Here I go with a post that will send some people over the edge. I know, because I’m one of you.
Feel free to suggest what I could have done with these, because I really am interested.
I love knowing all the possibilities of turning trash into treasure.
But I tend to just treasure trash.
Recently, I did something I’ve noticed other people doing. Normal People. People who don’t seem to struggle with invasive messiness the way I do.
People whose homes always seem to be under control are Ruthless Thrower Awayers.
That’s right. They’d prefer to waste something and all of its limitless possibilities . . . than have to deal with it as clutter.
Ever again.
For even two seconds.
They just throw it in the trash.
When I went to the Savvy Blogging Summit, I wore my cute polka-dot dress. It’s new, but vintage-styled, so my little Mary Janes were perfect for it. (That’s me with the blonde curly hair.)
Photo by Hoptocopter.com
Except that when I pulled the shoes out of my suitcase, I saw that they were broken.
I know Shoe-Fixers exist. I know some perfectly normal and resourceful people use them.
But I don’t. I think I will, so I save broken things. But I never get them fixed.
So . . . I just threw these shoes in the trash.
Did you gasp?
It’s okay. I would have gasped too.
I would have gasped in horror back when I was the girl who bought cute-as-can-be cowboy boots at a garage sale, intending to sell them on ebay . . . only to notice later that they were both left shoes.
And then I saved them for more-than-a-year thinking surely I could sell them separately.
To right-leg amputees.
See? I do understand.
Perhaps this once-impossible decision was made easier for me by the fact that I didn’t want to pack them up in my suitcase.
Yes, I feel the ache of shoes I used to love. But those shoes weren’t wearable.
Which made them clutter.
And I don’t need clutter.
Right leg amputees! That is the best funny all week. Thanks. I was so depressed. I am, temporarily, no longer depressed. 🙂
Oh Cindy, I”m glad I helped you smile. Sorry you’re depressed!
It’s ok. I’m just a melancholic kinda gal. Kind of a drag, but not unusual. 🙂
Oh my dear grilled cheese and chocolate cake! I’ve read about 3 posts and you have succeeded in making me cringe in my cluttered pockets faster than my husband. I think I have found the uncomfortable kick in the pants I need to get moving….faster. Bookmarked!
atta girl.
Yahoo!
Uh…seriously. I would have to totally scratch my projects list if I got rid of everything that is broken and needs a ‘new life’. Then what would I do with all that free time?
Pat
This made me laugh!
The trouble really comes when you, yourself, have the ability to fix an item but neither the time nor the ambition to do so, making it clutter than is even more difficult to throw away because all it would take is 30 minutes. Time to put some button sewing on the to-do list.
There is a place you can send shoes for one-legged people. I found it years ago on the internet because not only have I also had the “I can sell that on Ebay” syndrome, but I too have purchased two left shoes! Years ago, our local Kmarts were going out of business and selling everything in the store as “all sales final”. I found a nice pair of dress shoes for my young son to grow into. When I got home I discovered they were both left shoes. I went back and never found the mates. I didn’t think to ask if they could make an exception to their policy and give me a refund. So I found that website and mailed them the shoes.
I need to do that again. I have two completely unmatched shoes that belonged to my daughter when she was about 3 (she’s 14 now). I don’t know what happened to the mates of these shoes. We’ve moved since then and I still haven’t found them (I’m guessing she threw them in the trash). The shoes are in the back of a “junk drawer”. I’m afraid as soon as I send them away, I’ll find the mates. I think one is a Disney princess, but she’s probably obsolete by now.
…and then there is me who fixed my ‘new to me’ purse with a hot glue gun because i couldn’t bear to part with the ‘perfect bag’ i had JUST brought home from the thrift store for $3 the week before HAHAHA
It reminded me of this bag I loved that has a broken handle. I want to spray paint The bag a fun turquoise and make handles, and I just cannot toss the thing, because I like it better than some of my other purses. OK, so I am not convinced to toss it, but I can put an expiration date on that project.
A boot could have been a cute vase, especially in part of July 4 decorations, but ranchy-junky isn’t my style, as much as I like it. Free cycle?
The boots could be re-purposed into cute floral “vases” and then sold for way more than a mismatched pair could be. I am so the trash treasurer. Thanks for this informative post.
I am just learning to be ruthless in tossing the “but it could be fixed” stuff. Last week I took an armload of books that were too broken to donate and had sat around long enough(years here folks) waiting for me to fix them.
It is so nice to read a blog by someone who is not “normal”. I thinkwe are more normal than we realize it’s just the neat & tidy types have more time to write and blog so there are more of them so they seem normal. 🙂
Oh, I am SO ashamed. lol!!! The broken purse/necklace/etc and even the two left feet!!! (Gymboree shoes, white dress shoes for a wedding!)
(And I hope “but I could sell it on ebay” is another day’s excuse.)
I read this initially, and resolved to finally get rid of something. A very cute pink stuffied unicorn, it’s horn lights up and it plays music. it’s adorable. I got it for a steal on sale when my daughter was 3 I think. The dog chewed out one of it’s plastic eyes within a year of buying it. That was at least 4 years ago. For FOUR years, and through a house move, I have looked at it and thought I could fix that if only I could find a matching eye.
I will never find a matching eye.
Even if I do, I will never get around to fixing it.
Even I I do actually sew an eye in, the hole is so ragged that it will look like cr@p and I couldn’t possibly give it away or to charity.
The weekend has gone by. The stupid unicorn is still on the bench in the play room. aaagh!
Oh, I so relate.
So…what did you wear on your feet at the conference??? I cleaned out my shoes about three weeks ago. Tossed the gross ones, kept the ones I like and that FIT properly, put the rest in a large box to donate. It’s still in the garage. Why? Excuse alert! I have three pair hidden at the bottom of the box, still in their original boxes, tags still on, never worn. I’d be throwing away the $180 I originally paid for them. But, since it was at least 3-4 years ago, I doubt the store will take them back. I’m at a loss as to what to do with them. Any suggestions? I can’ tell you how much bandwidth this is taking up in my brain as I worry and ponder.
Bravo! Simply, bravo!
A bit of wisdom I gathered from somewhere: It’s not whether you CAN it’s whether or not you WILL… I CAN take that spare wood and make a Feral cat condo in my yard… WILL I? no… I won’t… so out it goes… I CAN make jewelry from those random bit of pretty someone gave me… but will I? Nope…
Maybe you can add that to your questions… When you hear yourself say ‘ooo I could… (fill in the blank)’ ask yourself: ‘Will I? Really?’
You are awesome and amazing. I just need to vent. I’m trying to put 3 boys into one small bedroom. Sigh😳. I had a bookcase collapse, and all it’s contents are now on my kitchen table😢. Still working on laundry and it’s Wednesday!! All the time, not sometimes, the clutter and mess make me incapacitated. It’s hard to make a dent, when I’m just moving stuff from one place to another.
Thank you for all your wonderful advice.
When I read about the two left boots I laughed till tears rolled down my cheeks!!! I can sooooo relate. That mentality is the reason for so many of my piles and stashes of clutter. I’m turning over a new leaf for 2020!!
My husband invited me to a square dance next month, but I have two left feet. I could have used those boots! As my young son once wrote, “Just kiding.” 🙂 Thank you for writing so humorously on a subject that can be seriously hard to deal with! You have helped me immensely, Dana.
I once lived in a city that had a reasonably accessible shoe repair shop. Now I live out in the country, and while there are two (yes, 2!) shoe repair guys in my county, I know enough now to recognize what’s worth repairing and what’s not. Am I going to get my just-fell-apart $1 boots from the thrift store fixed or am I going to just epoxy them myself? Or am I so mad that I pitch them. My head might just explode and I pitch them.