EDP Item #54: variety of hair product

Reason: well, the product i have found is the TiGi Manipulator but it's like $17 for 2.5 oz. I was on the hunt for a cheaper alternative and these were my trials. They all failed! I did however find one called "Demented" at Sally's which is like $6. That's what I use now other than the occasional lotion to cut the frizz without sticky product.
Destination: a couple of these I had to throw out but the salvageable ones will be given to my friend who is a hair stylist.
Comment: I know this sounds like a post from the female species.

- Jason K

EDP Item #53: iZone mini instant Polaroid film

Reason: I bought about 10 rolls o this stuff because I really like instant film and I wanted to use them but every roll was expires and bad. Couldn't get a single photo out of them.
Destination: film is unfortunately going in the trash and the packaging will be recycled.
Comment: What a waste of $70 dollars. I learned something from this emotional purchase.

- Jason K

EDP Item #52: 9 pairs of sunglasses

Yes, you read that right. We kinda have a collection going and in all honestly it may be a collection I keep working on...
Reason: The problem here is that most of these sunglasses are either broken, weird or simply don't fit. We have 9 pairs here and there are still more around the house we actually do use regularly.
Destination: a few of these will go with us to Uganda which we will leave there with whoever they find. A couple are almost broken do they may end up in the recycle bin. What's left will go in the next garage sale.
Comment: Yes, we could have probably made this more of a sacrifice and depleted some more of the ones we use but there may have to be another round of cuts later this year. Pretty crazy when you deplete 9 pairs of sunglasses and there are more available to deplete.


- Jason K

EDP Item #51: Make-up Bag

Reason: I have enough of these and seem to always inherit more.
Destination: donation or fundraiser
Comment: I love bags, purses, coin purses, etc but I really have too many and don't need them. I'm sure more of these will be depleted soon...just have to get around to finding them and eliminating the items inside them.

- Carrie K

EDP item #50: Lanyard

Reason: I haven't used this in a couple of years. I think I used it for my gym ID, hence the Adidas version.
Destination: Samaritan Inn. The residence at The Inn wear a lanyard with their ID badge while they are on property. Some of them like to "jazz up" and individualize their ID's and lanyards. This PINK lanyard will help add a little fun to their stay.
Comment: it's a lanyard. What more is there to say.

- Carrie K

EDP Item #49: Phone Cord

Reason: I know this is a lame item. We don't need another phone cord. We probably have 10 of them and when we find them, they will be depleted as well.
Destination: donation. I'm sure there is a small business out there that might need them. Or maybe Jody could do something fun with them??
Comment: As you can see this one is still wrapped in plastic. I have no clue where I got this but I can yell you I don't need it. I found it in a box in my home office.

- Carrie K

EDP Item #48: Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Reason: I have only used this a handful of times.
Destination: Fundraiser
Comment: I purchased this watch with points I get from sales incentives at work. It's a heart rate monitor watch but you have to put 2 fingers on these sensors for 30 seconds to take your pulse. When you are working out that can be somewhat inconvenient depending on the type of activity you are doing.

- Carrie K

EDP Item #47: Small Wallet (female)

Reason: I didn't even remember I had this. Last time I used it was probably over 5 years ago.
Destination: Fundraiser
Comment: It's cute but yet another unneeded item.

-Carrie K

EDP Item #46: Photo album and picture frame

Reason: I have not used either of these items. I think I got them as a gift and don't have enough printed pictures to fill them up.
Destination: Fundraiser
Comment: We have pictures on our phones and computer. Trying to find pictures to print can be time consuming and frustrating. These items are not needed since it takes up too much time to find something that goes in them.


- Carrie K

EDP Item #45: D'S Lite along with 5 games

Reason: got this as a gift some years ago. It really sits around and gets no use. As cool of an item it is we just don't have spare time to invest in making the DS feel loved. Just don't need it. DS is looking for a good home though.
Destination: in search of a home. Trying to avoid selling it movie trading company for pennies on the dollar. Another fund raising item.
Comment: we are taking offers. Any takers?




- Carrie K

EDP Items #43 & 44: matching oven and microwave

Yes, we have had appliances sitting around in our garage for 6 months like weirdos. Yes, we replaced our perfectly good appliances with "better" ones. And NO, we don't feel remorse because we came up with really good reasons to "justify" our purchase. One of which includes what we in America would call an "Insane Deal!"
Reason: just told you... ;)
Destination: found a good home at my brothers fixer-upper house. They are excited about these babies. They picked them up on Saturday.
Comment: Carrie can bake some serious cupcakes in the new convection oven. Yep there it is,.. Another justification to have new shiny things. We have really enjoyed the new appliances over the last 6 months though.


- Jason K

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.


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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)


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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.



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