Confessions

A while back I took a deep breath and made a confession about myself that took a lot of courage to admit. You can read about it at Organizing and Time to "fess" up. I've been thinking about my problem and wondering if I'm any closer to recovery now than I was then. It's not looking good.

I think the root of the whole thing is that I'm terribly unorganized. I need to put my ingenuity to work and gather all my stash together in one place where it's easily accessible to everyone and organized so they can see what's available. Yes! That's what I need to do...now where to start? As I mentioned, I have a little here and a little there. I'm speaking generally now and I know I'm underestimating when I say a little. The problem with the organization idea is that I need a staging area.
 
The ugly truth of the matter was exposed when I did a little rearranging in the kitchen and decided to go through EVERYTHING.  Let's not even go there!  So, what do I do with the things that still have use...are sentimental to me...I dream of using someday but don't because I'm afraid I'll break them...are too fancy for our everyday life but I don't want to get rid of them?
 
Maybe I can justify hanging on to some of this "stuff" if I change the way I look at our daily life. Why should I save my "good" dishes for Christmas?  Why don't I get out the luncheon plates and punch cups just for fun?  And even though my girls are older, and maybe they'd enjoy it more because they are, why don't we have tea parties as often as we used to?  Yes, if I think about it long enough, I can find reasons to put most of the things back in the buffet and china closet.  But I have to take credit for getting rid of one fancy dish that we've had for a long time and never used.  So that's something, right?

And here's another issue I'm struggling with.  When I was about 10 years old, I started collecting salt and pepper shakers.  Once people know something like that about you, they are more than happy to help!  So I have this wonderful collection of hundreds of cute, whimsical salt and pepper shakers that I haven't looked at in about 10 years or longer because I don't have anywhere to display such a large collection.  So, do I keep them all packed away or do I get them out and rotate them through the house?  Or do I pick out my favorite ones and sell the rest on ebay?  I hate to part with many of them because some are souveniers and others were gifts.  Some of my favorites were picked up at yard sales and flea markets.
 
But, it's not really even things like this that I'm talking about.  There's really not a problem with having dishes that are used for special occasions or collections of things.  The true issue is the other stuff I save that normal people would throw away with out even thinking twice, let alone planning for future use.  Now I'd like to clarify that if you were to visit my house, it wouldn't be obvious to you that I save things, unless you go to the attic or garage and I don't make a habit of entertaining there. Yes, I really think organization is the key.  If all the interesting things that I save for upcycling were all in one place, it would be much easier to show a turnaround which could very easily make "some" people in this house a little more tolerant of my habit.  My goal is to twist his mind into seeing things from my point of view. So, yeah...

I'm serious about forming a PRA group for those who share my problem.  Pack Rats Annonymous.  Any ideas for overcoming this bad habit?  Or better yet, any support to ease my guilt? 

I didn't think so.

Organizing and Time to "fess up"

For most of my adult life, I've had a secret. One that plagues my husband and makes our home a little crazy at times. Being a meanderer, who often ponders things too much, doesn't help. It's sort of a sickness that I've been both secretly proud of and also ashamed of at some points in my life. I'm sure that things would be a lot easier and simpler if I could overcome this obsession and just admit it...say it out loud...come clean...let go...easier said than done. Much easier said than done. And in some ways, I can see the practicality of both sides of the issue. If put to the test, I could argue my point quite effectively...at least in my own eyes. But maybe if I write it down, I'll be able to either get past the feelings of guilt I'm having right now, or appease my mind enough to convince myself that I'm really being quite helpful...thrifty...frugal...green. Maybe.


Here goes...My name is Sharon and...I...am a packrat!...there, I've said it. When it comes time to throw some things away, I can usually see another use for them and dream up a plan to use them in the future. My intentions are good, you see, but my "future" may be years away and it should become obvious how that could begin to be a problem. Now I'm not like the folks who only have paths through their homes or anything like that and I don't have empty baked bean cans lying around or stacks of unused paper napkins that I've saved from restaurants but my attic and garage are loaded with good intentions. I'm not talking about garbage here, folks...I'm talking about perfectly good things.  Things I can use to "build" other things. Future projects that need other components before they can be completed, things I just don't have time for right now... and things... I'll probably... never... get around to reusing.  ...That was quite painful to admit.

Of course you've heard the green motto, "Reduce, reuse, recycle." And that's where some of my justification comes from. Why throw away perfectly good things if you could use them to make something else that is quite useful and cost saving? Why load up the land fills with things that will still be in the same shape when I'm dead and gone when I could reuse them to make things that I/we need? It makes perfect sense...to me. Now my husband is the type of guy who throws everything away with the idea that if we need one again, we'll go buy one. That is completely against my philosophy as a green mama and can be very hurtful to our pocketbook.

So I guess the compromise will have to be that I organize my stash into a more compact hoard and eliminate things that I've had on hand for years but have never used. The only problem with that is...and I've had this happen before...within a week/month, I'll need the things I threw away and I'll be kicking myself! Maybe what I need is a book that will guide my wandering mind with new ideas about reusing things so I don't have to throw them away. That idea makes me smile and it's something I can live with.

Well, I'm glad I got that off my chest. I feel as if my burden is a bit lighter now. So...I'll wait for the next rainy day and dig into the black hole to unearth my saved treasures and hope that I don't see the reasons for saving all of them quite as clearly as I did originally. 'Cuz that could be a disaster!

Or...

After reading a few comments from my original post I've come up with a plan.  Since it seems that several of you share my creative penchant for saving seemingly useless treasures for reuse and a new life, I'll share it again here.


PRA (Pack Rats Anonymous) starts soon. I'm gonna need a sponsor! Maybe I'LL write a book on creative ways to reuse/recycle all this stuff! It can be the PRA handbook leading wayward hoarders of truly reusable stuff to find ways to use it up while making the world a greener place to live.  It's a win/win situation!...Right?


I'm already making mini greenhouses from the large plastic boxes that organic salad greens come in...they can also be used as storage containers for all kinds of stuff...they are stackable and clear so you can see what's inside...I could use them to store my own greens from the garden...the large flat surfaces are great for making clear windows for all sorts of projects...I made a protective cover for the screen part of E's iPod cover that I knit from left over pieces of wool yarn and felted. Speaking of left over yarn...I made a cute little camera bag, too...and I mixed colors to make a nice bag that receives lots of compliments. 
Wool sweaters that can be made into cool bags for all sorts of projects...jeans to line them or make into other things.  Holey socks for, well, you can read about that here if you haven't already.  And truly useful things like this greenhouse.  Good things can come of this...right?


Don't get me monologuing on this! I think I'll write that book with full color pictures of my projects.  See?...it can be therapeutic to my addiction. Maybe I can successfully turn my problem into a money maker and I'll become known as the "Reusable Stuff Guru" and...


I think I need to lie down...my dreams are making me giddy!

Sharing my confession with Jenny and friends @ Alphbe-Thursdays