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Post by snailspace on Jul 11, 2009 13:34:54 GMT -5
It occurred to me this morning as I transferred pictures from camera to computer, that I never ever lose the camera cord. OK, true, it has a 'home' where it 'lives', but so do lots of other things that never make it back to that 'home' without first going on an extensive tour around the house. What's so special about the camera cord?
So I sort of paid attention to myself when the pictures were done, and observed how beautifully automatic things were - I disconnected the cord from its two points and closed the trapdoors on both the computer and the camera and put the cord back in its desk drawer. I didn't have to think about it, didn't have to tell (beg, cajole, yell at) myself to do it. It was a habit. Why can't I form more of these? Why is this so easy, and getting myself to put other things away so hard?
I'm speculating maybe it's because I started forming this routine the minute the camera came home. I've never known a time when I 'set it down somewhere', so I never had to 'unlearn' setting it down randomly to 'relearn' putting it away properly.
Anyway, just thinking out loud here. I'd love for other things to be this automatic, this effortless.
Is there anything in your house that you never ever lose? Well, maybe that needs clarifying. I don't lose my keys, but I still have to tell myself when I walk in the door 'put the keys on the rack, don't drop them on the counter!' So I guess my question is really 'is there anything you do/put away effortlessly as a habit, and have you always done so?'
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Post by charis on Jul 11, 2009 13:44:19 GMT -5
Oh, gosh.......the milk? Snailspace, this made me smile. Even though I don't lose things often, when I got thinking about it, I have briefly misplaced everything portable at least once
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Post by snailspace on Jul 11, 2009 14:14:25 GMT -5
! Actually, milk is a great answer! That's something I've always put away without thinking about it, too, hence another effortless habit! OK, that's TWO!
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Post by annieblue on Jul 11, 2009 14:45:09 GMT -5
WELL. Some things I lose & some things I don't, but one thing that never gets lost around here is the t.v. remote control. Unusual, I know. Um, that was UNTIL yesterday when the whole house went NUTS for a period of perhaps an hour & culminated in 3 adults frantically turning every nook & cranny upside-down in order to locate that remote & put the t.v. on the 5 year-old grandson's favorite channel for lunchtime viewing. He doesn't get nearly as much t.v. time as he would like (his mommie is so mean that way, heh,) therefore his lunchtime routine is VERY important to him. What I learned during this ordeal: 1. Due to the way the t.v. is currently hooked up, the channels CANNOT be changed without the remote, eeekkkk. 2. The addition of one little 3.5 month-old baby coming through the door with his mommie & 5 year-old brother for a visit CAN cause 3 adults & one 5 year-old to SPAZZ OUT with getting everyone settled & happy, & CAN cause Mimi (me) to run around doing 17 things at once, including sitting things down where they absolutely do not go, resulting in a subsequent 45 minute search & rescue mission for a missing remote control, eekkkkk. 3. From now on there MUST BE implemented a strategy of calm & order when these people arrive, holy moly. Otherwise, one other thing I never lose is my nose, since it is conveniently attached to my face. I do have to say - the more stuff I remove from the house, the more easy it is to keep stuff from getting lost. Not because I am good about keeping everything in its place as of yet, but because I can now scan at least the main living area & not see 1,000 items of clutter which makes the lost item less likely to be easily noticeable. As for the remote? When folks came in & were running willy-nilly, I had apparently scooped up a throw blanket which is always kept on the sofa & quickly deposited it in the laundry room atop the washer for later retrieval when needed. And, yes indeedy, it takes a LONG time to later think to go search the laundry room for a missing remote control that got wrapped up inside a throw blanket.
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Post by paperpiler on Jul 11, 2009 15:41:25 GMT -5
The charger for my cell phone (which is my only phone). If I lose that, all communication ceases as soon as my phone shuts down. :-)
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Post by bluefrog on Jul 11, 2009 15:57:03 GMT -5
My toothbrush--it sits right on top of the toothpaste.
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Post by Script on Jul 11, 2009 16:28:29 GMT -5
In my life, I have been called: *sloppy *l@zy *messy *crazy *selfish *greedy *clumsy and lots of other things.
Yes, I have been all of these things, at least once. I have lost everything at least once. I have broken (accidently, on purpose, whatever) EVERYTHING at least once (I once took a pair of eye-glasses, Rx, and bent them out of shape, from sheer anger).
But IN GENERAL, I don't lose much. But there are things I lose and/or forget ALL THE TIME.
*reading glasses for work or music (I lose-forget these all the time) *car keys *gym card (I have now forgotten it three times in the last few weeks; twice more and I have to pay a $10 penalty: new gym rules, aaarrrgggggh)
I have currently 'lost' my give-away bag of clothing for charity pick-up. Must start searching through basement: where oh where did I put it? Some 'safe place'.
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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Jul 11, 2009 17:22:20 GMT -5
My clarinet. It's a contra-alto, so it's 4 1/2 feet long in its case--too big to lose!
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Post by grungygeorgie on Jul 11, 2009 18:44:30 GMT -5
My sunglasses.I once read that Jackie Kennedy Onassis kept her famous sunglasses in a small basket on a table by her door. It sounded so simple and chic,and,after all,she is my style icon! Now I never lose my glasses,I have them on a wooden pedestal by my door and never forget or lose them.GG
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Post by annieblue on Jul 11, 2009 18:51:22 GMT -5
Heya Script I can sooooo relate to those eyeglasses of yours! One time I picked up my brand new pair of glasses at the eye shop, drove to a friend's house for a little visit, & placed them atop the roof of my car when I was almost ready to leave. My friend & I were loading some things in the car for me to deliver elsewhere, therefore I took off my glasses for who knows why. Then as I drove away, the glasses flew off the roof & somehow landed behind my car where I promptly drove right over them - smashing them to bits. These things sure do happen!
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Post by gifted on Jul 11, 2009 20:18:12 GMT -5
My cat? He knows how to find me when the bowl is empty.
I am very good about my keys,ever since I made a home for them.
Also, you do not mention needing to get up to put the cord away. I am learning to give things homes that are convenient for their use, and so they are more likely to be put away.
SG
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Post by Meme on Jul 11, 2009 22:33:00 GMT -5
cell phone charger-- have lost the phone though and so I keep it on all the time incase I need to phone it to be found. also keep the phone charged up for this very reason. charger for the lap-top- I never take it with me if I move any where with my lap-top. I too keep it on charge so I would have a few hours if I want to go outsideoff charge.
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Post by gifted on Jul 12, 2009 3:06:53 GMT -5
My clarinet. It's a contra-alto, so it's 4 1/2 feet long in its case--too big to lose! Hmmm... I'll bet that I could lose it. I have no idea of where my piano is! (A cheapie electric one.) SG
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Post by scribbles on Jul 12, 2009 8:23:42 GMT -5
The easier it is to put something away, the more I will put it away. As Simplegifts says, one reason the camera cord gets up away is that you can just sit at your desk, download the pictures and then tuck the camera cord where it belongs.
My camera cord lives in a pocket of the camera case. I haven't lost the cord, but I have misplaced the camera.
I put my keys in a bowl that is right inside my front door when I come home. That keeps me from losing them. My purse goes in a drawer in a chest on the other side of the door.
My glasses go in their case on my nightstand at night. I put them on before I get out of bed in the morning. They stay on my face during the day. Otherwise, who knows where they'd end up.
I'm pretty good about returning the kitchen scissors to their spot in the kitchen drawer. They have bright orange handles, which makes them easy to spot when they are out of place.
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Post by paperpiler on Jul 12, 2009 8:59:40 GMT -5
[I'm pretty good about returning the kitchen scissors to their spot in the kitchen drawer. They have bright orange handles, which makes them easy to spot when they are out of place. ]
<sheepish grin> I have six or seven pairs of scissors. I found out that my scissors were ALWAYS not where I thought I put them, so over the years, I "accumulated." I can safely say that that's the only "practical thing" I have more than one of that I'm glad I have more than one of, and that's helped me out immeasurably...especially because I use scissors a LOT.
I do keep them in a special spot in the kitchen (a little container just for them), but if I take one out and don't put it back, there's always another pair in the container for me to grab and use.
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