I have a bad habit of keeping things "just in case". I was just cleaning out my closet, and I found like 20 shopping bags from various stores that I saved "just in case" because they're good quality bags and/or cool-looking. I haven't reused any of them! I have bungee cords and a sand-castle bucket and the cable box thing from my previous cable provider (I seriously have no idea what I should even do with that) and the red bedsheets that I don't like any more because they've faded to kind of orangish, and I'm hesitant to throw any of this stuff out because it's still perfectly functional, and what if I lose my job one day and run through all my savings and then desperately need a little plastic bucket and can't afford one?
I'm not the only one who has this problem. I've heard it described as "bag-lady syndrome", and I know a number of other people for whom it's a barrier to staying reasonably organized.
They should invent insurance for this. You pay a very small premium (like a dollar a month), and whenever you get rid of something that's perfectly functional, you add it to a list that the insurer keeps for you. You can add to the list easily, through a simple online form. Then if you ever lose your job and run out of money and need something that you've gotten rid of in the past, you notify the insurer and they send you or compensate you for a new one.
The premiums could be kept very low because realistically it's unlikely that many people would lose all their money and suddenly need a new one of whatever little tchotchke they once got rid of when spring cleaning. Because most of the things being gotten rid of/potentially replaced are of so little consequence, it's also unlikely many people would go to all the trouble of filing an insurance claim. So the insurer would have a modest income with hardly any work to do, and the insurees could have peace of mind with hardly any outlay.
3 comments:
Two people very close to me do this. Both consider it an obstacle to getting organized, both can't seem to be any other way.
Do you consider yourself disorganized in general? Are you sloppy? Sorry if that's a negative word, I can't think of any other word for it. The opposite of neat and everything-in-its-place.
In terms of physical things, I'm totally disorganized. All surfaces are cluttered, I can't find a good place for anything, everything seems to just land wherever I used it last despite my best efforts.
I'm really good at organizing non-physical things (budgeting, time management, project management, etc.) but I can never come up with a good way to file my papers or organize my closet or arrange my furniture. I have a flawlessly coordinated laundry cycle, but stuff stays in the dryer until the next time I need to use the dryer. My tax return is impeccable, and it's been sitting on my sofa for two weeks.
My dear friend NN is the same way. I marvel at it.
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