Are you a hoarder?

Are you a hoarder?

If you ask my kids, they would probably say yes. I will admit that sometimes I hold on to things just a little bit too long. I probably don’t need the encyclopedias published in 1960 or the dozen unidentified remote controls in the drawer. It could be that my junk drawer is overflowing. The red Roper boots I bought in the late 80s have been out of style so long they’ll be coming back in soon. My Kino sandals I bought in Key West in 1974 have definitely seen better days. The drawer full of belts could go.

Why do I keep these things and so many more? Some have sentimental value. Some I might need at some point. I blame this on my childhood. As Girl Scouts say, “Be Prepared.”

Or maybe it’s just habit.

It was torture for me to go from a plain ol’ cell phone to a smart phone. I had to get Trailer Swift to help me – he eventually threw up his hands and said I wasn’t smart enough to have a smart phone. Same thing with laptops. I need a real keyboard.

Creature of habit.

A friend and I were discussing new cars this morning. He has a 2018 truck with just 17000 miles and was telling me how many letters and emails he gets from car dealerships asking him if he wants to trade it in. My car is a 2015 RAV-4 with less than 50000 miles. If I bought a new one I would get the same model, so why not keep the one I have? Sure, it’s older, but other than a ding in the windshield looks brand new. Best of all, there’s no car payment. My friend Danny McRae traded cars every two years because that’s what his dad did. It was habit.

I am a creature of habit.

I like what I like.

I don’t need a lot of bells and whistles.

The handle broke on my crockpot yesterday. It’s at least 15 years old. I’ve replaced the knob on the lid and the knob on the front, but there’s no replacing handles. The big decision now is do I buy another one just like this, or do I venture out into the unknown and get an oval one? An oval one would offer more options for cooking, like lasagna and such, but it’s not the same. There are bells and whistles.

First world problem for sure.

What to do, what to do?

It involves bells and whistles.

I’m a creature of habit.