Promotion of Pack Rat Tendencies

For all of my adult life, I've never lived in one place for more than 4 years. I've logged 3 in this house, and likely will set a new stay-in-one-place record by being here for a couple more years. This has reduced my tendency to be a pack rat, since I have to go through all the boxes every few years and decide whether it stays or goes.

But there are some things that get put to the side with the intention of using them someday should the need arise, and I think it's interesting how one can't really predict what those uses will be. Over the last couple of weeks I've used three things that fit this description.

First, I was able to give away a glass pendant that I made that, while lovely, was too big for my taste.

Then, I was able to use two movie gift cards that Mr W got for a birthday present when he was, um, well, I guess it was for his 4th birthday (he's closing in on 8). Yes, I used them with him, Bolt in 3-D. Bought him a blue slushie with the rest of the credit on the card, too.

Finally, and this is the one that I think is the coolest, there was a nice little rock hanging around in my medicine cabinet for the last couple of years. How did it get there? Well, Mr W collected it, as kids do ("here, mom") when we were visiting our local canyon and I put it in my pocket.

At the end of that day, I must have been going through my pockets before putting clothes in the hamper, and put it in the medicine cabinet because I couldn't throw out such a nice rock (it had quartz and mica, after all).

Last week Mr W says, "I have to write a paragraph on a rock." They've been studying geology. I say, "hey, I've got one that you collected." And with that the rock was put to use.

Only time will tell if these events will make me more likely not to recycle that shoebox or throw away that egg carton, but it's been satisfying to use things I had been saving.