7 Surprising Things I Found While Organizing…At My House
Who knew I had glitter?
As we sort through their possessions together, deciding what to keep and what to purge, my clients constantly find things they didn’t even know, or remember, that they owned.
Well, guess what? It happens to me too! I was recently sorting through some of my own stuff and found a few things that truly surprised me:
- Glitter! Who knew I had glitter? These were in with the old Christmas cards, with which I have been known to get crafty. And they’re from Stats in Pasadena. So, over ten years old. They were in an opaque bag I clearly hadn’t opened in awhile to see what was inside. Always a mistake.
- Herb Garden seed kit. I swear I have never seen this before in my life! It’s going to my gardener brother, who agrees he wants it.
- Old Sony Watchman. I do remember this miniature TV set from the 80’s. Might be worth selling as collectible?
- Olive Garden gift card worth $25. I looked it up on the internet and it’s still good! Judging from its position in the pile it may have been a going away gift when I moved from Los Angeles to Albuquerque. Ten years ago.
- Brand new Ethernet cord. Yay! I was just about to go to the store and buy one. Seriously!
- Yet another stash of old Christmas cards. Even after I thought I had surely corralled them all. Just donated a bunch to St. Jude’s card recycling program.
- Former boyfriend’s Social Security Number. Well…. hmm….the irony here is that he is hyper-vigilant about his privacy, including no social media accounts whatsoever. If only I could think of a harmless prank to play in this regard.
This next one is not numbered because it was NOT a surprise: A mess of various electronic cables, cords, and chargers that I do not need and probably don’t fit anything I currently own anyway. Out they go. Don’t worry about the ones that look kind of generic and possibly useful…these are the EXTRA extras!
What surprising things have you found while sorting through your own possessions?
Please share with us in the comments!
—————————————————————————
Copyright 2015 by Hazel Thornton, Organized For Life.
Social media links directly to this page are encouraged!
Please contact me for other types of reprint permission.
—————————————————————————
Share this:
12 Comments
Leave a Comment
Finding that social security number is hilarious! He would probably be very annoyed to know you have it. Good thing you are an honest gal:) It’s rare to find something in my house that I have absolutely no memory of, but it does happen every now and then. But the creepiest thing that ever happened was LOSING a knife. One day, it wasn’t in the knife block or a drawer or anywhere. My husband and I never found it. Scary, right?
A knife disappearing would be creepy indeed! I was highly amused by finding the SSN. I think the most fun I will have with it is mentioning it in this post (not that he’ll ever see the post…and not that I care…).
True confession time… my ex and I were commuters, so we were often too tired to do the dishes every night. One time someone popped in unexpectedly, so we hid a roasting pan and a bunch of utensils in the oven.
A while later, I couldn’t figure out what happened to a particular spatula. How do you lose a spatula? It’s not like you take it anywhere…
Then one day I finally got around to using the oven, and was amazed to find all this stuff in there!
This is just between us, right? 🙂
Janet I used to clean for an elderly lady who kept her bread in the oven, scary considering turning it on and forgetting what is in there. I convinced her to store it elsewhere.
Ha ha, Janet…yes, just between us. 😉
Whole bunch of “Send it away Saturdays” here Hazel, awesome job! Particularly love the extra extra cables. I might not be surprised to find some extra extra 5″ x 8″ index cards in the back of my cupboards, I seem to be worried about running out of them in every color!
A few years ago I was cleaning out my own spice cabinet and found a jar of dill seed that had expired over 10 year prior. Considering we had moved 3 times in the time period, I felt very guilty that I hadn’t tossed it yet. Oh, and the lid was cracked in half!
Last time I moved was 10 years ago. Pretty sure I came here with some of these spices…hmmm…
Love it when we ‘fess up as organizers! It happens to all of us that when we get too busy, we get a little out of our organizing. Love all this authenticity.
Thanks, Ellen. My clients love it when they realize I’m not perfect, and don’t expect them to be, either!
I love that, as organizers, we are not as perfect as people perceive us to be. I stress to my clients that I do not live in a perfectly organized and clean home either. It helps them feel morecomfortable that I am not perfect and don’t have expectations that they need to be perfect either. I have found some gift items I purchased and intended to give to others but never did. I found some serving dishes I got as a wedding present back in 2002 that I have not used but just stored away. (They are no longer there.) I try my darndest to stay on top of my possessions but I must admit, a pleasant surprise every once in a while can be a good thing!
Yes, we all have to give each other, and ourselves, some slack!