Stuff Portrait Friday! My last for a while...

This will be my last SPF until who knows when, with my poor, witchy baby being sent away to Jersey today. Because of her current condition, refusing now to even take a semi-out of focus picture (see the first picture shown? - can you even see it? that's supposed to be a pic of my trunk!), alas, my trunk will not be featured for today's SPF - - I know, I know - - you're all really broken up about it, I know. I'm so sorry. This is all I have to offer for now and it'll have to do... FOREWARNING: This post is quite a rambling rambler...

#1 My garbage can: Behold, this is my ridiculous garbage can kept in the pantry of my kitchen. I'll come back to the "ridiculous" aspect in a moment, but I gotta say something else here. [TANGENTS: 1) In the upper left corner? Blue packaging? Anyone recognize this item? See here. 2) All that crap to the left of the can? It's my paper and glass recycling and I know, it's a bit outta control. You have NO IDEA though! If you could see above the can?!? there are 3 HUMUNGOUS bags hanging from the wall, loaded with plastics, all waiting to be taken to the recycling center located at the opposite side of the Vegas valley. {NOTE: Usually, my friend Ryan and I will make a morning of it on a Saturday - we have breakfast together and thereafter, we drive across town to dump our weeks' worth of recycling. Yes, we're that nerdy and that devoted to our recycling. And no, there are no recycling services at my apartment complex or his, nor do any of my local grocery stores offer recycling services, bastards! Not even Trader Joes! Why? Because Vegas sucks in the recycling department, sitting amongst the bottom 5 worst, most poorly ranked recycling states in the US. (I wrote a term paper about it last semester.) The problem is that Nevadans have access to thousands and thousands of acres of undeveloped desert property available for unlimited landfill use, and because legislation is under zero pressure to conserve the land for commercial or residential development [remember, this place is a vast and empty desert], they "don't see a real need to promote recycling." What do I think of that? Utter bullshit. Utterly shameful. I won't go on about the diverse ecosystem here or the reasons to recycle - I'll spare you.} Anyhow, having spent my H.S. years in Iowa, where they recycle more tons of material per year than some metropolitans areas and have their own bottle bill (a 5 cent payoff for each glass or aluminum bottle returned), I was well trained to conserve/recycle considering all that and the fact that my mother's family comes from rural Idaho... At my Grams' house in Bear Lake, if you ran the water for too long, the well water would turn a nice gritty, sandy seafoam green. May I also remind everyone, I'm a person who feels guilty if I let the water run in the bathroom sink while I brush my teeth.] As I was about to say, before my tangents/rant [WARNING: Here comes another weird rant!], I am quite serious about placing trash where it belongs - in the garbage - and I absolutely hate it whenever I find trash elsewhere. Because of this, coupled with the fact that I'm all about convenience in many regards, I have conveniently placed several garbage cans just about everywhere throughout my home; beside the toilet, beside the bathroom vanity, beside the bed/compooter desk, and atop the dryer. I had an extra can that I recently gave up to my honey-man and it's been placed under his desk in L.A. and I tell you, the man couldn't be happier! He has thanked me THREE TIMES on three different occasions for the wonderful convenience of having a garbage can beneath his desk. It has changed his life = I'm soooo not joking! Really! Anyhow, so far there's never yet been a garbage can in my living room, but don't think I haven't been tempted.
As for the ridiculousness of my kitchen's can (finally), do you see its size? Let's count: There's me, my roomie and my honey-man only visits about 2-3 days each week and that's it; only 2.5 people contributing trash; not a family of 5 or 6. My can is too big!!! Why I ever bought one so large, I dunno, but we do all know that when a large garbage can doesn't fill quickly, it doesn't get tossed quickly, and if anything organic and/or wet is thrown in there, it will stink to high heaven in less than 24 hrs. In my case, it doesn't help that I have a roomie from Japan who cooks sometimes super strange, super smelly foods daily and I'm in love with a carnivore! The can must go! Twice, I have sworn to get rid of the damn thing, waiting to do so until I'm out of large-size garbage bags. So why hasn't it happened yet? My sweet and most reliable, most courteous roomie, Kanako, dutifully switches off with me for the buying of water filters (we share the same Brita) and dishsoap (we share this too) and also GARBAGE BAGS! A few months ago, just when there were about 6 bags left from the bulk size box my previous roomie had bought, Kanako beat me to it, buying ANOTHER BULK SIZE box of 55 bags before I could tell her not to do so!!! Right now we're about 1/2 way through that box. Once the bags are about 3/4 of the way gone, I imagine it'll be time for me to move. *sigh* I am soooo not taking this can to Cali with me. Honey-man? Do not let me do it!!! And do not let me rationalize its use as a can to keep our recyling in either.

#3 My junk drawer, as found: If our new place in Cali doesn't have room for a junk drawer, I'll be sad. I use something out of this drawer almost daily. I love my junk drawer. Every home should have a junk drawer.