Toss It !!

The Toss It Game

We all have Stuff.  Look around you right now.  If you're at home, almost everything your eyes rest on belongs to you.  Does it bring you joy?  Do you see the coffee mug on your desk and remember an afternoon spent with a friend in the best coffee shop you've ever been inside? Do you love the framed print of your nephew's hand that he made you in pre-school? What about the collection of books tumbling out of a basket in the living room? Are they all full of words you would devour over and over again? These are the types of questions you should ask yourself as we play a little game my friend Ashley so aptly calls the "Toss It" game.  It can be played anytime you feel the need to rid yourself of unwanted things that have found their way into your life.  I'm currently playing this game daily as I pack up for my big move, but I've been known to play it randomly throughout the year as I see that my clothes need weeding or my knick knacks are slowly building an army that would surely overthrow me as queen of the house.


First things first.  Put on awesome music that puts you in a frame of mind that is energetic and happy.  If you feel like making yourself a delightful beverage, do so before you get started.  Keep in mind that during this game things get thrown around and drinks that could spill and stain should be kept out of the way.


Next, pick the category of "stuff" you would like to go through. Now you must look at every item in this category and ask yourself some hard questions.  Some good ones to ask..


Do I use/wear/look at this item often?
Will I use/wear/look at it within the next few months?
Is it in good condition?
Do I love it?
Could someone else get more joy and use out of it?
Could I sell it?

That shirt you've been holding onto because it was such a great deal but frankly makes you look ridiculous? TOSS IT!  The book that was a gift from a co-worker that is full of pictures of cats in silly costumes? TOSS IT! The shoes that pinch your toes if you have to actually walk in them? TOSS IT! The sixteen different candle holders that have made their way to the top of your television but are not your style at all?  TOSS IT!  Are you getting the hang of it? You have to be pretty brutal and cutthroat about it.  Sometimes it helps to have a friend near to tell you that the shirt does, in fact, look ridiculous, that the book is horrible and the shoes are not worth the pain.  This friend may want to take some of these things off your hands too!


Oh ya, the biggest rule of the "Toss It" game is that you yell "TOSS IT" every time something gets tossed into the pile.


Once you've purged yourself of all the unwanted, unneeded, unloved, unworthy items and they are all looking at you so forlornly in a big pile you may wonder what to do with it all.  My suggestion is that you let your friends have first dibs, then re-sell anything you think will make you a few dollars.  Take clothing to a store like Buffalo Exchange or a consignment shop of some sort.  Everything else should be donated to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army store.  This week I've taken books to donate to my library, a load of knick knacks and such to the GoodWill and loaded up a few bags of things I know my good friend (self named hoarder)(you know who you are) wants.


Have fun playing and remember that the winner is always you! 


Playing is free and free is cheap.