A Las Cruces, New Mexico, woman had been indicted for allegedly keeping more than 100,000 phone directories that she had been hired to deliver.
Apparently, 55-year-old Debra Gottrell is accused of storing the books in three Las Cruces storage units during a four-year period instead of delivering them.
There is no explanation of why she allegedly took the phone books.
Directory Plus (the directory company) owner Hugh Riddle says his company lost an estimated $500,000 from the lost directories.
Why do people horde stuff like this?
My grandmother horded all kinds of things, and when she died, it was a nightmare for my aunts and uncles who were tasked with cleaning it all out!
My grandmother also sold Tupperware. I can promise you, she had hundreds and hundreds of pieces, maybe thousands of pieces, she had collected over the years. What can one person do with that much Tupperware?
I once knew a man who went to the Post Office at the same time as me every day. He drove a station wagon. Ever square inch of that car was filled with newspapers, magazines, junk mail, etc. It seems that when he went to the Post Office every morning, he simply would place the mail he didn’t want in the stacks in his car. About the only place that wasn’t filled was the passenger’s seat, and it was about halfway to the roof of the car.
I guess by now, that’s been eight years ago now, he’s had to buy a bigger vehicle, maybe a 15-passenger van? Maybe a Hummer? Maybe an old school bus? At the rate he was going, his next vehicle would definitely need to be much bigger!
So, what do you horde? Got any secret stashes hidden away? Your attic full? Basement? Been meaning to get to it, but haven’t yet?
Lamentations 1:7 (NIV), says, “In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction.”
Maybe a better question is, just what treasure have you placed your trust in?
Irony here.
ReplyDeleteI have been in the basement for the past 2 hours cleaning. So far, I've thrown out 4 BIG trash bags of trash, emptied out 5 or 6 cardboard boxes, and found no less than 4 mice "nests."
We've only lived here for 5 years.
This is the room we use for our homeschool classroom, but last year, we only used one little corner. This year, I'm wanting to spread out a bit more, so I'm having to reclaim it from the mice.
I feel nasty.
Another ironic, humourous twist -- The blast from the past on cycleguy's blog. I can only get one station in the basement and it plays "classic rock." Carry On Wayward Son had just played a few minutes before I came upstairs.
Are ya'll conspiring against me??????
Karma,
ReplyDeleteA good rule of thumb is to move every 3-5 years...really cuts down on the trash, junk, and hidden treasures! And when Mr. Karma complains that something of his is missing, well, the movers did it! Or, it goes lost in the move!
Hey Karma! "Carry On My Whittling Sister" with your reclamation project. I agree with Steve (that is a scary proposition isn't it?) that moving a lot forces the winnowing process. Moving 6 times in the last 8 years (not to all new churches but new abodes) has helped in the non-hording. I am working on streamlining even more. I don't like clutter.
ReplyDeleteWhen my mom went to Jesus I had the unenviable task (along with my brothers) of cleaning and purging. It was not fun and I don't want my bride or my girls to have that hanging over their heads.
Treasure? What treasure? Does something with two wheels count?
Bill...there's a fine line between treasure and idol...I doubt you'll ever cross that line!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, agreeing with me is a little scary. Ok, I hear you, a whole lot scary!