May present choking hazard

This weekend I methodically worked my way through kitchen cabinets, disposing of items that no longer serve a purpose to me (that includes you, dried oregano that expired in 2005 - why do I have these things??) so they're not packed and sent to D.C., just to be disposed of down the trash chute from ten stories up. Starting with the kitchen, folks - the closet looms in my near future. As I get over my small sentimental attachment to plastic cups from assorted restaurants and sporting events, I move on to the space under the sink. Cleaning supplies, check - those guys can certainly come with me. Who wants to restock that arsenal from scratch? And by cleaning supplies, I mean the whole shebang - you could tackle pretty much any mess imaginable with the supplies I have in store, some of which I didn't even realize I had. Oops.

However, wedged in amongst the cleaning supplies in pretty much every available nook and cranny....plastic bags. From everywhere. Grocery store, Target, assorted merchandisers scattered throughout the DFW area, even some that have journeyed back with me from West Texas. I mean, Double T Bookstore has the really durable kind of plastic bags, but what compelled me to keep that? I am absolutely shocked by the sheer number of plastic bags that were residing underneath my sink. I knew I shoved them down there from time to time, but little did I realize I would pull out a veritable mountain of plastic that could contain virtually every item in my apartment. What compels me to keep them? They rarely serve a second purpose in my home, even the handy Target ones that provide a list of ten possible re-uses.

Appalled by own hoarding of plastic, and in an effort to be a little more green, I did invest in some cool reusable Central Market bags the last time I was there. I have to admit that the "oh my gosh, those are so cute!" factor may have motivated me a little more than my wish to save the environment by not sending plastic bags into the ocean. They are really cute - brown and blue stripes, totally adorable. I figure they'll come in handy when I'm walking my groceries home through the D.C. streets and need a somewhat-reliable receptacle that can handle a decent amount of food.

Needless to say, I'm now even more frightened of my closet. God only knows what might be lurking in there.

See how cute they are? A little piece of Texas that can come to D.C. with me!