My husband and I are cracking up over this magical paint. It's tan in the container, but the minute we put it on our wall whether it's wet or dry, it's green. I just gave the test patch on our wall another coat to see if changes. I've done test patches in different areas in the living and dining room, sunny areas and shady areas and it's still green. Christine, I too love that antiqued look. As I was searching around on my computer yesterday I saw MY DINING ROOM set done in that antiqued white and it looked gorgeous! I was so tempted to do that to mine, but it's a big job and I'm afraid I'd get sick of it after a while. I'd like to do an accent piece in the white though.. but first I'd have to find a nice accent piece. I think I will stain the dining room darker when I have time. We're shooting for spring to put the house on the market but we're only giving it 3mos. If it doesn't sell, we'll stay here. I have a huge house and hubby and I would like to downsize. I don't really want to move though..((cries))

If you can recycle without too much difficulty, assuming you have a small space for items, or donate it to someone who might be able to use it, why not at least attempt to? I *don't* have a small space for items (I do have places for the things my city trash program recycles--paper, plastic, glass metal). I can't easily donate it to someone who might be able to use it--a trip to the Goodwill or Salvation Army (or any other such place) is an entire morning, and I have to plan my entire family's life around it. Also, as I look at the stuff the ends up at rummage sales, the Goodwill, etc., and the stuff in my house, I realize more and more that most people don't need or want it--any of it. If it were truly valuable or useful to ANYBODY, it wouldn't end up there. Also, stores like that tend to have more than they can use--more clohes, more old furniture, more out-of-date appliances and kitchen gadgets. one or two items less that end up in a landfill. Since I am not actually talking about newspapers, etc., which truly do get "recycled," I don't agree that donating stuff (as a form of recycling) keeps it out of the landfill. It just slows their arrival down. Things like chafing dishes, old clothes, etc.--those will WILL be in the landfill eventually. It's only a matter of how much good they go in the meantime. Filtering through another person before they end up in the landfill is good--but not if the cost of making that happen is too huge for me. And right now, it is huge. So I find myself just throwing things in the garbage. And it's a huge relief. It has changed my life. I'll pass something on directly to another person, who actively wants it, if I know about thema t the time. Or I'll pass on books to a charity's used book store, bcs my DH goes there anyway. I've occasionally brought something to work and set it on the "giveaway" shelf. But if I decide one day that I don't want a certain dish, or kitchen gadget, or piece of clothing anymore, I just throw it out. Then it's gone. It's not still in my apartment (which is bigger than it used to be, once I remeasured it--1,100 sq. feet ) making my life miserable, and getting in the way, and WORSE, looking crummy. Bcs I've discovered that "stuff sitting in the teeny little foyer (or worse, the dining room) waiting to go to the Goodwill" trashes my home MUCH worse than that stuff did when it was still in a closet. Until I gave myself permission to throw things away, I actually used to decide NOT to clean out a closet, bcs I didn't want to trash the place by digging all the junk OUT of the closet and into the open. I don't have a garage, a back porch, a mud room, a laundry room. If it's easy to send something on to a place where it will GENUINELY be useful, and it won't be a burden, I'm all for that. What I am NOT for is the idea that trying to donate it should become MORE clutter--chore clutter, or stuff clutter. It's stuff. It's not in charge, whether it's environmentally "righteous" or not.

I would love the books. Please email me and I'll tell you my address and phone number. I would buy them off of you,and pay postage....Cathy

Here is my mother's china etc storage in her dining room. Cabinets on top, four banks of drawers below for "bits" and linens. The base isn't as deep as a kitchen counter is, it's maybe 16-18". Mom is very petite so the cabs are hung low. The doors and countertop surfaces are wood-look Formica (hey, it was the 70s). I opened the doors so you can see how much they hold. There's an electrical outlet for hot trays. The pass through is to the kitchen. And large folding doors close it all off; you can just see the edges of the doors.