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Post by Chris on Jul 3, 2010 18:40:07 GMT -5
Here lately I've been giving thought to why it is that there are some things that I know on one level that I should and need to get rid of but I've not acted on actually doing so yet. One example: a 3 quart cooking pot I got 2 years ago at Walmart for $15 -- it's stainless steel and nice (I thought) but..... * it has a metal handle and burns me if I forget to use a pot holder * it's wicked heavy even without water and potatoes or pasta in it My thinking goes round and round about the darn thing. Something like this: "what if I really need a pan and my other ones (non stick) are all ruined and I don't have the money to buy a new pan, how will I cook my potatoes or my noodles....." "it's too nice -- it's actually very pretty" "if I sell it it's not very nice because someone else will get burned unless I disclose it's defect". blah, blah, blah, goes the inner noise and the pot sits out in the utility room looking oh so pretty. It's sunk money -- I don't use it. I can't really "fix" the flaw that the handle burns me. That's just one item. There are more -- unfortunately. But that's one of the best examples I have of stubborn things I am I guess just not ready to get rid of yet.  Anyone else? |
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 3, 2010 21:25:23 GMT -5
Ugh! You just reminded me that I still have that stupid fryer thing that I found a few months ago cleaning my pantry (that I swear I never bought and have no idea where it came from!) It's still sitting on my pantry floor...
And even though I got rid of 70+ music magazines, I still have a couple hundred of a different publication. Haven't reached the point where I can get rid of those yet.
Maybe the most emarrassing thing is a 3 foot tall plaster penguin with one badly chipped flipper (wing?) that I have had for a really long time. It has sentimental value as well as being cute. But really, one of these days I just have to let it go. Not yet, though!
Diane
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Post by Chris on Jul 4, 2010 9:44:07 GMT -5
Ah so I'm not the only one!  I mistakenly put this thread in listzilla -- thinking I was in General at the time  I also have 14 scrub tops from when I was a companion caregiver -- which I can't seem to get rid of. A huge soup pot in great condition but I intend to cook for 2 not 20. And many other things which I've not been ready to get rid of even though I know in my mind it would make sense. DH has finally said he is ready to get rid of the electric scooter his dad had -- so I see that eventually we get around to realizing...... |
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 4, 2010 10:42:33 GMT -5
You know, for many years I looked at those huge soup pots in the stores and wanted one so badly. Not only am I not a good cook, I would never have the opportunity (or want it!) to cook for a huge crowd--so why the attraction I'll never know. Fortunately I never bought one!
I have scrub shirts from past animal hospital jobs but I'm wearing them all the time--they are so comfortable, and cool in summer.
I'm really finding that the more you make yourself look at the things you want to give up, the easier it is--if you wait a few weeks and look at them again, each time it makes a little more sense to let them go.
Diane
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Post by Chris on Jul 4, 2010 21:57:51 GMT -5
The giant soup pot is a beauty and I didn't even buy it. It's stainless steel professional quality -- with a great glass lid. My MIL gave it to me about 3 years ago so that I could make Ox Tail Soup. I discovered that Ox Tail Soup is very full of fat and I made it just the one time. So, there it sits. Someone would really love it to make giant family size soups. I never need more than my 5 quart pan - this one I think is 12 quarts. I am finally using up some of my excess stuff -- by actually doing scrapbooking with some of the card stock and stickers, and corners and etc. etc. So I'm pleased about that. I never did buy a huge excess of scrapbook stuff but it's an area I could have gotten carried away in. And really, I'm more creative if I don't have all the special stuff -- just a few good stickers and paper is all I really need. This summer I'd be wearing my scrub tops if not for the fact that I'm wearing sleeveless shirts to deal with the hotter conditions. We can only afford to keep the A/C at 78. When I was working we always kept it at 75. That's a big adjustment for me. But there are a few of those scrubs that are very pretty and that may be one reason I can't let go of them. Maybe I could let go of a few. It's a stubborn area of non action. It's funny but I too find that the more attention I give to things the easier it is to find a solution for getting rid of more of the items. If I write about it and even photograph the item it starts to bring all the thoughts to the surface where I can challenge the validity of my thought process.  |
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Post by messymarie on Jul 5, 2010 2:38:26 GMT -5
The one thing that I absolutely have not managed to get myself to let go of is my senior prom dress. It's kind of ratty by now, and hasn't fit me in years, but I kind of feel that if I get rid of it, I'm giving up on ever being skinny again. Luckily it doesn't take up a heck of a lot of room  it's folded up in the corner of the shelf in my closet. |
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Post by Arid on Jul 5, 2010 2:44:44 GMT -5
Chris: Just as an aside--whenever I am making Ox Tail Soup, I cook the meat the day before I intend to eat it. I let the meat cool enough to be able to handle it comfortably, and then I take all the meat off the bones, discarding any pieces or bits of fat that I can. Next, I let the meat, and its resulting broth, sit in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, I take off the layer of fat that has accumulated on top of the now-gelled broth. I discard the fat.
I bring the meat and broth to a boil, add vegetables, etc., and let it all cook until the vegetables are as tender as I like them.
This method is a lot of work, and time-consuming as well, but it does result in a very tasty soup!! (Unfortunately, ox tails no longer are a "cheap" meat. I could buy good steak for the same per pound price that the ox tails cost these days!!)
Arid
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Post by Chris on Jul 5, 2010 6:53:43 GMT -5
Arid, You are so right about the cost of those ox tails -- I was shocked the last time when the meat was over $15 for one soup -- not at all reasonable in my opinion. I like your idea of how to make it more healthy. It is a lot of work but if the family ever wants that soup again I will use that method. Messymarie, I had a beautiful old dress that I had worn to my brothers wedding which didn't fit right anymore but had beautiful material -- I recently converted it into a skirt and I was really happy with that! I never went to prom but I could imagine a prom dress being difficult to part with!  |
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Post by downandout on Jul 5, 2010 7:37:55 GMT -5
yes yes and yes!  just about everything in the two rooms of shame are that way. not really needed but yet oh so hard to let go of. a good example are the vhs tapes. we have hundreds. and i do mean hundreds of them. oh sure right now all of them are in one location and i was even starting to organize them but i have to ask myself why? why are we keeping them? we never ever watch them! havent watched them in years and years. and yet neither hubby nor i can let them go. then there are the clothes. this is my burden mostly. i have clothes that i will never ever be able to wear again. it will take years for me to lose enough weight to get back into them. by then (if they arent already) most of them will be damaged. all of them will be outdated for sure. and if money is really tight i can always buy clothes at a thrift store. and yet here i am hanging onto them like maybe magically tomorrow i will suddenly be 80 lbs lighter or 15 yrs younger or taller or shorter or able to sew various pieces of clothes together to make a new outfit. too bad i cant sew huh? Diane is right tho the more you handle it look at it think about it the easier it is to make a decision about it. gosh i love a good soup! you all got me thinking about making soup again ive only made two kinds tho chicken noodle and potato with ham soup. but they rock!! |
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Post by mouseanne on Jul 5, 2010 8:21:14 GMT -5
I live alone, and I use my soup pots all the time. I have a nested set of 3, and one which is better qual pot with a real pot bottom, so I can brown onions, or cook meat in it first. boil pasta. my homemade marinara sauce, I make enough for several meals. boil ckn or turkey carcases for broth. hearty soups, divide & freeze for several meals. I do the same thing with my boiled meats, cook before, cool & skim the separated fat off. I have too much stuff for my house, decision making is difficult & time consuming. if keeping, where to put it/how to store it, decide dont need, method of disposal, toss/give/donate. I have a few more clothes than I need, but not too many. My bureaus are not organized. 2 clothes, one has some not clothes things in them. A short 2 drawer one for bed linens. (house has no linen closet) But that is at the end of the under window pile, and I cannot properly access to organise/arrange. I love needlework linens, and have a bad tendancy to buy all i find, even ratty or fire damaged stuff.   I guess I should figure out what is up with that. Havent bought any for about 4-5 years, but still dont need cant use all I have, and yes, some is "unusable". crazy lady. |
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 5, 2010 8:21:44 GMT -5
Downandout--I just recently threw out half my collection of VHS tapes that I had recorded. Many of them were movies that I know are not that hard to find again, and I also know that tapes degrade over time and pretty soon would probably not be watchable anyway. The ones I kept were movies that are more rare, music and some very, very favorite tv episodes. Eventually I will either have to get a DVD recorder and transfer them or else just get rid of those too--a lot is becoming available online, so as time goes on I'm sure I'll be able to get rid of more of them. It hurt to throw them away because I was thinking of the money and time I spent on them, but---that was then, this is now--now is when I want a less cluttered place. Luckily clothing was never a problem for me, I don't care about clothing and never have a lot of it. I managed to clutter up my apartment without ever collecting clothing! Diane |
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Post by Rory on Jul 5, 2010 9:16:41 GMT -5
Stuff I'm finding it hard to get rid of include:
An African stool which a late Victorian missionary relative left in our family, it is of no or very little value and has been badly repaired.
A printer which I bought when I was told, incorrectly, that I could not get cartridges for my printer
My old laptop which I still imagine will be sorted out and repaired sometime
My late father's film camera, now I use digital
I think that's it but I am not sure
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 5, 2010 9:57:46 GMT -5
Rory, if that's all you have that you're hanging on to, you're doing pretty good!
I would have trouble with the African stool too, just because of the history. I have a lot of really old books and ephemera which I love, just thinking of the people who have handled them over the years.
Diane
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Post by StuffNoMore on Jul 5, 2010 10:15:30 GMT -5
I have to add my down fall into one word.... "clothes"! I have enough to clothe a nation and plan on purging enough to leave me only 30 sets for summer and 30 for winter. My walk in closet in packed full and I may need clean house here if they only do closets.  I can also add shoes and handbags to the "clothes" category. |
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Post by messymimi on Jul 5, 2010 10:58:19 GMT -5
Sometimes it helps to put things into an ambivalence box. Fill the box with things you know you don't need, but have a hard time letting go of, and write the date on it.
After 3 months, or 6 months, or whatever you feel comfortable with, you deal with the box in one of two ways. If you are a very strong person, you figure that since you haven't dug anything out of the box in all of this time, you don't need it anyway, and you just give it away. If you aren't ready for that quick a disposal, you open it and look through it with fresh eyes, again asking yourself about each item, if you should pack it for a few more months, or just give it up now.
Often, you find that your inner desire to keep the items has waned with time.
When I have a hard time getting rid of something I know I don't need, I often keep it and revisit it every few months that way, with or without the box method. Usually, after a while, I get to where I can let it go.
messymimi
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