Mike's Give It Away Journal - Taking a Break

Taking a Break



After 19 weeks of giving stuff away, I've decided to take a break.

I still have plenty of stuff to give away but I noticed that I was starting to do it for the wrong reason. It became about keeping the string alive and being able to say that I've given stuff away for x number of weeks.

Therefore, I'm taking a break. When my motives are pure again, I'll start back up.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 6.30.14

Week 19 of my Give It Away journey



Monday 6/30
Here is another Christmas gift that I never gave. Instead of giving my daughter more stuff to take care of, I'm giving it away.





Tuesday 7/1
Here is a pair of corduroy paints that never fit well so I'm giving them away instead leaving them in my closet.







Wednesday 7/2
Here is some memory I pulled from my wife's laptop a couple years ago. I always have a hard time getting rid of stuff like this because I think that someday I'll needed it. That someday rarely comes.

Thursday 7/3
I've heard Jeff Manion speak a few times. First at the Global Leadership Summit then a couple more times at our church in Monterey. I enjoyed Jeff's talk on The Land Between but don't need the book as well.







Friday 7/4
Another long sleeve shirt from my closet. I don't wear long sleeve shirts often and therefore decided to give away about 1/3 of them.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 6.23.14

Week 18 of my Give It Away journey




Monday 6/23
Still working through the items I pulled from my closet. I like all the shirts I'm now giving away but had to admit that I rarely wear them.





Tuesday 6/24
Here is another book I came across and decided to give it away.







Wednesday 6/25
Over the year, I've collected several shirts from work. This one is from the 2009 PMA show in LA.  TRUETRAC was only a few days old when we drove to LA and manned the booth. Johnny, James, the stuff for the booth and I packed into my car and made the six hour drive.


Thursday 6/26
Today, I'm giving away one of my favorite hoodies. Last year, I happened into an Under Armour outlet store when they were having a one-day sale on hoodies. All hoodies were $20 so I bought three. I don't need three hoodies so I'm giving away this one. For now, I'm keeping the bright orange one and the one that repels water.




Friday 6/27
I used this Motorola Bluetooth headset for a year but could never get it to fit in my ear comfortably. I bought a new one over a year ago. I think I kept hold of it because I thought I might need a backup headset. This is true for a lot of the stuff I keep around.

Saturday 6/28
How many white dress shirts does one guy need? This guy only needs one.







Sunday 6/29
Back on 6/21 I gave away a Christmas present that I never ended up giving to my daughter. Today, I'm giving away another one of those Christmas items.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 6.16.14

Week 17 of my Give It Away journey




Monday 6/16
When I was first married, I wanted a leather jacket and assumed I would wear it all the time. That jacket was stolen and I bought this one to replace it. I didn't wear either one often and so I'm giving this one away. Don't worry, I still have two other jacket in case it gets cold.


Tuesday 6/17
I recently went through my closet and found this t-shirt that I rarely wear. I'm giving to They Are One for their rummage sale.



Wednesday 6/18
Our friends have a house on a lake. I bought this to keep my sunglasses from falling off on the boat. It works but I ended up buying another one that also floats just in case the glasses and strap fall off.







Thursday 6/19
My oldest played for his 6th grade school soccer team a couple years ago. I bought this shirt to match their team colors. Haven't worn it for a since. Time to give it away.




Friday 6/20
I wore this dress shirt on special occasions for many years. When I was looking through my dress shirts, I realized that I hadn't worn this for quit a while now.



Saturday 6/21
I bought this for my daughter this past Christmas, not realizing that my wife had already bought her stuff. I stuffed it under my bed to keep it out of sight and came across it a couple days ago. No need to hang onto it till next Christmas.






Sunday 6/22
I like this shirt but rarely wear it because it is too warm for indoor use.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 6.9.14

Week 16 of my Give It Away journey


Monday 6/9
I started going through a pile of books and found several that I plan to give away. I don't remember reading this one but it looks like it has been read a few times.






Tuesday 6/10
Today, I'm giving away another item from our kitchen. This skillet has been sitting at the bottom of a drawer for 10 years. About time to give it away.

Wednesday 6/11
Giving away a couple more books today. I think I read the Steve Martini book but don't remember any details.






Thursday 6/12
Here is something I'm sure everyone will want. A cell phone belt holster for a flip phone.








Friday 6/13
Here are three more books that I've either already read or never plan too.





Saturday 6/14
I went through my closet this week, so you will see several shirts like this one being given away. I only wore this shirt a couple times a year.







Sunday 6/15
I went through a phase where I made pancakes and waffles several times a week. That was years ago. This waffle iron was just the right size when the kids were small, but now I have to make batch after batch to keep up with them.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 6.2.14

Week 15 of my Give It Away journey


Monday 6/2
I bought several copies of this book a couple years ago. I thought I would have given this away by now but since I haven't, I'm giving it to anyone who wants it.  Let me know if you would like this copy.







Tuesday 6/3
Same situation with this book. If you want a copy, let me know.  It is going into my give away pile.







Wednesday 6/4
I've had this shirt for a few years and decided today to give it away. I like it but I have a lot of short sleeve polos.







Thursday 6/5
I bought several copies of this book that I planned to give away. Now is the time to give this one away.








Friday 6/6
I bought several copies of this book also. I think I gave away another copy a couple weeks ago.








Saturday 6/7
I used this lamp on my bedside table for a while but a some point the lampshade was lost. Here is a short lamp with a lampshade for whoever wants it.

Sunday 6/8
I discovered this metal pizza pan in the bottom of a kitchen drawer. I bought this the first year I was married, which makes it 17 years old.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 5.26.14

Week 14 of my Give It Away journey

I skipped a week for the first time. I've taken my son to Treasure Island for lacrosse tournaments the past two weekends plus our family spent the Memorial Day weekend in Oakland. I also traveled to Los Angeles for a couple days last week. My goal was to not skip a day, but life got in the way. 

Monday 5/26
Here is another Costco purchase that we don't need. At Costco, it is cheaper to buy six and only use three then it is to buy three somewhere else.




Tuesday 5/27
At one time, I used several of these in my garage to hang cords, etc. I took these all down when we converted our garage into a room for our church's middle school group to use on Wednesday nights.






Wednesday 5/28
I stopped reading fiction novels a few years ago. I decided to spend my reading time reading books that would help me be a better person.








Thursday 5/29
I have several pairs of pliers. I've never liked these so it is time I give them away.







Friday 5/30
Here is another fiction novel that I don't need.









Saturday 5/31
A third novel I don't need any longer. I don't recall if I read this one or not.







Sunday 6/1
I've had this pair of cargo pants for a few years. They are too short and finally decided to give them away.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 5.12.14

Week 13 of my Give It Away journey


Monday 5/12
I've been hanging onto these for years. I don't even recall why I bought them. I'm sure I've packed and unpacked them several times as we've moved.

Tuesday 5/13
Another water bottle that we don't need.









Wednesday 5/14
Here is another new and empty small paint can. These seemed like a great thing to have but I never used them.







Thursday 5/15
Last year, I had the great idea of our whole family going on bike rides multiple times a week. Knowing that it is dark when I get home from work during the winter, I bought everyone a bike light. I ended up with a couple extra. This one a co-worker wanted.






Friday 5/16
I bought this visor a couple years ago when we visited Missouri. I like the concept of supporting the Chiefs but this visor isn't comfortable, therefore, I rarely wear it.






Saturday 5/17
Back in 2005, when I reached 255 lbs, I had to replace my wedding ring because it wouldn't fit any longer. Fortunately, this ring is now too big!



Sunday 5/18

I'm amazed at how many coffee cups we accumulate. This one was given to us by a local church. I like the idea of giving out cups but we have more than enough.