Collecting . De-Cluttering & Organizing . The General
Generally Speaking
On May 10, 2016 by Speranza
I find it fascinating that people often have all the same stuff to get rid of.
Empty coffee carafes abound at garage sales, as do toaster ovens, ugly and now obsolete “stereo units” that used to house square monolithic televisions, hairless, dismembered Barbies (‘Amputee Barbie’ never caught on, did it?) strings of Christmas lights we all kept re-buying, board games no one played, exercise bikes that people vowed to use as they watched TV (and obviously didn’t), boxed sets of dvds that were purchased so we could enjoy ‘Friends’ over and over and every Disney digitally remastered versions we were obliged to buy (first on VHS and then again on dvd).
Cleaning . De-Cluttering & Organizing . Top Ten Lists
Top Ten Reasons Why Organizing isn’t as Satisfying as They Say
On March 28, 2016 by Speranza
10. All those towels rolled as tightly as the folds in our brains may look pristine on the shelf but as a colleague of mine once lamented, how can I get the stripes to line up? (I hope she is now seeking help from someone other than Ralph Lauren.)
9. I worry about our collective obsession with clear plastic containers and bulk-buying. Is there an apocalyptic-style concern about suddenly not being able to access Q-tips?
8. Contradictory messages abound. Flip through any glossy paged cookbook and you will find well-dressed people idly admiring produce at an outside market as a wizened (but also well-dressed) vendor shares a joke. Not many of us can shop like this daily. I myself try to fake it by doing a market run as often as my job allows. The resulting sparkle however is hollow and short-lived; I never carry my baguette in a wicker basket either.
7. My eldest brother who is an Organizer Formidable has an entire drawer in his kitchen calligraphically labelled “Egg” and there resides a snug family of whisks, beaters, timers and coddlers. Although I tease him, I secretly think this is brilliant although I know I am not compulsive enough to have one myself.