Comments on: More Adventures at the Thrift Store

By: David

David — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:12:14 +0000

I can relate to this article! First off, I love shopping at thrift stores. You never know what you’ll find on a given day. Most of what I have at home comes from various thrift stores. About the organization: when I get into one of my modes I will go nuts and organize stuff very specifically. Of those that are actually on a shelf, my books are grouped according to category: cooking, automotive repair, etc. I do this with my extra car parts also – Plymouth parts on set of shelves , truck stuff on another, etc. My problem with organization is that either I’m very neat or its just total chaos. I generally dislike messes and lack of organization, but sometimes when I’m stuck in a depressed mood, I will loose all interest in even picking up the Sunday paper for days! I also work in a Clerk’s Office and while the paper files are going away (what am I supposed to organize NOW?!!) I spent many years as a Records Center Supervisor sorting out files and making them nice and neat.

By: Crystal

Crystal — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:16:12 +0000

Okay the camera is WAY COOL. That is so awesome!!!!!!!

The rest of the entry I just keep nodding and going “Uh huh, uh huh, I know EXACTLY what you mean.”

It makes me want to go back to the Clerk’s Office and sort, label, and file the files. Mmmmmmmm, sorting and organizing. Yum.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:03:48 +0000

I can’t imagine, Ben. Didn’t he realize that the universe depends upon ordering things by color whenever possible?

By: Ben

Ben — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:34:09 +0000

when i worked in art supplies, for about fifteen years total, i would break open a case of coloured pencils, pastels, crayons, whatever, to put on display in the glass case by the cash. i would take so much pleasure in organizing them chromatically before putting them out. i tried to spend as much time as possible doing things like this. i wonder why my old boss was so impatient about it?

By: Kate

Kate — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:52:29 +0000

Very cool camera! Glad the store went ok

By: April

April — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:51:24 +0000

Great news- glad you had a great day. I love my Brownie too… and I’m too young to know what they are!

By: Saja

Saja — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:38:04 +0000

Rachel, LOL. I totally hear you.

If I internalized the realization that the things I organized at the store (jeez, what a bunch of z’s there) would be disorganized when I next returned, then I’d be fine with a messy pile the next week when I arrived. But having people picking the linens up while I’m still organizing, or even where I can see them….that would be very difficult.

Hmmm. I wonder if I can translate that first sentence into something workable here at home.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:20:25 +0000

Saja,

I have several internal reactions to people going through the things I’ve just organized (but I say nothing):

1. Irrational fear: “Oh, no, please don’t touch everything. Don’t you realize that when I organize things, I want them to stay that way FOREVER?”
2. Relief: “Even though you didn’t pick out anything to buy, thank you for looking and for not tossing everything upside down in a pile.”
3: Gratitude: “Thank you for picking out so many things to buy. The few things you left tossed in a pile will only take a few minutes to reorganize.”
4: Despair: “Why did you just toss everything upside down in a pile without buying anything? Are we reaching the end of civilization? Or is it all over and I’m the last one to know?”
5. Acceptance: “I know that the entire store is a large, complex, Buddhist sandpainting that will be dismantled the moment it’s finished. Therefore, I silently thank you for tossing everything into a pile without buying anything. I have learned a new and much-needed lesson about the ever-changing and fragile nature of all things.”

By: Saja

Saja — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Argghh. Well, I just hope everyone enjoyed whipping through time in the first sentence of the second paragraph in my previous comment.

By: Saja

Saja — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:50:44 +0000

Rachel, did it bother you that people were looking through the linens you’d just organized? That would bother me very much (though I would try not to let it show, since I know it’s an “anal” reaction and not very people-friendly.)

My first camera memory is about the same age you are, maybe a year younger, when we bought a Polaroid. Talk about advanced technology….Photos Developed Right Before Your Very Eyes! When we finally get the last boxes unpacked, I’ll see if I can find some of my Polaroid photos…I want to scrutinize my childhood photos, anyway.