I'm not real clear on all the particulars, so don't quote me. But the Pasadena Ward is moving into the Foothill Building. I know that there are some construction issues at their building - there was some damage, etc.
Anyway, the upshot of all this was that we had to move our Stake Relief Society stuff out of the room they had allocated for us in that building.
Into 4 cupboards at the Stake Center on Duarte Road!!
We had "purged" that room a couple of times already, but we had way too much to go into those 4 cupboards. And I didn't want any of it in my house!!
You may ask, what did we have?
Lots of old props from previous Stake Relief Society events - conferences, programs, leadership meetings - some of them looked suspiciously like roadshow props too!
Leftovers from a number of Humanitarian projects.
Lots and lots and lots of fabric! Does everyone who purges their own house of fabric just assume that the Relief Society can use it?? (The answer is yes!)
Way too many white paper plates, plastic cups, knives and forks (where are the spoons??) and a veritable rainbow of colored napkins in many sizes.
A nice box of equally nice dish towels - these I think we can use - I can quit hauling mine to every event!
A fair amount of ziploc bags - but where are they when we are trying to find containers to send left over food home with people??
A lot of colored paper - in a variety of colors and weights. Pens, scissors, labels, and miscellaneous stationery items.
Batting - some of it attached to fabric - ready to go!!
An incredible number of white lace tablecloths of less than acceptable quality.
Lots and lots of bud vases. Where do they come from??
Floral wreaths, American flags, straw cornucopias, tiny baskets - "But we can use them as favors." (there are always either too many - or not enough!) Some big vases and some flower pots.
Old videos. No books though!
What to do with all this stuff?
Lucky for us the DI bin is in our stake's parking lot - I put a lot of the stuff there. I think my counselors were slightly aghast - but I said, "The D.I. will know how to get this stuff where it can be used. If we keep it here, it will languish on the shelves for another couple of years and then someone will throw it out because it's old and doggy looking. Let's give it away before it gets old and doggy looking!!"
I'm the president, so I got to have the final say!!
Of the piles of fabric - they are in the trunk of my car - and on Sunday I am taking them around to the wards - and women there can take what they want - and the rest will go in the D.I. bin.
Our little shelves in the stake center are full of the paper goods - the consumables I like to call them. And I think we need to rethink our next Women's Conference - our theme can be "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" and we can eat on the paper plates and drink from the paper cups - and bundle up the rest in nice gift bags - because everyone has a drawerful of them at home - and give them out as door prizes!
And run off our programs and flyers on different colors - since we have a few of every color there.
And I put the props in the "go to the dumpster" pile - but I bet someone rescues them.
I wish it was so easy and quick to purge around here!!
Just like it's easy to spend other people's money, it's easy to get rid of other people's junk.
But I do feel inspired!!
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7 comments:
Oh the ever famous church closets! Recently I went through the Cub Scout closet. Many similars to your list. I did find 8 sombreros. No fabric, but lots of leather pieces and plastic string.
At our Chinese new year we did not buy any new plates, napkins, cups or utinsils. Instead, we used the popouri of what was in our closet. I had decided many a Chinese restaurant was tacky in its own right and we were going follow suit!
I'm on the look out for ways to use up paper plates - I would guess that we have over 500 white dinner plates of varying styles, sizes and "fabric content" - my goal is to use them up!
If any of the fabric would be suitable to quilts for single beds or cribs, I could use them. We are going to do quilts as the next project for our ward here in La Paz. They do not have cotton here but do have batting. Axel had to clean out his room before he could leave today and he has a box for the "D.I." (translates into our gardener's family). It is great to clean out.
There is fabric that fits the bill for what you want - I can bring it with me!!
church closets are funny - people get very proprietary over them - i cleaned out our R.S. closet a few years ago - and one older woman kept a lookout for me - she knew a few ladies in the ward would get upset if i tossed the 800 30 year old manuals.
What is it about old manuals that make them so hard for some people to part with??
(we have some at our house that I've had to "sneak" out to the trash!!)
I guess you think that you never know when you might use them, but with the internet, they are even more outdated. Yes, Barbara, please bring them with you, if you have room. Otherwise I can just mail them to myself. We are coming to California at the end of July.
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