Tag Archives: stuff

What to Do When Someone Returns Your Stuff Damaged

Chances are pretty good that you have had this scenario. You’ve lent out something to someone and when it comes back, it is damaged. How do you address the issue without damaging your relationship with the person who borrowed your stuff? When something you own comes back from being borrowed and it is damaged, the first thing you should do is determine whether or not the other person caused the damage. It could be that the item was already nearing its useful life. Perhaps your item was in storage too long and became easy to break or damage, or perhaps … Continue reading →

How Much Disposable Family “Stuff”?

My two eldest children have been getting on my case about the amount of plastics we use and the amount of disposable items that our family “supports” that end up either in the recycling or the trash. As green and aware as I want to be, I also fully admit that the realities of herding a single parent family sometimes reinforce my choosing convenience over environmentally sound. Besides, it sometimes feels like opening a huge can of worms or a battle that no matter what I try to do I never will fully be able to win… I thought I … Continue reading →

Leaving a Trail

Call it a trail of tears or a trail of crumbs, but whatever it is—I have spent nearly twenty years following that trail of STUFF that kids leave as they move from one end of the house to the other—shoes, balled up wads of dirty socks, book bags, papers, sweatshirts, dishes, pencils, cd cases and game cartons—you name it; whatever any one of my kids might have in their hands one moment, will surely be left by the wayside as the move from point A to point B… When the kids were younger, I used to keep a basket at … Continue reading →

“Mom! Have You Seen My…?”

I think it is safe to say that there are very few items and articles I have not been asked to find in this house–at least once! Everything from items of clothing to calculators to keys and bus passes to lost library books. I’ve even been asked if I know the whereabouts of things I did not even know had found their way into the house (live creatures tend to unhinge me the most)… No one tells you that when you become a parent you will also need to be chief prop master and inspector-of-lost-and-misplaced items. Sure, you’re warned about … Continue reading →

Stuff and More Stuff

Isn’t it amazing how much stuff you and your family can accumulate, even in a short amount of time? I mean, it’s only been a year since the last all-out Spring Cleaning, yet there’s a ton of stuff around here. It looks like more than one year’s accumulation. Am I the only one that has this problem? Once again I’m sorting through stuff and more stuff. The fun part is finding things you haven’t seen in a long time or coming across a cute picture of your teenager when she was a sweet little baby. Back when she didn’t get … Continue reading →