Life > Columnists > Bonnie Bing

Posted on Mon, Oct. 19, 2009

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Organization a problem for the woman who has everything

Are you one of those people who can look at something you own and decide to get rid of it once you've determined you don't need it today, or tomorrow? You toss it, or give it away, and then it's gone.

How do you do that? I'm not exactly a pack rat, but boy, I have stuff (mainly clothes and accessories) that I've had forever and just don't seem to be able to part with.

For example, I got a leather jacket in London 24 years ago that has giant shoulders and is sort of blouson. It may be back in style someday, but I'm not betting on it.

I started changing out my closets for winter, and when the room looked like a bomb had gone off, with clothes everywhere and beyond, I nearly had a meltdown.

The closets looked good, but what was I going to do with all the stuff in the hallway?

If you're like me, every closet in the house is full, as well as every drawer and cabinet.

It's bad. But you know what? It's also good because regardless of what someone needs to borrow, I always seem to have it. And can usually find it.

I'm still working on organizing my closets. Now, I'm starting to believe what people — including three granddaughters — have told me from time to time: "Wow, you've got everything."

On my side — After I wrote last week's column revealing my concern that people are losing the ability to communicate face to face because of the constant use of computers and cell phones, I was curious whether I'd get any response, pro or con.

I'm happy to report that most I heard from tend to be on my side.

Jack Shannon agreed that he doesn't care to read tweets about what someone had for lunch or what they happen to be doing at any given moment. And I love his term for this obsession —"over-sharing."

Harriet Lewis told me about a granddaughter who was texting while everyone around her was participating in a conversation. This was during the family's yearly get-together.

Doreen Merkel says she's discovered that cell phone-using teenagers seem to have forgotten about land lines. When she recently grounded her 16-year-old son from using his cell phone, she figured he'd just use the regular phone in their house.

"I kept thinking he would get desperate and use the land line, but he didn't. His friends didn't bother calling our land line either. Crazy!" she said.

Technologically speaking, we've improved by leaps and bounds.

Sociologically speaking, well, not so much.

Let's talk.

Reach Bonnie Bing at 316-268-6246 or bbing@wichitaeagle.com.