Sunday 20 March 2011

People first. Pets second. Things last.

I woke up yesterday with a sense of anticipation knowing that the 4-door wardrobe (bought on sale from Banta... see I do have frugal bone in my body) would be delivered at 10am. I literally had to shake my hubby awake as we had to get ready for it. I was excited, no kidding. I was actually up to the task of rearranging our bedroom and reorganizing our stuffs.

I have a little secret. I am a bit OC (obsessive–compulsive) when it comes to housekeeping. Believe me.

I like to keep things in order and every night before going to sleep I usually do once-over to make sure things are at their proper places.

Mama was even surprised when I gave her a virtual tour of our humble abode via Skype. She hadn’t expected that I have knack in decorating and housekeeping because God knows she had to nag me every waking day to keep my room tidy when I was still under her wings.
Of course the fact that we have a brilliant Ate Thelma who comes in every weekend helps a lot.

People First. Pets Second. Things Last.

I keep a philosophy similar to Nate Berkus when it comes to housekeeping: People first. Pets second (if you have one). Things last. I don't balk in throwing away stuffs that I no longer need. And this is one of the differences between my husband and me. He is a hoarder. He reasons out that it’s because he is sentimental. But the problem is he is able to make up “sentimental value” in every single thing he owns.

As I was going through his stuffs yesterday I was surprised to find that there are so many abubots! (knickknacks). To name a few there were carton boxes of his past eyeglasses (without the eyeglasses), empty diaries of years gone by, pens with inks frozen solid. I had no qualms throwing away most of them. Especially that love letter from his ex girlfriend which contained the cheesy line “Nalulungkot ako, titigil na naman ang ikot ng mundo ko pag-alis mo.”; That I had to tell hubby, “Puntahan mo naman, nalulungkot din ako kasi kawawa naman sya...“ :-| (btw she is also happily married now. Just couldn't resist teasing my husband.)

If things are kept in storage for more than a year and you have honestly forgotten their existence in the first place, then by all means get rid of them to create more space! Sell them on eBay or donate them. I live by the rule to store only things that have meaning to me, given to me by my loved ones or they should be reminders of fond pasts. It is the story behind every thing that should be the reason why I am keeping it.

But I am not a ruthless wife. I understand that my hubby is not at ease at throwing away things so I have a box especially reserved for him. This is where he can stash away things that he is not yet comfortable of discarding. I will do an inventory once in three months and try persuading him to remove an thing or two, and of course to make sure there is no stray love letter from another woman lying around....


Hubby's very own box

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