Day 93: Wrestling My Receipts

Hi. My name is Lori and I am a receipt hoarder.

I don’t mean to hoard them, and I am more than willing to get rid of them once the amount has cleared the bank. BUT… I must admit that I am a bit like PigPen from Peanuts…remember the cloud of funk that followed him around? Imagine that to be a cloud of tiny paper receipts. Now you see me.

A week or so ago I was asking the kids to help me switch between four purses (I’m still trying to get adjusted on the purse situation, and presently alternate between large and small. Why four purses all of a sudden? I really have no answer for that.)

Anyhoo, while emptying one purse Victoria asked, “What do we do with all these little papers?!”

“Stuff them into the little white purse.”

“Oh, Mom. Really??”

I gave her The Look. “Yes, really. That way I’ll know where they are.”

She shrugged and commenced stuffing.

Now, aside from the terrible lesson I just taught my daughter about (im)proper use of purses, I now have a purse I can’t use until I clear it of all the receipts. And the worst part is, it’s a white purse which I likely won’t carry again until next spring. So, I fear the receipts will still be waiting for me in the spring.

You heard me. It’s happened before.

I determined this weekend that I need one of those desktop scanner things that keeps and categorizes all your random papers, receipts included. It looks so nice and compact. I have not researched how much they are, though. Now, the problem would not be the new scanner. The problem is that I already have two perfectly functional flatbed scanners attached to this very computer. Two.

I think I need professional help.

I am going to make an honest effort this week to scan my receipts on my existent flatbeds and see what format is produced in order to determine if it is worth making this a permanent practice. If it takes more effort than stuffing the receipts into some obscure purgatory, then I fear I may not keep up the habit.

And my cloud of tiny paper will continue to follow me.

Day 78: Lockin’ Up the Lunches

It’s grocery day once again in my personal land of Oz. Because grocery shopping is the precursor to everything else that I do in this house, you will likely hear a lot about it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

We are completely out of everything we like to eat. We are almost out of bread, but we have enough to last one or two more days in the event of near catastrophe, so we haven’t outright starved. Although, if you ask Aaron and Victoria, they may have a different take on the matter.

As a positive change for all involved, the kids are now responsible for packing their lunchboxes for school the night before, with the exception of the sandwich, which they make themselves the next morning. As they prepared their lunchboxes Thursday night both kids were at a loss once they realized we were out of their lunchtime staples: natural cheetos and organic gummy chews. What’s a kid to do?

“Mommy, when are you going to the grocery store?”

“Tuesday. We will have food again on Tuesday.” (Ever since emptying my pantry in June we have not had real “overstock” of anything. And if the kids find something they like, it goes fast!)

“That doesn’t help us much for tomorrow,” I heard Aaron say as both kids peered into the empty vastness of their lunchboxes.

I couldn’t resist pointing out that I had previously purchased just enough lunch snacks to last until the next grocery visit. But, when they snack on those items during the weekend, that leaves them in a bind later on before the next grocery run. My point finally hit home.

I shared this bit with a co-worker who suggested that I get a large clear plastic bin to keep on the bottom shelf of the pantry, and all the lunch foods can go inside. Then, if it’s in the box, it’s off limits to anything but packing your lunch. Everything outside of the box is fair game for weekends and after school snacks.

I love this idea. I am hoping to implement it this week, and see how we do as the next few weeks go by. Now, to find my stash of Rubbermaid containers…

Day 55: Where Are My Shoes?!!

The kids used to constantly ask me, “Mommy, where are my shooooooooes?” To which I would reply, “I do not wear your shoes, baby. I don’t know where they are.” Or, “Where did you leave them?” Whichever reply I used, the reaction from them was always the same: “Oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” followed by a huff and a quick exit.

One day I was in a hurry to leave the house and I asked Aaron if he had seen my shoes anywhere. You know exactly what he said: “I don’t wear your shoes, Mommy. I wouldn’t know where they are. Where do you think you left them?”

Smartie pants.

Today while we were getting ready to go to the pool for Aaron’s birthday party, I was bustling around looking for my shoes. The shoes I keep by the back door in a basket for easy donning and traipsing through the yard. The flip-flops. The I-don’t-care-if-they-get-wet-at-the-pool shoes. I started to ask if anyone had seen them, and I stopped mid-sentence. Aaron really had an impact on me all those years ago. I managed to find one shoe in the appropriate basket by the back door and the other shoe…gasp…in my closet with all my other shoes.

Shoes put away in my closet…the sure sign that Dom has been here.

I have gradually been moving toward better shoe care. And I thought the shoe basket by the backdoor was a great idea. Alas, so did Mabel. It seems that she is the culprit who runs off with my flip flops at random, causing me to lose my ever-loving mind.

I need another shoe system. Not just for the flip flops, but for all shoes in the house. A basket at the bottom of the stairs, perhaps? A nightly routine of everyone grabbing their own shoes from the basket and toting them up the stairs for the night? There has got to be an easy solution to the shoe disorder here.

Or I could just try going barefoot everywhere… I always did like Shoeless Joe.