Something About Nothing by Julie Seedorf

The past few weeks I have spent my time helping others pack up their houses to prepare for a move. For me, it was fun, but not so, I suspect, for the homeowners.

I am no stranger to packing as we have moved a few times in our life. We have moved from house to house or from one community to another. One time I took more stuff along than I had room for in my new house. It was a smaller or more compact home.

As we finished boxing up one household, my son-in-law said to me, “And we don’t have half as much as you do.” My answer was a look that said, “You are kidding me, I don’t have half as much as you do.”

But I didn’t say it out loud. I didn’t want to get into a “you do” war.

Later, as I walked around my home contemplating all that is stored in my house, I have to admit he may be right. I have been sorting and throwing and putting things in boxes for Goodwill. I decided to continue my task with my bedroom closet the day after finishing helping others. I was on a packing roll. I didn’t need to pack, I needed to organize or throw.

It was easy changing out my summer for winter clothing. I had already reduced the size of my winter clothing when I put my clothes away in the spring. The clothes that I wore this summer haven’t reached an overwhelming number. They fit in a medium-sized, under-the-bed box. It was the top shelf of my closet that did me in.

On the very top shelf of my closet was a long flat plastic container that held purses. I remember putting these purses in the container with the idea if I didn’t miss them over the summer I could give them away. I hadn’t counted on their cuteness.

I am on a one-box-at-a-time mission. I get a box, fill it, feel like I have accomplished something and then go on to something else for the week. Next week I will do the same thing.  It isn’t overwhelming to purge all my treasures that way. My one box this week was having a hard time getting full as I sorted purses.

I had small purses, large purses, unique purses and those that could be put in the pink category for purses. I added the purses I had hanging on my wall in the closet. One by one, I held the purse up and one by one, I hung the purse back in my closet. I emptied the plastic container. It felt good to have an empty container. The problem — the purses are now on my closet wall.

Unless you are very organized it is a big pain to change purses. That is why you may see me with the same purse all the time. As I was sorting purses and hanging them up I began trying to figure out the easiest way to carry my stuff and make it easy and simple to change purses.

For me, simplicity required a certain coin purse that could carry my money, a few odds and ends and those little plastic cards that we seem to need to buy stuff.

I did have a larger wallet that I loved, but I changed to a smaller coin purse and now I couldn’t find the one I loved. I have a feeling it went with one of those boxes of the week in one of my decision-making processes, although it was a small purse, so I have no idea why I would have given it away.

There are times when I leave my house that I only need that small coin purse. However, there are times when I leave my house that I need to slip that small coin purse into a medium-sized purse so I can carry makeup and a pen or a small notepad. Of course, when I know I am going to be doing a lot of waiting, I need to have a larger purse to slip that small coin purse in so I can carry my Kindle and whatever advertising stuff I might pick up when visiting craft booths and vendors.

I might add that all my purses cost me very little. My purses are bought at garage sales and thrift shops. There are actually women out there who can bear to part with a purse and some of them designer purses at that.

Hanging my purses on the wall of my closet I took a time out to run to our local thrift shop to see if I could find a bow tie that my granddaughter needed for the next week. I didn’t find a bow tie, but I found two perfect little coin purses or wallets. Each was different than the other, one being a little larger. I found my perfect coin purse until — tomorrow when I visit the next thrift shop and decide it isn’t as perfect as the next one I find.

I could say that I admire the men because they have this little wallet in their back pocket that carries everything they need. Or does it? It seems I am always being handed something to carry in my purse by the male member of my family. Maybe the modern backpack is man’s excuse for not needing a purse.

 

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send email to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net. Her Facebook page is www.facebook.com/sprinklednotes.