Nothing With a Pinch of Salt
opening excerpt
There are a lot more hoarders out there than people think.
I’m not talking about the extreme cases we see on reality TV shows where there are rooms full of cat poop and nobody can find Grandpa.
I mean people you know, people you work with, even the type of people who carried hand sanitizer in their bags before it became the norm.
Now, I’m no minimalist by any means, but I’d like to think that most of the stuff I keep around serves a purpose.
Remember a couple years ago when everyone was touting Marie Kondo’s method and assessing whether or not their belongings sparked joy? What a disaster that must have been for people working in thrift shops.
There are people who boast about their minimalism online, people who can fit all the garbage they’ve accumulated over a year – even multiple years – in a single jar.
Now, that’s some top-notch environmentalism, but not exactly an attainable goal for most. I mean, what would I do with all my chip bags?
Take my older sister, for example. She always touted her organizational skills on her resume, but I knew her secrets. Drawers beneath her bed hiding journals dating back to toddlerhood. Stuffed animals tucked in big rubber bins in the closet. The junk drawer that was a dumping ground for stray bobby pins, nail files, notes, charging cables tangled together without the devices that go with them.
Is there really such a thing as organized chaos?
What really made me realize the world is full of pack rats is the summer I worked for a company that runs online auctions and estate sales.
Think of it as a huge garage sale, and instead of cramming around tables in someone’s yard, you get to look at everything online.
Then, instead of an auctioneer, there are countdown clocks on a webpage you’re constantly refreshing to see if you’ve outbid some other, anonymous penny pincher who’s seeking the same, obscure collectible China dish as you are.
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