Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Stuff!

I'm supposing here that most of you have seen/heard that priceless routine George Carlin had about "Stuff" and how we all acquire stuff, then we decide we need more stuff and on and on until we are pretty much over run then by all the stuff in our lives.

Well, in many ways, between all the stuff that Mandy and I have here at this house and all the stuff my son has at his house, we have just all kinds of stuff stashed away in drawers, closets, basement, attics, my son's garage, etc., etc., and yet, we still usually don't have enough stuff of some substance or another.

Granted, the stuff we tend to be totally short on, of course, is money cause I know if Mandy and I had a surplus of that stuff, we'd build on a little area to this house to make me my own little but larger than I have now, compartment room(s) like a room with a closet -a decent sized one but doesn't have to be huge -with enough space then to put my bed and dressers in there and adjacent to that, a little room big enough for say a futon and a recliner, computer and my Hammond organ (that had belonged to my aunt and which I got when she passed away) and a place then to put my tv set -which is a small one that has a built-in dvd player in it so that doesn't take up a bunch of space. Oh, an a little half-bath -just a commode, small vanity and shower facility.

Okay, that's all the space I would need for my own little living quarters then but boy, that would free up a lot of living space in the main house then.

Of course then -if we were ever able to do that -before much time would elapse, that new space would then be filled to the gills with some of the excess stuff that's currently taking up space in my son's garage, attic and even in the rooms of his big old house but which isn't all that big once you get inside because a big portion of his space is used up by the huge staircase that runs down the center of the house!

He's got things that are being stored at his house now that belong to lots of different people who, when they moved or got some new item or whatever, they didn't want to trash some stuff (there's that key word again, ya know) so all too often a lot of us (yes, Mandy and I are guilty of doing this with some things too but our stuff there is mainly smallish kitchen type items) have then taken things to my son's place to store them for some later or other or better usage.

This is the kind of thing that happens when people tend to be packrats and I suppose this is maybe how people become hoarders then too if there is no order whatsoever then to what is being stored and where and how.

My son, right now, for an example, has an abundance of television stands -at least one that we used to have here but got a newer, nicer one and no place to put the older one but there was really nothing wrong with it, and well, maybe when one of the kids gets a little older, we can put it in one of their bedrooms and use it again. (That's the kind of logic that takes place and all this stuff gets relegated to someone's spare storage spot -if indeed there is still one available -and it stays there until a new use or space can be found to put it back to doing its intended job once again.

And what brings all this to mind to me tonight, you ask?

Well, it seems our neighbor down the street has this really pretty, maple dining room table, complete with two leaves, and it would be really perfect for our needs here in our dining room and the great part about this item is that it is a good piece of furniture -made by Broyhill -and the neighbor is just giving this item away to anyone who wants it.

And I want it!

So what's the problem then?

Well, what to do with the current table we have that we are using here.

There's nothing wrong with the current table other than that we do need a larger table for when the whole family is here for a meal and I don't like the top on the current table as it is one of those with tile (ceramic, I think) top and if any foods get spilled on the table and runs into the groves then between the tiles, it's a bugger to get it to come clean. Worse than food stains though is that this is where Kurt and Maya generally have to play with one of their toys -that I have become a firm hater of too -and that's the stinking play-dough stuff cause that stuff, when it gets stuck in those grooves is really a pain in the dupa then to get that cleaned out.

Stay tuned though for more details as I try to wheedle Mandy into going down and gathering up this pretty maple table, with the two leaves, and brings it home -and we scramble then to find a new home -somewhere between this house and my son's -for the little table we have in use right now.

I'm pretty sure we'll find a place for it somewhere -probably in my son's kitchen area as he has a little bit of still empty space he can put something that size and it will be a great place then where he can toss his stuff when he gets home from work then, ya know!

3 comments:

Smalltown RN said...

I just left you a long message but it didn't go through. URGH! Anyhow, I was talking about the "STUFF". My hubby and his father and brothers are collectors of "Stuff". Living on 5 acres we have collected so much "stuff" Up until last week we had 5 non working vehicles on our property...finally got rid of them...only to get a motorhome and 5th wheel to replace them, now the top of our property looks like a trailer park with three campers, and trailer and a boat...urgh!!! Doug's dad has a 2 car garage that has never seen a vehicle in it because of to much "stuff"!

We are planning on selling our house and property and purchase something smaller. The job will be to try and downsize all this "stuff" and the hope is NOT to bring all this "stuff" with us!

I have been one who believes if you haven't used it in over a year chances are you aren't going to use it. We have this room that is suppose to be a bathroom that is full of "stuff" a wallunit, setee(that was to be reupholstered)an antique desk, dresser,ceiling fan...oh the list goes on...yes way to much stuff!

... Paige said...

hording is not a option; We treasure ;-)

terri said...

Stuff certainly does accumulate all too quickly. I often look around our house and marvel at the amount of stuff that comes about from five people living in the house for all of these years. I think the only way I might be motivated to get rid of some of it is if we were to move and then I'd have to decide whether or not I really wanted to pack all of that stuff!