The other day, I was getting dinner ready and went to pull a potholder out of the drawer. I looked at the ragged, stained piece of fabric and realized I hadn't bought a new potholder in years! I mean, I just always have three or four in the drawer, and we use them. Then I began to think about other things I tend to keep way longer than necessary. I never think about replacing them. I just keep them - No matter how sad-looking and unproductive they become. Here are a few things around the house I can think of that I never seem to replace, but always seem to have.
Potholders - stained, mismatched
Ballpoint pens - different colors, sizes, working and non-working
Cookie Sheets - old, bent, and stained
Pins, Needles, Picture Hangers, and Nails - randomly thrown in a cottage cheese container
Candles - various sizes and colors, some used and some unused
Tote bags - Various sizes, fabrics, depicting different places, stores, and holidays
Remotes and Chargers - for random items, some known, some not
Could I throw these items away and purchase new ones? Yes. Why have I not? I have no idea. Literally. Maybe someday when I am buying seasonal decorations and yet another throw blanket, I will think about throwing in some fresh new potholders and cookie sheets. Or maybe not.
Have a great day, my friends! Here are a few things to make you smile!
Ha on the Diddly Squat! I'm thinking I need a few new things too!
ReplyDeleteThe diddly squat picture made me laugh out loud. Thank you for that. We also have too many tote bags!!
ReplyDeleteI bet if you had seasonal potholders, you would remember to switch them out and buy them more frequently :) I am also making a note of this for myself!!
ReplyDeleteChuckling over the graphics at the end of your post, Billie Jo! I love the new header. It evokes warmth and coziness. I was just thinking the other day about the scraggly looking hand towels and potholders, the catalogs from 10-12 years ago by my husband's chair, and the pens (many no longer work nor are they refillable) and wondering why they are still hanging around. Thank you for addressing this!
ReplyDeleteProfound truth and insights into how most of us behave. It's just good to know we are not alone in our idiosyncrasies.
ReplyDeleteHee hee - so true!! Whenever we pull out baking sheets to make cookies, I turn to the kids and say, “They really are clean!” No matter how much I scrub, the stains stay - I just keep them hidden beneath parchment paper. Let’s both add pot holders to our Christmas list!
ReplyDeleteI do all of those things... I think it is universal behavior. The crusty (potholders) the rusty (cookie sheets) the musty (old dish rags) what is wrong with us?
ReplyDeleteMy potholders are embarrassing! And the amount of tote bags I have stuffed behind my pantry door is downright ridiculous. Why don't I throw them out??? I wish I knew! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Billie Jo, I am feeling you on this one! True story, one year Tony's little Armenian grandmother comes to stay with us for a few days. It starts when she insists on cooking Dolma for us (stuffed grape leaves). She is absolutely dumbfounded that I do not have a special Dolma making plate. So that night she is talking to relatives and the next day MIL runs over with 3 dolma plates. Then a sweet Aunt drops by with 2 more. (Tony doesn't like Dolma and I have never made it in my life, but you can't say that because it would hurt their feelings. It's totally like the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. "What! You don't eat lamb!" ) Then she scolds me for the sorry state of my pot holders, like you I had 3 holding on for dear life. My MIL shows up with 9 brand new potholders. Tony's Aunt shows up with a bag of 10. His cousin arrives with a bag of 5. Another cousin comes with another bag of 10. In the space of three days I received 34 potholders potholders!! All those dear ones are gone now, except for my MIL. I cherish them and the potholders and the funny stories they gave me.
ReplyDeleteHi Billie Jo! I threw some old pot holders away when we recently moved, but now, even though I have new ones, I always seem to looking for the old ones! This was a fun and interesting post. Hope you are having a good week. See you again soon!
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a saver so don't find it hard to get rid of things. I actually collect pot holders and have them in the kitchen on the wall near the ceiling.
ReplyDeleteYep, I am a hanger-on, too. But, lately I've been tossing things out like crazy. It's not spring so it can't be spring cleaning.... Maybe I just got smart. hehe
ReplyDeleteOh Billie Jo, I hear you! I bought some new dishcloths recently, and oh they are nice! They are so cheap, too, so there is no excuse ha. Cookie sheets: I love the NordicWare aluminum ones. They get broken in and don't look Instagram-worthy, but parchment is a Godsend. Potholders: I bought some new ones not too long ago, and felt so fancy...:). (Don't even get me started on bras and underwear....)
ReplyDeleteI literally had that potholder thought yesterday! Don't they look grungy, I could get a couple of new ones, etc. Nah. I just threw them into the washing machine and will wait on it a bit. One of them was made by my mom and I will use it until its in shreds.
ReplyDeleteYeas to a favorite burner on the stove!! LOL I love Brussels Sprouts!! It is past time for a drawer, cupboard, and closet clean out!! We all have the same kind of collections you mentioned! xo
ReplyDeleteThis made me giggle :) I have about 4 ugly potholders too! And I think about it every time I pull one out to use it and then never think about those things again. I'm also really bad about kitchen towels. I will pick them up at HomeGoods, see the price and put them down. Every now and then I will find a price I like and buy one. But there are many in the drawer that have seen better days. And the stove burner...absolutely :)
ReplyDeleteI tossed a bunch of old, ugly looking potholders.. but never replaced them with new ones. I did swap out my cookie sheets several years ago though mostly because I had non-stick ones and I've been ridding of our kitchen of anything with that non-stick coating. I want pots and pans I can really scrub without fear of destroying.
ReplyDeleteWhen you figure out why we all keep things for so long, sell the secret and you will be a gozillionaire!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Well it's nice to know I'm not the only one. I think we are definitely cut from the same stained and unraveling cloth. 😉😂 And I love the final funny - it's so true!! I wonder why that is? Have a blessed weekend ahead. xoxo
ReplyDeleteI keep things until they are on their last legs. If it works, I will still use it. I realised the other day when the lunch bag I took with me to work, was the one Lily had in pre-school! :)
ReplyDeleteThat stove top burner quote is so true, isn't it? We do have our favorite. ; ) So many of these I can relate to, my friend. It seems that the old oven mitts that are worn and faded work better than those stiff ones. And candles - that's another collection of mine. I'd love to see your cup collection. You have the most delightful ones.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, on the pot holders and also the candles. I have remnants of candles in every size. I like to use tapered candles on our dinner table, and when they get down so far, I just throw them in a drawer in my buffet for a "rainy day". Who knows when the power will go out for days and days and we will be looking for every candle we can find??? That's my reasoning on the subject anyway. And old dishtowels, etc., go in a cupboard or basket to be used for rags, dust cloths, etc., but I now have so many "rags" I don't know that I'll ever dust that much furniture or clean that many things to use all of those rags. But who wants them? Sometimes I give a bag full to my son, who is a carpenter and painter. He does find a use for them. Cookie sheets? Oh my...I just was looking at a picture of me with my three sons, taken back in 1980, and we were baking cookies. And I noticed the cookie sheet on the table...and I truly believe that is one of the same ones I am still using today! They are still my favorites even though I have some newer ones. And after seeing that old photo, well, what can I say? They've lasted 46 years and are still going strong...and they do have some sweet memories attached. Some things are meant to be saved.
ReplyDeleteI chuckled when I read this...because I just tossed our yucky potholders. However, I have not replaced them..which isn't really a great scenario. Now...to go through those sheet pans, mismatched food storage containers and even my past their prime sports bras:)
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