Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Seek and ye shall find . . . on Amazon

Am I permitted an epilogue to yesterday's discussion of the "seek or shop" dichotomy? (Sorry A., for the gratuitous vocab slinging, just go get a dictionary) Oh wait, it's my blog. I can blab about whatever I want. Your witty and honest comments to yesterday's post and a handful of pithy Facebook messages convinced me that the "Can't find it? Buy ten more!" mentality is not, after all, a guy thing. It crosses gender lines and manifests in a host of harmless fetishes ranging from flashlights in every drawer to scissors in every room. (But do you have eighty-one of them? I didn't think so. Amateurs.) The saga continues, and raises another vital question "How many is too many?"

I came, I saw, I clicked.
I noticed some time ago that Bob had declared war on our Tupperware cupboard. The two of them engaged in almost daily battles of wit and stamina. Bob would dig into the darkest recesses of the cabinet in search of a lid for whatever plastic storage dish he had in hand. The evil cupboard/lid cartel had no intention of coming forward with the needed tops. The skirmishes grew more and more heated over time. And frankly, Bob seldom emerged victorious. Until today.

The doorbell rang and I opened the door to find three large boxes on my porch. They came from Amazon and were addressed to me. Christmas in August. I couldn't imagine what wondrous surprise awaited. Vaguely I recalled that my usually open and forthcoming husband had dropped a couple of smug, cryptic hints over the weekend. "I have good news . . . you can find anything on Amazon."

And find he did, no rummaging required--plastic refrigerator storage dishes made by Rubbermaid. One hundred and thirty-two pieces. The "Easy Find" line. It says it right on the box, along with this brilliant slogan: "Right lid. Right now." The lids and dishes snap together and nest to boot. No losing these lids, no sir. Those folks at Rubbermaid have my husband pegged.
"132 pieces?"

Now I have a hundred and thirty-two pieces of storage ware. Bob triumphs. The epic hunt for lids that fit is a thing of the past. Looks like it's my turn to seek--for a little more cupboard space.

What do you hoard? And how many IS too many?

5 comments:

  1. Sharpies and crayons. I don't even personally use crayons. But I crave having every color Crayola makes, all with nice, new, sharp ends. Crayons that are MINE and that the kids aren't allowed to touch. LOL. And I do have every color Sharpie makes. I have to try really hard not to buy every type in every color - fat end, skinny end, retractable, the ones that go on key chains - they make it, I want it! I don't even know what the purpose of having so many different colors and styles of Sharpie is but that doesn't stop me from hoarding them. I'm pretty sure I've got somewhere on the order of 60+. It's kind of sad actually. I'm not sure I've found the magic "Too Many." I wonder what it is about humans that everyone has at least one something that they can never have too many of.

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  2. Oh. Vintage sheets. But you already knew that. Most of the time my sweet husband does little more than raise an eyebrow -- and he does humor me by emitting a sympathetic "Wwwwooooowwww" when I show off my new finds. I'm pretty sure there isn't such a thing as too many when it comes to sheets.

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  3. Jen-thanks for spelling "hoard" correctly. :) Can you tell that published this post at midnight last night? My brain had already gone to bed. And I'm all with you and the Sharpies. I have every color too, even though I only ever use the black.

    A. at least you do something really cool with your hoarded items. Creativity and productivity lend a certain respectability to ordinary compulsive collecting.

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  4. Again, a witness to the magnificence of soul possessed by your husband. That man is remarkable in so many ways. W.H. Auden said, "Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh." Bob makes me happy; he makes me laugh.

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  5. My question is, what are you going to do with the 132+ OLD pieces of tupperware you have. I'd like to see your list of 101 best ways to use old tupperware. :) Love you, mom.

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