Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Cain't Say No

I've mentioned this before (although I cannot find the post), but I'll say it again: as a family with 6 kids, we find that people tend to give us stuff.  Extra onions, say, or kids' books long outgrown in the house of the giver, or even (well, especially) used clothes.  "Here," they say. "If you can't use it, I'm sure you know someone who does!"  I'm not sure if this is a commendatory reference to my networking abilities or an allusion to the giver's belief that big families know other big families.

So I am used to processing donations through my house.  But lately, what with 2 long-time neighbors moving, it's gotten a little extreme.  3 huge boxes of clothes sit next to my desk in the den, waiting to go to the neighborhood thrift store; next to them are 2 very large bags of books - old college books belonging to another neighbor's son.  She thought Theo might want them.  And in the kitchen?  My elderly neighbor who had to downsize essentially gave me the contents of her pantry.  As we all know, I already have a problem with condiment overload.  Well, that condiment problem just went nuclear.

This is the current overflow.  And who knew Chock Full o'Nuts still existed?


 And, yeah, there are all the ties.  We've got those, too.  Oh, and my friend's collection of plastic storage containers:


These are very useful.  I just haven't managed to use them yet.



They seem to have found a home on my dining room chair.  Martha Stewart would be proud.

All in all, what with the myriad boxes and donations lying around, the masking tape on the walls (for Paint Camp), the missing cabinet doors in the kitchen (again, Paint Camp), and the normal, everyday level of upheaval in the house, it looks as though we just moved in.  Which fact is a tad discouraging, considering that Larry and I have spent every spare minute over the past 5 years working to avoid exactly that scenario...





We're living the Myth of Sisyphus, people.  Right here in suburbia...


14 comments:

  1. ROTFL! I must admit that I used to have the same problem, and now with the Mom's house/Dad's house split, it seems that when I need it, the deluge is over...Murphy's Law.

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  2. Is that white wine vinegar I see in that group? Time to clean the microwave. Unless you don't have one and then no.

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    1. I'm not sure which is more shocking - that you think I, the anti-pioneer, could possibly live here in inner suburbia without a microwave or that Suzy Soro is handing out household cleaning tips...

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  3. So much of parenting is Sisyphean. It's one of my favorite descriptors. Nothing is ever....just.....DONE.

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  4. Is that a restaurant-sized container of garlic salt? His and her bottles of cooking wine?

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  5. When my friend moved out of state she gave me a ton of stuff. About 6 months later I took most of it to the thrift store. Don't tell her ;)

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  6. Perhaps Chock Full o'Nuts left the stores years ago and only existed in her pantry?
    And I commiserate over the plastic ware -- my mother had a boatload of it (that's putting it nicely) and much of it wasn't even store-bought. Heaven forbid if we were to use the wrong plastic storage container for the wrong item! Oh, the Rules, Rules, Rules, Rules!! It brought my SIL (who lived near Mom) and me incredible pleasure to toss those old plastic containers into the garbage. (The first thing my nephews did at that house after grandma died was slide down the carpeted stairs. They had been yelled at if they went up and down them ON THEIR FEET more than twice in a visit.)

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  7. Salvation Army is your friend. Throw your crap in their containers and be glad to be rid of it while knowing you are helping others...and freeing up valuable seating.

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  8. Cute use for lots of ties...sew together at edges with the large points facing down...make them as long/short as you like (cut the excess)...fold over and add some elastic and voila!...a really cute skirt...gotta be for a slim hipped girl though : )

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  9. I'm with Alaina. Surely a local food pantry can use some condiments, and every time I clean out the kids closets I make a trip to Goodwill.

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  10. Most of the food has been opened - that's why I took it. I hate to see it just thrown out. But now I have several extra half-bottles of vinegar, is all. And a lot of spices...

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    1. Vinegar makes your bathroom and kitchen fixtures shiny. It also takes the smell out of musty washing machines and clothes that went into the bottom of the hamper all wet and stayed there for 2 days. (Why yes, I do have boys!) I've recently bought a new gallon jug of vinegar.

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  11. AnonymousJuly 12, 2012

    Chock Full o' Nuts has upgraded to "better coffee a BILLIONAIRE's money can't buy." Why settle for mere millionaires?

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  12. Sisyphus is my middle name. I don't even have kids at home. So I blame my mother. She lived with us for a while and the place has never been the same since. I'm working on it though...

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