(Under Construction)

November & December have proven to be incredibly busy. I have several half finished entries about demonstrations & transformations that have yet to be posted. It seems I've been spending more time doing everything that makes this all happen, than writing about doing everything that makes this all happen. I hope to release more on that portion of this journey after I get rid of this pesky ol' employment matter.... among other things... many other things. Wish me luck.

No Sleep 'Til Justice

Over the next few weeks after the meeting of the nascent volunteer coordination committee, I went down to the occupation nearly every night. I would  sit & talk with the gutter punks, attend the General Assemblies and guard our new Volunteer Tent. Occasionally, I would get swept into an impromptu march, only to be met with the corresponding riot police.

When I was unable to bike the 5+ miles downtown, I would review the volunteer applications that were coming in through the web-site. Each person writing us had so much energy, excitement and hope in the work & activism that was finally happening. Students, doctors, lawyers, plumbers, teachers, so many different kinds of people looking to donate their time to the cause.

I didn't want people to have my phone number or to know my full name, so I just sent e-mails to people that applied.The problem was, I didn't have all the information that I needed to properly inform prospective volunteers. I would send them on a wild goose chase to find some guy named "Bucket" or something silly like that, and when they wouldn't find them they would turn around and be mad at me.

I had to try to track down committee heads and convince them that they needed a simple way to for new volunteers to be incorporated into their working groups. Trying to implement (suggest, really) a structure on a movement that sought to overcome oppressive structures was not exactly easy. Some committees were extremely responsive, some were no where to be found, all of them, however, were incredibly busy.

I have no idea where this idea that Occupiers were lazy came from, really.

It felt like I had two full-time jobs, and I was getting very tired. Very tired, indeed.

Meeting of the Minds

The volunteer coordination committee was born underneath pop-up tent on a tiny green space in downtown Portland, and Jimmy? Jimmy was it's father. He left his number at the information booth, and welcomed anyone with an interest in volunteer coordination to give him a call. To my surprise, many people did just that. Same idea. Same time and place.

You had to take off your shoes before you entered the blanket tent space. That made me smile.

We sat in a circle and introduced ourselves. There were a variety of personalities, backgrounds, methods & intentions gathered together in that cozy lil' tent. Some people were experienced with this whole anarchy meeting thing, and some of us were still a little wet behind the ears. Note takers? Attendance? POCs? annagrams? Already!? Who knew?

After we sorted through the bureaucracy, we started to get to the meat of it: How to Organize Volunteers for the Revolution. I felt, and still feel, that a healthy volunteer program is a key element to a successful populous movement. We want everyone to be involved, right? People need to know how they can best use their energies and resources to benefit the occupation. It only makes it grow, each new volunteer is a new advocate for the cause.

Essentially, Occupy Portland needed a volunteer program, and fast.

My ears perked up, 'Hm, I think I can help with that.'

I listened. I tried to listen. They had a lot to say. There was a lot going on. These people move fast. Everything was moving so fast. The camps were nice n' full. The committees were all formed. There was even a volunteer application up and running on the web-site! How was that even possible?

I felt like I had a lot to contribute. I'm in meetings like this all the time.Well...sorta.

It's a huge task. Occupy Portland was a round the clock, multi-program, high skilled volunteer event or festival, rather.  It required hundreds of volunteers at all hours of the day and night with all kinds of skills to do all kinds of tasks in all kinds of weather. Definitely not your average walk in the park.

My mind was spinning. Still is.  What everyone was able to accomplish in those two parks in in such a short amount of time was absolutely astounding. How does one even begin to try to coordinate such beautiful chaos?

#respect #solidarity #opdx

How can I be most helpful?

Since my time-intensive long-term volunteer activity of camping in downtown Portland was over, it was time to find a new volunteer task to help the cause. I decided to sign up for a four hour shift at the information booth. I figured that I could help answer questions & e-mails or something.

"Where can I drop off donations?"

"What happened at the GA last night?"

"What are you asking for anyway?"

"Is this legal?"

It was really fun, fast-paced, hectic and challenging. I enjoyed it. I organized donations, directed people, responded to e-mails, handed out supplies and talked to people.

After working for most of the day, I realized that there was a small piece missing from the puzzle--a volunteer program. Not to hate on anarchical systems of organization, but it is very challenging to reach out to lots of people without a framework to plug them all into. I started asking questions about their systems of communication, systems of outreach. Out of the chaos I was looking for order...

...and that's when I met Jimmy.

Moving out

We are no longer camped down at Occupy Portland. Last night, someone that I would call, an "agent provocateur" targeted our camp. When he first got there, he had a job and a girlfriend and a house, by the end of the night he was friends with all the gutter punks encouraging them to drink out in the open, yelling about having a gun, and making threats our way.

I was scared. I was angry. I was sleep deprived and my life was starting to suffer. I wanted to cry.

We couldn't stay any longer. Packed up and shipped out.

Rough night. 

Occupy Portland + Portland Marathon (Part II)

The morning of the marathon essentially started at 2am. The peacekeeping team made an announcement that anyone left in the occupation after 4am would be locked within the fence for the next 12 hours. Hundreds of people were there. Not everyone was ready to listen. Most of them didn't know about the marathon, or the agreements of the general assembly and weren't exactly thrilled that anyone was telling them what to do.

The fences were already up.We were camped out at the only exit point on the corner of SW 4th & Salmon. There was a team of young dudes standing guard at the entrance. Several near fights broke out. Every time I could here the volume rise and the safety team getting ready to lose their cool, I'd come out of my tent and play the "damsel in distress" card.

"Guys, guys. Thank you so much for being here, but I'm really trying to sleep... right over there." I'd gesture over to my tent not too far away. They we're always bigger than me. Always scarier than me. "I understand that you may not think this is fair or whatever, but its what needs to happen so that this whole thing doesn't get shut down." Blah. Blah. Blah. It worked every time.

I was supposed to meet the volunteer coordinator for the Portland Marathon at 4am at the gates. I didn't get to sleep until about 15 minutes before that.

OK. OK. I slept. I did it. I fell asleep and my phone died. I'm sorry. Occupying is tiring.Forgive me.

I woke up with the rest of the camp and climbed up a tree next to my tent. From my vantage point I could see runners finish the marathon, get wrapped in an emergency blanket and get snacks from volunteers as they walk to get their victory photo taken.

Little kids gave us candy. People were nice, some were supportive. I saw people I knew. Familiar faces. Eventually, the volunteer coordinators spotted me, and I shimmied down from the tree to meet him. He gave me a volunteer shirt, and he told me how I could help coordinate volunteers.

Basically, moment after the end of the marathon, there would be a march coming down the exact same street that the Marathon was finishing in. They would need help taking down all the fences, cleaning the road, and getting the trucks out of there fast enough to accommodate a thousand people to walking through the middle of it.

I told him I could help with that.

Until then, I played gatekeeper. Mediator. I worked with the security team, the marathon organizers and  the police to keep the peace. I escorted people outside of the fence. Basically, I helped make sure that the Occupation didn't interfere with the Marathon. Everyone was really nice. Super Supportive. "Whose Streets? Our Streets!"

Phase two. I needed help to break down the Marathon by recruiting huge groups of volunteers to cut down fences & clean up the streets. We got Occupants in Portland Marathon volunteer shirts, gave them trash bags & gloves, scissors and knives. Everything went down seamlessly.  The march came through. The fences came down without a hitch. Earlier than expected even.

It was really a  win-win for everyone. All the Marathon's volunteers got to go home early with their runners, and the Occupation cleaned up. The Portland Marathon organizers raved about us! Everyone benefited. Two parts of the community shaking hands. Not a bad story to tell the local news really.

All in all, about 40 Occupiers that I helped coordinate volunteered at the Portland Marathon. It was quite a task. Everyone's a piece of the puzzle. Solidarity.

Occupy Portland + Portland Marathon

My group of friends has been holding down a camp at the occupation . We've been carefully watching the movement to see where we would be of most use.

My opportunity to be useful came sooner rather than later. On the third day of the protest, the Portland Marathon had a permit for the very parks that we were occupying. In fact, the start and finish of the race was all around us. Runners were getting their finale picutres taken right up the street.

The whole city was in a tizzy. Will the Occupation ruin the Marathon? Will everyone end up ruining the occupation? The slanderous words were flying back and forth.

Fortunately, however, the general assembly decided that we would choose to work with the Marathon so that other members of the 99% could take to the streets as well. The plan? They were going to put up a fence around the park that we were in, and not let people out between the hours of 4am and 4pm. All other occupants would leave the premises, and march around, of course.

Really? You've got to be kidding me. Lock in a bunch of revolutionaries behind a fence!? Oh good god. This is not going to work. I could see the backlash already.

"You mutha fuckin' facist pigs, you're going to try to LOCK me down? You think you're the mutha fuckin' PO-Leeese? huh? Fuck da PO-leeese. Fuck 'em"

And granted, I did hear that until about 4 in the morning. I got out of my tent several times and calmed down some drunk gutter punks. Apparently, I have skills in this area. Conflict resolution. Who knew?

View of Occupy Portland from the Justice Center --
you can see the fences going up.

Anyway, the volunteer cooridnator from the marathon came to talk to the group that was planning on staying within the fences. I was part of that group. He was answering questions about bathrooms, the lock down, the fences, and at the end he announced, "and if you want to volunteer with the marathon, come talk to me."

As I expected, after the speech he was bombarded with people interested in helping. I waited carefully for him to hear them out, try to place them, and work on getting contact information and answering all their questions. Once he was able to catch his breath, I introduced myself as as a fellow volunteer coordinator, and I could see the relief on his face.

Ultimately, I volunteered to be the liaison between the volunteers of the occupation and the volunteer coordinator of the Portland Marathon. Perfect fit, if you ask me.

(to be continued)

Occupy Portland - Part I: The Great Camp Out

Occupy Portland March @ Pioneer Square

Occupy Portland kicked off with a 10,000 strong unpermitted march through downtown, and ended in an occupation of the two parks in front the Justice Center and Police Bureau in the shadow of the Wells Fargo Building. I had a brought a large piece of cardboard and blanket to reserve a space. A tent, tarp and mexican food followed.

We wanted to camp at the occupation to lend some legitmacy to the effort. If educated and employed young adults camped alongside people that didn't have any other choice maybe people would recognize this as a legitmate movement and actually take the time to listen.

The effort definitely hasn't been easy.

Most people can't do this. They have families or jobs or whatnots, but they visit, drop off food, and ultimately help in the efforts. It takes a village.

So, to say the least, there has been a change of plans. In the upcoming weeks, I'll use my volunteer time to help the Occupy Movement. Finding out how I can be most helpful will definitely prove to be a challenge, but this is a lesson for anyone trying to get involved with a small overworked non-profit. Sometimes an organization doesn't have the structure or capacity to handle the good intentions of everyone that walks through its proverbial doors.

The Occupy Movement, however, is aiming to do just that. It seeks to use the energy, power & skills of every sympathizer to send a message to those with the power & know how that the average American is pissed. We've been ripped off and screwed over in far too many ways for far too long. How to help send that message is a whole 'nother story. Extreme volunteering. I'll let you know how it goes.

My most recent non-volunteer volunteer activity

This past weekend I signed up to "volunteer" at NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon's annual fundraising gala. I wanted to lend a hand, because I strongly believe in their cause, and I knew that they were very effective at what they do. Their staff of four managed to elect pro-choice candidates at every level of government. Their volunteer phone banks made more calls in the last election than any other organization in Oregon. Ensuring that Oregon remain one of the last three states in the nation that does not have any restrictions on a women's right to an abortion.

Pause for applause. It's well deserved.

I chose to bring my favorite volunteer with me to the gala. She was most recently hired at my work to admin for the IT & Fiscal Teams. Another pause for applause. It's definitely warranted.

A friend of mine is the volunteer cooridnator for them. She needed volunteers to fill tables, and help clean up at the end. She had plenty of volunteers there. They didn't necessarily need my help...and my ride came early.

I didn't actually end up helping them with anything, so gave them 50 bucks, and called it a day.

Moral of the story. Volunteering is great, but donating is important. People that work at non-profits spend much of their energy trying to get your money. Make it easy on them.

Occupy Wall Street: Protest as Volunteer Work

As you can imagine, I've been watching the Occupy Wall Street protests in downtown New York, and it got me to thinking about activism as a form of volunteerism. Perhaps they are one in the same--two beasts from the same bushel. Donating your time to benefit the common good. Sounds about right.

Unfortunately, when you really get down to it, a lot of volunteer jobs should be well-paid and insured government jobs or something similar. If we had a tax structure that supported the community good instead of corporate interest, we'd all be looking a whole lot better. Lots of our hard work and dedication would be rewarded with, what it should be, money. Or perhaps even better: our schools & healthcare would be paid for, and would be able to free up our own resources to become donors & volunteers.

I'd have to say, that occupying downtown New York for 12 days now is quite a long-term volunteer experience.

And as follows, my volunteer project for the next couple months will be: Occupy Portland - beginning October 6th. I'll be there. I'll have to see who I can gather. I think this is a group volunteer activity.

"activism is my rent for living on this planet" - Alice Walker

One Night per Week

We're all busy. There's nothing new there. If isn't the job and the kids, its the strippers and the drug habit. Doesn't matter. When it boils down to it, the amount of time that one has needs to be a huge consideration when it comes to choosing a volunteer project.

If you're flighty flaky no-good hipster (as I may or may not be) its not the best idea to sign up to mentor kids or work in an office. This is how volunteers can actually end up being more harmful than helpful. If an organization has taken the time to train you or a child/senior has allowed themselves to trust you then you are morally obligated to continue your service at least 6 months. Yes. 6 months. If you're really nice..a year.

This may come as a shock, but think about it. What do you do when you really hate your job? Think back to a time that you worked at (insert shitty dead end customer service/office slave type job here) where your boss slapped your ass and called ya "toots" or made you clean out the most disgusting part of the entire building with a toothbrush or some shitty thing like that. What do you do? You know damn well what you do. You QUIT!
"Take that! you no good bourgy piece of shit. I hope you and your disgusting Subway franchise kingdom  falls off the nearest cliff, and I want to be there to see your sorry existence go up in a fit of flames and footlongs!!" And that's when you gather up the biggest loogie in the back of your throat and hock it on the nearest difficult thing to clean and growl, "I QUIT!"

Deep breath. Now, didn't that feel nice?

But the fact of the matter is, you don't want to do this to an organization that is doing good things for the world. When applying for a volunteer job that requires a certain time commitment --make sure you can live up to that commitment.

I plan on being in Portland for about 6 more months. Give or take. I've got one night per week. Just enough time to get involved in a volunteer activity that requires a bit of training. I've e-mailed a few Volunteer Coordinators with my interest. I'll let you know how it goes.

So How's It Gonna Look?

Current Project: 
Voluntourista (now - October 15th) - Getting things rolling on this project has proven to take quite a bit of time as well. Setting up a blog, finding my voice, make a web-site, setting up projects, getting an EIN number. My oh my what have I gotten myself into? Stay tuned.

Next Up:
Oregon Food Bank (October 16th- November 29th) - I already work at an organization that is doing amazing things in its community, and could benefit from a pre-trained high skilled volunteer (HSV). In this particular instance the program that I would be helping is the Volunteer Program. Big suprise. For six weeks this Fall, I plan to donate 4-6 hours in addition to my current workload per week to Oregon Food Bank writing handbooks & instruction manuals, organizing databases and ensuring the continued success of the program.

Double Next Up:
Hands on Portland (November 30th - January 13th) - I would like to of explore the wild world of episodic volunteering by signing up for 10 different volunteer projects through the HandsOn Network over a 45 day period. This organization connects millions of people with local volunteer opportunities. They understand the nuances of the volunteer process and facilitate professional recruitment, orientation and recognition of volunteers. This is definitely a valuable resource for anyone interested in getting involved with service in their communities.

You're Going to What?

Last entry, I passively mentioned a "project of this magnitude." It seems like now is as good a time as any to explain exactly what I mean by that.

In the upcoming months, I plan to change nearly aspect of my life. I am going to quit my job, sell the rest of my earthly possessions, leave my house and volunteer my free time to worthy causes here and around the world.

View from my desk.

Deep breath.

I plan on writing about my experiences and putting it on a bomb web-site that makes volunteer opportunities and good causes accessible to anyone with the internet. I'd like to focus on the process of getting involved as a volunteer, and the best ways to help out those who need it.

It can be a daunting experience to choose a volunteer opportunity that fits your time frame, mind set and skills. Many times, it can be a challenge for an already stretched thin organization to properly use the expertise of each person that walks through their door. Finding an international opportunity only compounds these issues.

And when it really comes down to it, you want to be helpful to an organization, not harmful.

Anyway, I plan to give it a try. I've saved up some money, gained a few skills, made some connections and now? Now, I'm ready to throw it all to the wind. I hope to help some valuable organizations and inspire others to get involved in whatever capacity possible. 

You only live once, you know. 

Toning Down on 9/11

Update: I met with the fellas over at SpeerCreative. They are charged with the daunting task of turning my crass blog into a respectable web-site capable of supporting a project of this magnitude. While parsing out with them what I need to make this idea a reality, I realized that need to cultivate a tone that is more amicable to the non-profit do-gooder community.


Needless to say, my rant on 9/11 doesn't exactly cultivate the culture of oneness that I need here. I'm trying to demonstrate that service and volunteerism are valuable characteristics of a healthy functioning society. Lines need not be drawn in the sand. 


So please, bear with me as I try again:
_________


In early 2009, the decided to rename September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.  Communitiy organization were challenged to create service opportunites to engage people in service on or near September 11th. 


I was the contact for volunteers at the two largest food banks in Oregon. They told us that, "service activities should honor those who died and those who have served because of the tragedies of 9/11, and include a time of reflection and remembrance." 


Huh? It would be fitting to put one of those scratching stopping record noises here. 

You mean to tell me that in the honor of those who died at the hands of this horrible act of violence we are going to honor those that continue to commit horrible acts of violence? rrright....

Yes, yes, granted a Service Day is better than  Patriot Day, but of course we needed to do both.

**Le Sigh**

Instead, I'd like to argue that on this particular day, we should be focusing on global unity and understanding. Perhaps there is an opportunity here. Perhaps we can aim to be bigger than our enemies. We can choose to foster an environment that "combats terrorism" through education and humility. It might be a refreshing change of pace.

Therefore I'd like to call (as if I have any power) for yet another rebranding of 9/11. 

September 11th: International Day of Service, Peace & Understanding 

IDSPU? hmm. OK. open to other name ideas, but you get the idea.

On this day, community groups all over the world participate in service activities that support cross-cultural understanding and peace through education. Examples? perhaps one could organize a large service activity with their church and their local mosque. Maybe a letter writing campaign to end war or promote a social justice program? or working with an organization like IRCO that supports immigrants and refugees. 

OK, fine. Maybe I'm a dreamer.....but I'm not the only one. 

9/11: International Day of Service, Peace & Understanding

"What have you bought into and how much will it cost to buy you out?" - Saul Williams

This past Sunday was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. You know that one time...with the planes, and the buildings and the terrorists, and stuff. Well, yeah. Nationally, we've been reflecting on how the events of that morning changed our lives both personally and collectively. 

I, for one, remember being ...well, skeptical. I couldn't believe that people living in caves on the other side of the world "hated our freedom" so much would take their own lives & others to prove it. 

I still don't really believe it. 

Not that I'm in shock. Not that I don't believe people could hate us. That seems pretty obvious. I don't believe that we know what actually happened that morning. If the powers in our government did not have a direct hand in the event, they at least chose to turn a blind eye.

Sorry, just couldn't help myself. Carrying on..

Anyone with any sort of political background knows that you only need one catastrophic attack to rally a population to nationalism and revenge.

And as expected, in the months after 9/11 American patriotism was hotter than ever. Flags were flying off the shelf like they were going out of style. We were scared, confused & on gaurd. Perhaps if we wrapped our bodies and our psyches in the good ol' red white and blue, we would be able to protect ourselves from the judging eyes of the world. 

Ripe for the pickin'. Indeed. Perfect climate to start a war. Send those well-meaning American boys & girls  to someone else's backyard to "fight for our freedom." Right. Sure. In the decade since 9/11 we used the event as a rallying cry for war & separation, a political poker chip for idealogical ends--invoking the tragedy as a reason to hate and fear others. It's too bad really.

Fast forward to early 2009, the new body politic chose to rebrand September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Not a bad idea, right? Communitiy organization were challenged to create service opportunites to engage people on or near September 11th. I know. I was one of those "challenged organizations." 

They told us that, "service activities should honor those who died and those who have served because of the tragedies of 9/11, and include a time of reflection and remembrance." Oh please. I don't need to go into my issues with connecting 9/11 to our series of endless wars. That's not the point.

The point is, I'm going to have to call their bluff on this whole "service day" thing too.  While I definitely support a day of service in lieu of another goddamn Patriot Day, this one is just some pro-military yea-America circle jerk. Uh, did I just say that outloud?  uh-oh. Yup.

Anyway, I'd like to argue that on this particular day, we should be focusing on global unity and understanding. Therefore I'd like to call (as if I have any power) for yet another rebranding of 9/11. 

September 11th: International Day of Service, Peace & Understanding 

IDSPU? hmm. OK. open to other name ideas, but you get the idea.

Boom. 2012.

A Second Thought on Downsizing...

There are way better ways to do this whole get-rid-of-half-your-possessions thing. That is, if you have a bit more forethought, and not a surprise $1000 rent increase and a roommate deciding to go on a last minute cross country rendez-vous.

In my defense, the free box method is a time honored Portland tradition, and probably the reason that I have most of this shit in the first place. However, there comes a point when your free box just becomes some sort of grotesque illegal dumping situation. We were definitely toeing that line for a while there.

And yes, the whole freegan love thing is pretty cool, but donating it somewhere may actually be a better way to go. Goodwill's an OK option, but should probably only be used as a last resort. I can't lie though, that is definitely what we did after we let our neighborhood have their pick of it.

What I probably should have done was give it to an organization that could have put more use to it than those craigslist trolls.

Well, shit. In my regret, I've decided to mention some of those organizations in my area that do great work with all that non-trash trash out there. I'll use them for the next half of this inventory reduction. Holla.

• The Arc of Multnomah/Washington County - These guys run a resale store to fund their programs. Clients from their programs come and volunteer with me at my work.The have a long list of things that they don't accept, but definitely worth it to sort out the things they could use. 
• Volunteers of America - They do a similar thing. Volunteering at the Food Bank every once and a while too. Great things both these programs are doing
• SCRAP - an amazing arts and crafts reuse center! They are definitely getting my fabric collection.
• The Community Warehouse - They take bigger things like furniture. But remember to keep it classy. Charities don't want your junk neither.
• William Temple House - They run something similar to a Goodwill, and have a social services and emergency assistance piece, but they are a faith-based organization...and I tend to avoid that.
• Oregon Food Bank - Lest we forget, cleaning up the kitchen. Oregon Food Bank accepts unopened non-perishable & perishable food  items for our neighbors in need. 

Anyway, yeah, after its all said and done, and my lackluster Goodwill donation was complete; I am still left with a bit of trash. OK. A lot of trash. There is a random bed, that I don't know where it came from, and a futon cushion from a futon that I definitely never owned. I snuck it over to my new house in the middle of the night and stuck it behind a truck in the front lawn. Definitely the opposite of classy.

Goddammit, what do I do with that thing?!

I think I"m going to burn it. Yeah, I'll let you know how that goes.

Downsizing

Everything is finally in its place. It feels like it has taken months to get to this point. All the sorting, and agonizing, and scrubbing, and worrying. This move has definitely been trying..

To be frank, I have the hardest time throwing things away. My slight obsession with trash really compounded the stress of  moving. I imagine it living out the years of its life on a garbage pile in Southeast Asia. Depressing. I know, but really it forces me to think about the million ways I can make everything I own not trash.

What made the cut.

I started with the garage sale. Honestly, it wasn't worth shit when it came down to the dollars and cents of it all.  I think we made maybe $60 total. The best part of it was deciding the difference between the things that I could keep and the ones that I couldn't. You see, I lived in a huge 3+ bedroom house, and furnished and filled the whole damn thing. I had couches, kitchen stuff, washer & dryer, clothes of all sorts, bike things, tables, chairs. The whole nine. I was moving to a 12'x12' room in a house that already had enough stuff to fill its walls, its garage and then some.

More than half of it had to go. "Sure. A dollar. Yeah, take some clothes too. The guys stuff is over there."

I sold my kitchen table, two books by Obama & a Cookbook to an 80-year old couple in a minivan for ten bucks.




People were pretty stoked around seven o'clock when we introduced the "mostly free yard." "Yeah, you got a truck? Sure, take the two tables. Yeah, those lamps too."



Letting it all hang out. 





I was really appreciating the cleanse.



The next day I had the free garage. I put up an ad on craigslist and had a handful of people come over and take a look. At one point, we just had a father and his son load up a truck to furnish his dorm room. Seriously. We gave him a desk, a full kitchen set, chairs, a whiteboard

 

A lot of crap that I didn't plan on keeping somehow managed its way into my new abode. A 27" inch television from 2005? A cooler? A can of hairspray? a whole bag of spices? really? really? Where did this stuff come from?! Less. Less. I want less stuff.

All craziness aside, I'd call it a 60% reduction in inventory. Not bad, but there's still a lot of work to do.