Took out the trash
 

And for the first time in a long time there were no secretly hidden or concealed bottles. Didn't have to worry about it spilling open and my secrets being revealed. Feels so good. Only on day 7 but hoping to keep my garbage bags bottle-less for a long time.

That does sound like a good feeling. Clean slate.

I'm on day 4. It's going to take at least a month's worth of recycling bins to get rid of the bottles at home. Then there are the ones in the file drawer at work. Unbelievable.

Good for you mightyflea21. Keep on truckin'. OliveDog congrats, from a former upstater. Just imagine how much more room you will have without all those bottles.

I just wrote about that elsewhere. tomorrow is trash day. I bagged up the stuff myself this time because I didn't want my many stashed lingering around until I could bag them up and head to the gas station since the family was beginning to check the garbage even. Tomorrow the last heap of bottles, plastic bottles, cans and whatever else, endless pint are gone forever.

I used to be so embarrassed about my empties going out for recycling once a week. Our council provides bins with no lids for bottles so the whole street can see your weekly intake. A friend of mine used to joke that the bin men would have to take 2 trips to empty mine and I used to lie awake on recycling day hearing the clatter and crash of my bottles going into the truck feeling ashamed because the sound seemed to go on forever. Good for you!

That is such an amazing feeling. I was embarrassed when I had my husband and son help search house for any forgotten bottles. Over 13 bottles in the oddest places.
its always nice when trash day can become such a proud moment and not just a chore.

That's great that your husband and son could help you. I'm afraid for me it was all buried in shame so I tried to hide it. It wasn't successful but I think they would have died if they saw the amount of bottles coming out of the weirdest places. I would even get ill as I took them out not believing the amount I'd consumed.

Today was first day I was able to talk to my family without much shame. I was surprised. I still have many things that I am not ready to release yet..but I guess that is why they call them steps. If I took a leap I would end up over the edge.

MightyFlea21...good job on 7 days..Not just "only 7 days" but "wow, its day 7"..time for a pat on the back

Isn't that great!? Our bin is pretty much empty, a few tin cans and some plastic, crazy! Used to be full to bursting with MBL cans, (urp)

That IS an awesome feeling, all those little reliefs and victories add up and we get a sense of the freedom sobriety brings!

Great job everyone!

I remember when I use to secretly drink vodka all alone in my room I would hide the empties under my bed and in the closet so I could throw them away in secret later. One day, a technician came out to work on our satelitte and no one informed me of this and I found out the guy had to go through my closet to access the cable. Turns out he had to move all the empty 750ml vodka bottles (12-14) and then he placed them back after finished... I was utterly mortified.
Happy to say there is no more hidden booze anymore.

My husband was moving furniture around the other day and my son was helping. They picked up one of the couches in the upstairs den and out slide a few half pints. Thanks God, not that many. At the time, I remember being pissed off at them that they didn't tell me they would be moving the furniture. Now I realize how ridiculous I was being. Should everyone have to ask me to open a closest and get shoes because a bottle might fall down?

Ahhhh,thanks for the good good memory. I have a woodshop and I used to stuff empties down in the bottom of the garbage can in there because Mrs Non was unlikely to dig through the sawdust, bent nails, and wood scraps to count empties. On trash day I would lift that bag out of the bin and be rewarded with the Clank of Shame.

I lifted it out of the bin yesterday. No Clank. :)

Those were some crazy days for certain! The endless bags of foggy nights hauled off in shame alone. I remember the RELIEF and almost feeling of success when I had discarded the majority of them- only to have room for more? Wow- so nice to not even have to blink twice about the garbage! :)

Exactly. and no fears that you have to go check the car first before someone gets in, check your purse, check your grocery bags, etc. I got busted last year with some shot size bottles in the door sleeve. I realized then I couldn't keep track of everywhere I put things. And sometimes, the only place I could slip away to to get a drink, when everyone was starting to catch on, was the car. I would have endless errands there including b.s. forgotten purse, forgotten grocery bag, etc. I began taking both of the keys to the car since we hang our keys and locking the door to my private drinking hole. It resulted in endless lies about missing keys that would suddenly turn up after I spot checked the car or took out the vodka.