Monday, June 23, 2014

Quote of the Week

The trouble with, "A place for everything and everything in its place" is that there’s always more everything than places. - Robert Brault

Question:  Do you need less stuff or more places?
Answer:  A little of both.

I think most of us have things that just sit around collecting dust that we haven't touched in years. Some have the philosophy that if you haven't used it in two years, throw it out.  That may be a good rule of thumb for some things and some people.

Others hang on to stuff for decades because they might need it someday. To be clear, I'm not talking about hoarders like you see on TV who keep everything that comes into their house, including trash, and things used up or broken beyond repair.

I have things packed away that I don't use. Do they take up space? Yes. Should I get rid of them? Some would say yes, and in time I may...when I can let go.  

Do we have more everything than places? Yes.  Is it junk?  No.  Hubby has a project he's working on. He needs something, goes into the basement and voila, he finds something that fills the bill. It is likely something that I would have thrown out years ago.

Just this past weekend I was making something and I needed some double-sided tape. I went down to a shelf in the basement and rummaged through a box of all kinds of tape I'd brought from my parents' house years ago. I found what I needed and finished my project.

So while there are extremes on both sides, and as much as we strive to maintain the balance, we always have more everything than places.



8 comments:

  1. That's cool your hubby can immediately find his stuff! Mine is a bit more challenged that way. :)

    I guess it's all how you look at what you collect. If keeping it away in boxes brings you joy for the "some day" of going through it -- then good thing! It's all about how you feel about the stuff, anyway.

    xoox

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  2. When we moved from our other house, into this one, I used it as an excuse to get rid of anything we didn't use regularly. It was wonderful to have cupboards and drawers for everything and some space left over. It didn't last! We have just as much 'everything' as we had in the other house now :)

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  3. I have been working hard at getting rid of "junk." Especially clothes I haven't work in forever. "One day I'll fit in that again." Yea right... so now out it goes to the thrift store! But yes, I have things that I don't use for a long time, but I know where these things are and can go to them when I DO need them. And some things I DO keep just for sentimental reasons. Like kids gifts and art work... my joys!

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  4. Jannie- Yay! You're first. I guess I wasn't really clear. While hubby comes up with what he needs to fix something, it's not necessarily always quick. A lot of my stuff is sentimental.

    Babs- Funny how things multiply. ;)

    Katherine- I eventually donate clothes, but rarely my jeans. I always have hope of fitting into them again, and I'm working toward that goal now.

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  5. Oh, this one hits me right where it hurts. While not a hoarder, I do hang on to things LONGER than I should. I just went through boxes of old bills and paper, some from ten years ago (embarrassed sigh)!

    I've been slowly cleaning out drawers and some of it has been fun. I found tons of stuff for the kids. Looks like I save every picture they ever drew! But those are keepers, while a lot of the other stuff needs to go.

    This was a great interpretational post of the quote and I love that its a quote about a quote:~)

    Hope things are cooling down a little bit for you. We've had lots of storms lately, but that's typical.

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  6. I have kept many unused things through the years, in hopes that one day I'd have the place to display or use them. That's worked out for some things with this house but for the most part, I opted to get rid of many dozens of boxes of "stuff" before I moved... most of which I've probably already forgotten about.

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  7. Sara- We all have a little bit of "ouch" when it comes to this touchy subject. I imagine it is a rare house or family that has no unneeded stuff.

    Hilary- I think moving is an excellent reason to pare down one's belongings. The less you have, the less you have to move. ;)

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