The junko-collecticus lion

I will be the first to admit, I have a hard time letting go of stuff.  Not just the high ticket, or hard to find stuff.  Nope. Pretty much anything.  No worries, though, I make an exception when it comes to underwear. After the first hole...well, maybe the third...depending on the size, they get chucked out.  Why no special treatment for my trusty boxers?  Because they cannot be reused or transformed into something  else.  I am fiddling with the idea of creating funky lampshades out of my old skivvies, but I have yet to run the idea by the Urban Panther.

I have a very creative mind, and am fairly environmentally conscious.  Why throw something out when it can have a new life as something else?  My mind is in constant overdrive, just ask the Panther.  Although the garage and basement may look like downtown Kabul, I have a precise knowledge of all its content and approximate location.  Need to make a change of plans midway through a project and you have the material midway through a project, and you no longer have the right material to complete the task? Fear not!!  A quick scan through my inventory (very neatly filed away in the upper left corner of my brain, right between SEX and BEER compartments) and I'll find what I need.

The big advantage of this, is that not only are we saving the environment (and money), we always end up with very unique things you just can't find in stores.  The Panther and I go by the beat of our own drums, and would rather lead the parade than watch it!

So you see, although I may seem sloppy and disorganized, it is for the great good.

Am I the only one of my species?

Comments

[Kelly]

Urbane Lion,

Hahahahaha. You are by far not the only one of your species. In a long-ago world I lived with a man who was very, very handy. Fine. Taught me a lot. I rock with a table saw because of him. But... he couldn't stand to purchase anything new—"I can fix that!"—and he couldn't stand to throw anything out—"I might need that!"

I used to say that if I didn't stand between him and the router, he'd insist on making our forks from a leftover scrap of wood. Sheesh.

Is it unique to lions? Nope. Both my father and my mother have the same affliction. When I go for a visit, I throw broken scraps of stuff out if they're not looking. Aren't I awful?

Regards,

Kelly

[Robin]

Mr Lion - I'm very impressed that both your brain and your garage are so efficiently organised!

[Vered]

Well, re-using stuff IS a good thing.

I'm a thrower, and since I'm in charge of managing this household, Ido has learned to accept that.

[Urbane Lion]

Kelly: Can you imagine the damage your EX and I could do together! Forks out of leftover scraps of wood? Been keeping a few boxes of scraps in case I find some use for them. Thanks to you, I now have a new project! Oh, BTW,if you're going to start throwing some of my 'good stuff' out, remind me not to invite you over for the outdoor kitchen's inaugural BBQ ! LOL

Robin: I can take magic pills for my brain but unfortunately, no such pill exists for the garage!

Vered: So? Are you on my list of potential guests or would that be too dangerous?

[Alex Fayle]

You *know* where I fall on this one UL... But that being said, if you can find all your stuff within minutes, then it's not disorganized.

The question to ask yourself is: if something happened to you, how much time/expense would you love ones have to put in to deal with all of the "potentially useful" stuff that you (and only you) know about?

[Barbara Swafford]

Hi Urbane Lion,

Those boxers could be reused. UP could cut up the fabric and make quilts out of them (Shhh! don't tell her I told you this).

My husband likes to keep his work related "stuff" ( I won't call it junk), but when I see short pieces of PVC pipe with fittings permanently glued on them, I can only wonder what use they may have in the future.

[Urbane Lion]

Alex: Perhaps you should plan on staying here just a little bit longer this fall......

Barbara: Whoaaah! A quilt! That would be soooo great! I'll get her mother on it right away! And just so you know... I also have a collection of short bits of pipes with fittings on them and they have come in handy more than once. Taking them apart was also a great cause of frustration but hey, that's one less piece of plastic in the environment and, I saved $1.50!

[Al at 7P]

I totally agree - there must be some unknown force in the universe that makes that piece we think is junk and thrown away to suddently become needed.

I don't think it's strictly a guy thing, though. I think if you replace "gadgets" with the word "shoes," and we'll have a similar issue :) .

[Urbane Lion]

Al: That unknown force is called Murphy's Law. Whenever I decide to finally get rid of something i had been holding on to for years, invariably within a week I will need it desperately.