What makes a person hang on to
stuff? I mean stuff that is patently
ugly or useless or needs major reconstructive work?
I recently read a newspaper article on
one such hoarder. The lady in question,
it seems, had no idea that one of her bedrooms had become, over the course of
some years, a rubbish tip. One would
have thought the overflowing boxes stacked from floor to ceiling would have
been a clue, but apparently not.
Now I know from time to time I’ve been
guilty of hanging on to stuff because I might need it one day. But these bouts of sentimentality usually
don’t last long and the offending article has been removed with the next trash
pickup day.
The only time I’ve regretted not
keeping something, usually an item of clothing, is when that same fashion has
again become the ‘in’ thing and is available at my local store for a small
fortune.
Take for example, dresses. Has anyone noticed they’re back?
For years we, the female of the
species, have been wearing pants and tops of all types and styles. Short pants, mid calf pants, long pants. Pants with flared bottoms, pants that sat at
the waist, below the waist and even under the armpits (or so it seemed); and
the tops to go with them were equally varied.
Everything from starched collars to low cut necklines; from short
sleeves to long sleeves to no sleeves.
We were finally able to understand why
men don’t wear skirts or dresses. Pants
are far more comfortable!
But after years of pants and more
pants, the desire to once again wear a pretty dress started to blossom in
feminine hearts. At least it blossomed
in this feminine heart and I started searching the clothing store racks for
anything that didn’t have two legs attached to a waist band.
Then with each passing season more and
more designers presented ladies with their lovely dress offerings. Except in so many cases the dresses of the 21st
century looked suspiciously like the stuff I was wearing back in the 80’s.
Even the splashes of rainbow hues on
some styles reminded me of the tie dyed jobs I sported back in my 30’s. These days of course they’re called ‘pops of
color,’ and a dress doesn’t have the right amount of oomph without its pops.
I now regret all those days spent
cleaning out my closet of rarely worn skirts and dresses. I should have stuck with the hoarder’s mantra
of, ‘who knows I might need it one day.’
On the other hand, perhaps I might
still find them at the Goodwill store and can buy them back? Anyone know if poodle skirts are likely to
return for a second go round?
