I have a policy that I adhere to whenever possible. Everything has a proper place and if you put things in their proper place they will be there when you need them. For instance, my keys and my sunglasses always (and I mean always) are placed on the table just to the left of our TV stand. When I am ready to leave the house, I waste no time looking for my keys or my sunglasses. The wife’s keys, on the other hand, are at random places.
When it comes time for her to leave (or for us to leave if we are taking her van) then we must allow ample time for “the search”. The search usually has 2 phases. The first phase is her remembering where she place the keys. This is usually either in her purse or in her coat pocket. If they are in her coat pocket then she has to narrow down WHICH coat and then WHICH coat pocket. Once we have determined the specific coat or if they are in her purse, then the search moves on to phase 2, the search for the coat/purse. They could be on the coat hooks by the front door or possibly on the kitchen table or chairs. Either way, you see my point, we waste time looking for her keys.
I was reminding my son about this policy this morning when he wanted to know what happened to his USB wireless card for his laptop. We have a basket that sits atop one of our bookshelves. In that basket we place all kinds of devices that are for our electronic stuff. Wireless mice, power cords, the SD card reader and the son’s wireless card. We had spent lots of time looking for these kinds of things and so I decided that the basket concept was a pretty good idea. After the son had taken his laptop to his room, I placed the card (which he had laid on the kitchen table) in the basket (he is not allowed to have internet connection in his room). Despite me placing this card in this basket dozens of times, he still looks all around the house for the card. I let him get good and frustrated and then tell him (like many times before) to look in the basket. Now whether he thinks that the card fairy puts it there or whether he knows it is me I do not know but hopefully one day he will catch on and follow my policy.
One of the most frustrating things for me is to have to search around the house for something (usually small) that I need at the moment. Words cannot express accurately how disappointing it is not to be able to remember where something is and to have to waste what little precious time I have on this earth looking for my stuff. Ask my wife, I am not pleasant to be around when I am searching (say for the nail clippers as I mention in this 2006 blog).
After I (once again) gave a lecture to my family about my policy this morning, my wife headed to the kitchen to make us some breakfast. A large percentage of the time my breakfast consists of 2 over easy eggs and toast. I like to put 3 things on my eggs: garlic salt, hot sauce and pepper. These three items are kept in their place on the top shelf of the lower cabinet. As my eggs were given to me I went to the shelf to retrieve my eggs condiments. I found the garlic salt and the hot sauce easily enough but the pepper grinder was not there. I had just got done with my plea to my family about this very issue. The pepper grinder goes where it goes. Salt and Pepper, they go together. There is no logical reason for them to be separated. After I calmed down the wife pointed to the lower shelf of the same cabinet and indicated that the pepper was right there. I was then given “the look” and was told to eat my eggs.
My policy evidently is just that, MY policy and not those of my household.
Jon
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