Chore Boy

It has started. Another round of sorting through drawers, rearranging, and cleaning the dreaded basement, the black hole for stored things no longer frequently used or even no longer used. Yesterday, I started to sort those junk drawers. I have two dressers that were purchased for the kids to store their clothing when they were young. At one time, there used to be a store that sold unfinished furniture in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. That is where my wife, Cindy and I purchased them many years ago.

When the kids outgrew them, the bureaus were moved to the cellar to become a hoarder’s haven, a picker’s paradise. The drawers became pockets of the forgotten and designated a magnet for all sorts of used items that were “too good to be tossed and may be needed” at a future date, Much of my upbringing was based on the idea, when you wear it out, save it, you may be able to repurpose it.

I have collected four drawers of plumbing supplies. Some are old and some are new. The old pieces came from plumbing that was replaced. The new items are leftovers that were bought and never used, parts that are still in plastic, because they came as a kit and only the needed object was used.

There are four drawers of electrically related items. Old breakers, face plates, parts of ceiling fans, receptacles, and so forth have gathered themselves together for a possible reunion with the useful world again. There is one entire drawer filled with nothing but electrical cords. The cords belong to old electrical appliances, old computers, and extension cords that have amassed over the years.

There are three drawers that, don’t laugh, have collected plastic thing-a-ma-bobs, metal what-cha-ma-call-its, and one that holds drawer handles, door hinges, latches, pulls, knobs, and a lot of I-don’t-know-what -these-are in metal and plastic. I didn’t get rid of many of this not-quite-antique collection yet. But the good thing is, I now have them sorted and I know where to look if any of those odds and ends are ever called back into service.