Friday Five: De-cluttering Edition

After taking the Child to a doctor's appointment this morning, I have a bit of time at a local coffee shop while Beloved gets her massage. So it's off to the Friday Five! Sally has the play today at RevGalBlogPals:

With Jo, Jon and Chris all moving to college and University accommodation there has been a big clear up going on in the Coleman household. We have been sorting and trying hard not just to junk stuff, but actually to get it to where it can be useful. On a brighter note we have used Freecycle ( check it out) to provide the twins with pots and pans etc that other folk were clearing out.

Making the most of our resources is important, I have been challenged this week by the amount of stuff we accumulate, I'd love to live a simpler lifestyle, it would be good for me, and for the environment I think...

With that in mind I bring you this Friday 5;

1. Are you a hoarder or a minimalist?
I am a bit of both, and in some ways it's almost as though I'm bipolar about it. I go through stages where I'm stockpiling groceries, household goods and other items (usually with coupons or through sales) and other stages where we kind of purge ourselves of what we've got. I know from history classes that until the last fifty years most families didn't keep more than three or four days of food in the house - what would it be like to live like that, we wonder?

2. Name one important object ( could be an heirloom) that you will never part with.
I hae two irreplaceable items: my great-grandfather's pocket watch (after breaking a spring again I'm hoping to get it working soon) and my wedding ring.

3. What is the oldest item in your closet? Does it still fit???
I lost a lot of weight about five years ago, so I don't have much left from the "fat old days" since none of it would fit anymore. I have a tweed jacket that I bought in 2000 that has been altered several times but still sort of fits (a bit big through the shoulders, but serviceable nonetheless).

4.Yard sales- love 'em or hate 'em ?
Hate 'em - next?

5. Name a recycling habit you really want to get into.
I'd like to buy a house with a water recycling system. We already recycle everything we can here - I'm known in our house as the Recycle Nazi (Hey, break that cereal box down! What is this cat food can doing in the trash! Don't throw out those coffee grounds - compost them!) But I don't see why we can't retrofit more American houses to filter our grey water (dishes, laundry, etc) and run it through our toilets (dual flush, of course) instead of using fresh water for waste disposal.

And for a bonus- well anything you want to add....
I dream of someday having the resources to build an eco-friendly house for our family. I'd love to live in a house that is completely off the power grid through quality eco-construction, solar panels, wind power and other renewable resources. And I'd love to take a church through an eco-retrofit also, but getting an entire congregation to catch onto that vision might be a bit difficult.

And now the Child has bumped her head on the floor for the third time - it's time to go.