what would you toss? Let's say your roomie is out of town for an extended period of time and you have free hand to clear out anything. Would you pitch that old sweat shirt, the too tight jeans with more holes than fabric, papers, old text books?

-- Anonymous, January 18, 2002

Answers

Since this is what I've been doing for the past 3 months, I have ready to trash/donate/sell 10 boxes of just books, boxes of clothes, knick knacks, old computer manuals and parts, furniture, screws, lottery tickets, broken lamps, linens, and rugs. Far as he'll know I gave it to the kids or "it must be in the stuff I sent to storage" for 3 plus years (by then he'll forget we ever had it).

-- Anonymous, January 18, 2002

I'd love to chuck almost everything in our basement - old coffee table(s), lamps, a zillion used batteries, dusty excercise equipment, hundreds of National Geographics, about half his clothes (which according to him, he "might wear sometime").

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

I pitched about 20 boxes of magazines - National Geographics (20+ years worth), photo mags, computer mags, business news. They had sat in those same boxes since our last move 5 years ago. And I'd do it again!

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

No one is allowed to throw anything away at our house without a commity meeting.

The first/worst "fight" we ever had was over a roll of phone wire that she tossed because it was "just in the way".

It started when she wanted me to put in the phone extension in the bedroom, and I couldn't find the roll of wire that I KNOW WAS RIGHT HERE!!! 4 hours later when I have turned the house upside down trying to find it she gets home and tells me it is gone......GRRRRRR!!!!@#*% ^$#&*@$

That was 20 some years ago.

Hence the "If it ain't yours don't throw it away" rule. Works for us anyway.

So, no, I would not throw any thing of hers out, except maybe...... ;)

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

That was me. Cookies don't keep ascii sigs apparently, doh!

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Sorry dude, it don't count when your SO leaves to work in another country and you have to scrape wallpaper, paint, replace carpet, clean out 30 years of stuff that's been moved several times and seen better days so you can sell the house and move too - to a much smaller apartment.

Just how long should I keep the Beta rewinder that doesn't work? And what do I do with 3 boxes of Beta movies (I still have them since many are Disney movies).

(And just how many times did she ask you to put that crap away? :} Just teasing!)

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

This month I took 5 39-gallon trashbags full of my own clothes to Goodwill, and also took one really ugly tie of my husband's. I felt bad about getting rid of the tie without telling him, but didn't think he would mind since it was sitting in the back of a closet that he never goes into. I know I would be really pissed off if he got rid of something of mine without asking me about it first so I try not to touch his stuff.

But we may be moving next month, so ask me again then.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Clothes. Clothes. Clothes.

:-) We both have too many. If she were gone, I'd start weeding them all out.

Cooking magazines - because she got onto a cooking kick years ago and started subscribing to a number of magazines, which have ended up stacked in our valuable shelf space in the family room. I swear, I could have put a $100 bill in the pages of one of them 8 years ago and it would still be there today. :-)

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

Hmmmmm, tough one as I'd be afraid to really do this but I'd love to toss out all the boxes of saved books from college. They have NEVER been out of the boxes since our first move like 12 yrs ago. They sit like a holy shrine in the guest room closet. I've mentioned it and got in a huge discussion about them so would love to do it but would not go passed dreaming ;-) Now, one time I DID however "break" this nasty ugly ash tray my man had given to him by an ex girlfriend. He loved the nasty ugly thing and wouldnt part with it. It """"broke"""" accidently in a box without proper packing material on one of our moves. *snicker* didnt help that I stood on the bed and dropped it into the box I spose?

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2002

Oma, "(And just how many times did she ask you to put that crap away? :} Just teasing!)"

LOL! It was put up, on a shelf, in the one SMALL linen closet/storage area, It just happened to be in the way of her getting to something very important like nail polish or hair conditioner or some other "feminine product".

Nichole, I don't think I have owned a total of 195 gallons worth of clothes in my entire life. Congrats on giving to Goodwill... a very worthy cause.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Just so long as it was for something important . . .

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

I'd chuck his stupid bowl-chair "papasan" thing. We've had it for FIVE years and all we've EVER done with it is store folded laundry, folded blankets, cushions, or remote controls in it. The cats like to sleep on it, which is its only redeeming feature, but it takes up huge amounts of room, won't allow you to sit in any position other than a fully reclining head-against-uncomfortable-wicker-edge position, and said cats have covered it with enormous amounts of hair. Did I mention the enormous round pillow you sit on, the one covered with the cat hair, instructs me to dry clean it?

Every time I talk about getting rid of the bowl chair, he tells me how comfortable it is and acts all sad. I think he's sat in it maybe twice.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

An entire collection of weird 80's-90's comic books. There are about five 4ft long boxes of Milk and Cheese, Preacher, Reid Fleming, and god knows what else, gently packaged in their plastic holders that are totally getting in MY way. I've tried to read them out of love for my dorky boyfriend. I can't. They must go.

-- Anonymous, January 28, 2002