Loose Ends

Of course, I don't know what "it" is exactly. I know it isn't my keys - I am very good at keeping track of them, except the time when my son was about 7 months old, and I locked him and the keys in the car at the pediatrician's office. Fortunately it wasn't hot, and he slept through the whole thing. My other half never said, "You what?" when he came from work to unlock the car, so we are still married.

I'm organized, and I believe that organization is in the eyes of the beholder. My other half says his eyes behold disorganization. I think he was referring to my desk and maybe my bedside table. And probably my section of the garage where I keep pots and fertilizer and the laundry/craft room.

I don't think my desk is any more disorganized than usual. Maybe the laundry/craft room is a little…well, has more…is almost nonfunctional because whenever I don't know what to do with something, it goes in that room. The washer is top loading but thank goodness the dryer is front loading so I can use the top for storage.

When I get a container to solve an organizational problem, I fill it up, and it becomes storage. There are times when I can seriously identify with the woman in the news who has saved every button, magazine and margarine tub until the house is full except for a path to the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Should I be worried?

I love containers of all kinds - boxes, baskets, plastic bins and those plastic drawer units. I am a sucker for nesting containers - never mind that when they have things in them, they no longer nest or that the two smallest ones aren't useful unless I start a safety pin collection.

My favorite containers are colored folders. I clean my desk by putting each piece of paper in the appropriate folder and stashing them in filing cabinets. It is satisfying to look at those multicolored folders and know that my paper life is in order. My other half wants to know how often I use anything in those folders. That is not the point. Everything is there in case I need it.

My other half probably has a legitimate observation about the quantity of Christmas decorations I have. I had to quit collecting Santas because I couldn't find any I could afford that weren't similar to the ones I already had. I am almost through collecting reindeer. Sleighs are next.

Someday my children will be thankful that I have all of these beautiful things to give them. My other half muttered something about them wanting to pick out their own. What does he know?

Last week I took off my earrings and put them in my pocket, I think. Just give me a minute - I'll remember. I honestly have no recollection of taking the earrings off or putting them anywhere. Should I be worried?