For the past couple of years I have been looking around my house, wondering how I have acquired so much stuff. I wouldn’t go as far as calling myself a hoarder, but I do have piles of this and that in my office, a closet full of clothes that I don’t wear, a bathroom cabinet filled with lotions and a basement with old cooking gadgets and furniture.

I mean, am I ever going to use this avocado slicer? Probably not, because I typically just use a regular, old knife. As I sat down to consider my green resolutions for the New Year, I started thinking about how and why I have somehow managed to obtain all of the miscellaneous items that have been accumulating over the past few years. The reason, actually, is quite simple: I hate getting rid of things. Yes, some of them do have sentimental value to me, but the major reason is that throwing them out means that they end up in my local landfill. A few years ago, when I moved, I put a sofa on the curb with a “free” sign attached to it. Surely someone would want it because it was in perfectly good condition, but was just too big for my house. The following morning, I awoke to that sofa being thrown into the garbage truck, which was grinding away trying to get it in. I had to cover my ears. Call it ridiculous, but our state landfill here in Rhode Island is filling up at an alarmingly quick rate, so it’s difficult for me to think that I’m not one of the culprits. “But there’s nothing wrong with it,” is a common phrase used around here, and the thought of throwing out items that are perfectly fine makes me cringe. I definitely get that from my parents. So, the item heads to the basement or a box in the closet that will be most likely be forgotten. In 2012, I’m making it my goal to simplify my home. As you can imagine, this will be a big step for me. Over the next year, I’ll take you through my process, room by room. My challenge will be to find ways to recycle and repurpose almost everything that I’m getting rid of and to do what I can to keep my old items out of the landfill. Now, does anyone out there need an Ebelskiver pan? It comes with a cookbook…