trash. That felt wrong for some reason. Packaging went in the recycle bin. Probably wasted 3 gallons of water rinsing out the containers though. Not sure how green that is. Especially under stage 3 water restrictions!!! Red alert!!!
Comment: most of these were actually more than 4 years expired. I will also add that I have still been using some of them until I decided to check the date yesterday. Don't worry,.. I'm fine. Anyone got any unexpired Dramamine you're not gonna use. I'm gonna need some for the trip to Uganda next month.

EDP Item #40: Bridesmaid Dresss

Reason: Bridesmaid dresses are one of those things we usually just wear once. If we are ever in another wedding, chances are the bride did not pick the same color let alone the same style.

Destination: The Prom Shop Project. This organization collects formal wear for underprivileged juniors and seniors in the Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Atlanta areas to go to prom. Check them out at www.thepromshopproject.com.

Comment: no comment


- Carrie K

EDP Item #39: 2 more candles we were gonna keep

Reason: Mary asked for some candles when she found out we were depleting some.
Destination: Mary's house.
Comment: she said she wanted some that smelled good and those are the ones we had kept. It's funny the way God sometimes tells us to get rid of more.




- Carrie K

EDP Item #38: blow dryer

Reason: we have 3 or 4 of these around the house because Carrie is pretty particular about the performance of her hair dryers. If they don't make the cut after a few months then it's time for a new one. The old ones usually end up in out art bin where we use them to dry paint when getting creative. This is 1 of the 2 I had in the bin.
Destination: donation to Samaritan Inn
Comment: I will say I'm very proud if Carrie because she has been using her current TIGI hair dryer for a couple years I think.

EDP Item #37: stack of audio CD's

There's more where these came from. I can choose to grip tightly to my carefully selected collection or to loosen my grip and release myself from the burden of caring for these "things"
Reason: we have hundreds of CD's, most are loaded in our iTunes or are never listened to anyway. This is the second bunch I have decided to let go of.
Destination: sold to Movie Trading company for Uganda funds. We made $35 for a ton of CDs and DVDs.
Comment: it would blow your mind how little they gave us for most of our CD's and movies. A majority were sold for .25 - .50
Pretty sad return on investment. We will probably fund something different to do with the next bunch.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Die to self

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24 NIV84)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

EDP Item #36: dance Pad for Wii game

Reason: we have ottoman full of entertainment electronics. You know,... The usual games that sounded so exciting so we paid $50 bucks or so along with the additional accessory to make it even more fun,.. Only to forget about it after 2 weeks. This dance pad is one of those items. It hasn't seen the light of our living room for some time.
Destination: we will sell it for whatever we can get
Comment: not sure where the game that we bought it for went but I'm sure it will makes it's way to the top of this pile of excess at some point.


- Jason K

EDP Item #35: variety of semi used candles

Reason: They are just sitting in our hall closet collecting dust.
Destination: Sadly we will be tossing the used candles unless someone would like them. The new candle and metal holders will be donated.
Comment: No comment


- Carrie K

1 is better than 2

"Better is one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and a chasing after the wind." Ecclesiastes 4:6

Check out a great message regarding this scripture at www.lifechurch.tv/watch
Entitled "Better Is One Handful"

EDP Item #34: pile of jeans/ various clothes

Reason: we have counted around over 40 pairs of jeans between the 2 of us. About 25% of which are mine ;) still a lot for a guy,... or anyone for that matter. This was our first round of cuts and it wasn't easy.
Destination: some were sold for fund raising and the rest will be donated.
Comment: someone is gonna get some nice premium denim for a steal. Hopefully someone who NEEDS them, which clearly isn't us. Looks like we've got a lot of work to do. We are drowning in excess while others are starving with nothing,... OUCH!



- Jason K

EDP Item #33: Handbags

Reason: I am trying to limit the amount of handbags I have. I am now down to 7. 7 is still a lot and i don't really see the need for 7, but I just can't seem to part with them all.
Destination: donation and resell shop
Comment: Time...I just need time.

- Carrie K

EDP Item #32: 2 shoulder/ gym bags

Reason: we have probably 6 of these bags and don't use most of them. We each use 1 for the gym when we are in that season of life and our digs have a pink Adidas bag for their overnights when friends are dog sitting.
Destination: Donation to Samaritan Inn
Comment: it's amazing how letting go of simple little things like this is somehow therapeutic. little by little our load feels lighter.


- Jason K

EDP Item #31: 4 female fashion belts

Reason: Carrie has about 20 belts. No one has 20 belts for function,.. that is why I refer to them as fashion belts,.. I added "female" because I thought it was funny... Since she has about 20 she figured she could spare these 4 at minimum. Maybe more to come.
Destination: resale shop for fundraising.
Comment: this is another shining example of the excess we live with in our culture. I just counted mine and I actually have 8,.. and I'm a dude for crying out loud! We are probably in the 1% of the world that has 28 belts in a closet.


- Jason K

EDP Item #30: Nail Polish

Reason: I have a lot of nail polish and rarely paint my nails. The reason I have so much is because Beauty Brands used to send me emails with "get x item free with any purchase". I thought I was getting a great deal because I could go pick out a fun new color of polish and get something free!!
Destination: donation. Anyone need any nail polish?
Comment: I have downsized my collection by about 25%...but you may be seeing more nail polish downsizing in the near future.


-Carrie K

C'est la vie

I have always thought the term "C'est la vie" should be used when saying goodbye to something you were through with. Boy was i ever wrong. It is actually French phrase that can be translated "such is life".
Well,... either way, we see things come and go in our lives and they remain just that, "Things"
Today I finally boxed up my old friend "The Music Computer" after much deliberation of weather or not to try and retrieve some of my "precious files" and uncompleted tracks. The good thing is there was no personal information that I needed to safe guard. just completed and incompleted (is that a word?) music tracks.

Back when we were doing our garage sale to raise funds for our first trip to Uganda we had 2 more old laptops that we needed to get rid of. At that time I was already in the mind-set of trying to eliminate things that were taking up space and time in our lives... So you can imagine my frustration when I realized that I would need to spend multiple hours with these old insufficient machines finding parts, passwords and discs just to prepare them to be ready to get rid of. In addition to the time spent prying off information we didn't want to send into the cosmos, I was also hard pressed to figure out what to even do with them. I mean you can't just toss them in the green dumpster (that's just irresponsible!)
So we decided to take bids at our garage sale to allow someone to smash one of the laptops and we cleaned the other one up enough to sell it for like $35. Still never found an easy solution for disposal of these tiny time sucking machines.

Since then, I have found a solution to all this madness, Best Buy and many other electronic stores will take your old electronics and get them to the right recycling facility. So..... since this computer didn't really need any cleaning up of incriminating files, I hesitantly boxed up (yes I have the box after 8 years, I'm a freak!) my old friend and took him to the friendly associates at Best Buy. I am not sure why this was soooo hard to do,... Our lives are entangled with so many things we have attached ourselves to, but I have found that each time I loosen my grip to the objects I hold too dear (including broken computers) Jesus soon fills the void with greater joy and freedom, ever-increasing my capacity to be inspired afresh,... far surpassing the capabilities of the objects I held so dear.
But for some reason that takes faith..."C'est La Vie"


And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6




- Jason K

EDP Item #29: 2 Sandwich sign boards

Reason: almost got to the end of our day without deciding on an excess item to deplete.... Until we arrived at our favorite neighborhood restaurant, Asiana Biztro. Since there is a Family Fitness right next door there tends to be no parking for the restaurant patrons of which we are regulars. Since we are friends with Helen, the owner, we mentioned they might consider blocking off a couple spaces for themselves. They told us they needed a sign which we happened to have 3 of sitting in our garage. (a major corporation was going to throw these sandwich board signs away a while back so we rescued them.)


Destination: so we are giving 2 of the 3 to Asiana Biztro for their patrons to have front row parking. It's only fair since the gym takes up the rest of the strip centers parking. We will keep the 3rd one in case we have any more
Monster Garage Sales
 to raise funds for our Uganda mission trips.
Comment: if you haven't tried Asiana Biztro on Custer and Eldorado it is The BOMB.com!!!
They have amazing Asian/ Vietnamese food and use authentic family recipes. Mmmmmmm. We only eat there about once a week. ;)

- Jason K

Uncluttered

Found this great summary regarding clutter in Dr. Swensons book "Margin". This really captures the essence of what we are humbly trying to accomplish in our lives

Uncluttered - Realizing that psychological and material clutter impedes our journey, simplicity seeks to unclutter.
Emotionally, we release our worries, we reconcile relationships, we forgive out enemies, and we begin anew each day.
Materially, instead of possession gluttony, we practice de-acumulation. Like runners of old, we strip down to that which is authentic so that we might run the race effectively. - Richard A Swenson M.D. From his book "Margin"

EDP Item #28: 6 jump drives

Reason: I have seen a real need for these at the Samaritan Inn when the residents need a place to save copies of their resumes and other important documents so they won't loose them. The only choice they have right now are floppy disks (which most of the computers there don't support), or save it to a computer where others can tamper with or delete it. I consolidated these 6 on to 1 so I won't be needing them anymore. (never did NEED them really.)
Destination: going to Sam Inn Residents as they need them.
Comment: Hardly a sacrifice. If anyone else has some they would like to donate there is always a need.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Watch Out! Be on Your Guard!

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
- Luke 12:15

EDP Item #27: more clothes (t-shirts, unopened long johns, extra socks, ect...)

Reason: Just to get to the few items I use in my dresser drawer, I am constantly shifting and moving all these other items around to find what I need. Plus I found a couple more keep sake T-shirts that I will never wear that were kinda hard to part with.
Destination: the clothes will be donated to Samaritan Inn with the others. The The Samaritan Inn (The only homeless shelter in Collin County) sells these items through their 2 Thrift Stores. The proceeds provide them with funds to help keep their amazing program running. they also provide their residents with vouchers to get clothes when necessary.
Comment: These long johns are the funniest part. Over 5 years ago I bought them from Academy for a trip to Detroit I won to go to the SuperBowl. I had never really gone into snowy weather before so I didn't know what to expect. I bought these thinking I would need them and needless to say they are still in the package. What a waste! Hopefully someone will make good use of them.

- Jason K

EDP Item #25 and 26: Shoes

Reason: I don't wear them enough to "need" them.
Destination: resell shop or donation.
Comment: These items will cover 2 days. I asked Jason if they could cover 6 days but he didn't like that idea. Haha. Jason said, "if we only got rid of 1 pair of shoes or 1 lotion a day, it would not put a dent in our excess" he right :) it's not that I don't want to get rid of things. I'm just lazy and don't like taking the extra time to find things EVERY DAY.


- Carrie K

EDP Item #24: my "precious" 8 year old music production computer

This one is seriously a doozie for me..... Almost hurts. The truth is, I don't really use this computer any more. I just think I might want to use again one day. If the Lord puts music production on my heart again then I will get new relevant and probably more simple equipment and software (legal software I might add) While this computer is really cool and my passion for music is a forever love given by God, it just sits there taking up space in my studio and space in my heart that could be used for newer, fresher creative outlets that will honor God. I still have plenty of music equipment around, this was just my only equipment for recording. The crazy thing is that the other day, when I decided she had to go, I turned the computer on to maybe save some files and guess what?...the back light stopped working and I can't see anything on the screen. somebody is home but the lights aren't on. This makes it easier to let go, I must say, but my "precious" files can't be saved I guess. I Know there are ways to get them, but I don't want to sink anymore time or emotional energy into this thing. I think I may just have start fresh (and legal) if I get back in the music game. Perhaps that's Gods plan. Reason: I have been contemplating for a long time to relieve my life of the pressures of a studio full of equipment that I rarely if ever use. It taunts me and tells me that my past hobbies are still something I need to be who I am,... But I am trusting that my lord will re-create me to be who I am. Hence, this is a very big step for me. Destination: I believe I will freecycle it. Comment: because this item is connected to many other items in the studio, it may cause a whole onslaught of Excess Depletion. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

EDP Item #23: More shampoos, soap and lotion

Reason: it was brought to our attention that we can still add these to the care packages for the homeless,.. So we decided to give up some of the ones we were going to keep as well.
Destination: We have added these to the previous post and will be taking them to PTCC.
Comment: this is our 3rd post of these type of items and probably won't be the last. Wish we had decided to give up the better ones to those who needed them without having to be remind by others. Still learning every day.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

EDP Item #22: Various soaps and such from hotels

Reason: We have developed somewhat of a habit of hoarding shampoos, soaps and lotion from hotels we visit. We often find some of our favorite bathroom products when we visit hotels. (Not at Marriot, of course) We had so many in a heavy duty bag in our cabinet that the bag actually busted a seam.
Destination: Recycling plastic containers.
Comment: we were able to repurpose some of these in the care package we made for the homeless, seen in an earlier post, but that hadn't out a dent in our inventory.


- Jason K

EDP Item #21: wasteful food items from pantry

Reason: our pantry has been driving us crazy, as does pretty much any clutter that makes life seem more chaotic. Every time we would try to find a space for something new other items
Would start to fall of the shelves. We had too much crammed in there and today it was time to finally do something.
Destination: we had hoped to do something that redeemed the situation of having so much excess food; like gathering up a bunch of stuff to donate to a food pantry,.... but all we found was our wastefulness. Rather than having a bunch of non-perishable items to donate, all we found was a bunch of perishable, stale and unusable rubbish. (of course in many countries what you see here in these trash bags would feed a family happily for months.)
But here we call this trash and frankly I am embarrassed by it.
Comment: our apologies to anyone in this world who prayed that God would provide a basic need such as a meal. The fact is that God commanded that we feed the hungry and we disobeyed.


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EDP Item #20: 70 shopping bags, shoe boxes and reciepts

So we have this corner in our closet where we stuff all of our shopping bags from clothing stores. We usually leave our receipts in them so we can go back and look for them if we need to make an exchange or return an item.





We have been cramming more and more in there and have begun having mini avalanches in the closet so... The time has come to clear them out because they are taking over.



You will also love this!..... As I counted all the bags I pulled out all the receipts that were still in the bags. This was all of them. Including dry cleaning bills. These dated back to the beginning of 2011.





Can you guess how much $$$ these receipts added up to? Keep in mind this was not every clothing receipt from the last year and we do typically only buy things that are sale priced.

Hebrews 12:1 says ".... let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." When you look at these bags and receipts, after they are all pulled out It really sheds some light on things, I will let you judge us and not call out my own failures. What I can say is that these could be a reflection of the things that entangle us at times.


- Jason K