The things we hold on to

At the last RWI meeting, a few of us got to talking about our mothers and "stuff." One mom kept, washed, dried, and stored (but never reused) the foam coffee cups she got over the years. Another washed (and reused) the throwaway plastic plates, cups and forks. Sandee, our extraordinarily talented newsletter editor, said she never throws away a plastic bag, and I realized, when I recently cleaned out my office store room, that I never met a box I didn't like.

No kidding. I have boxes with lids, boxes without. Sturdy boxes for shipping and boxes that are only being held together by miles of tape. Small boxes, large boxes, teeny tiny boxes, boxes I've bought new and boxes I've salvaged. I even piles of those cardboard flats with lips that hold my 24-packs of bottled water, which aren't good for much of anything else (though they are great for carrying hot dishes to dinners, which I do about once a year!).

When I cleaned that 8X16' store room, I threw out bags and bags of flattened boxes, and I'm determined to get rid of the ones cluttering up the house, too. Though of course I'll have to keep a few for shipping stuff to the kiddo . . . and a few more for things that need filing . . . a few more for when I eventually clean out the garage and the attic . . . Rachel8:35 AM