Thursday, May 17, 2018

National Pack Rat Day by Liwen Y. Ho

Here's a little bit of trivia for you. May 17th is National Pack Rat day! What exactly is a pack rat? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, there are two definitions: first, a bushy-tailed rodent (Neotoma cinerea) of western North America that has well-developed cheek pouches and that hoards food and miscellaneous objects; and second, a person who collects or hoards especially unneeded items. I'm not typically a rodent lover, but in this case, the mental image of the first kind of pack rat sounds cuter (and less messy!) than the latter. 

I'll admit, I've been known to collect a thing or two. I'd like to think though that the items I hold onto are useful (or will be useful some day!). Who doesn't need stacks of pretty scrapbook paper or boxes of fun stamps? Or shoes?! One can never have too many shoes, right? ;) (My husband would likely disagree.) And let's not forget about books! 


Image courtesy of pixabay.com

One thing I've learned over the years, however, is that there can be too much of a good thing. Especially when those "good" things have a tendency of collecting way too much dust. 

It's appropriate that National Pat Rack Day falls on the calendar during the spring season. It's a great time to reevaluate all the things taking up space in our homes and consider doing some spring cleaning. 

Do you have things you love to collect? What are your spring cleaning tips? I'd love to hear them as I get myself motivated to clean.






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16 comments:

  1. Hilarious, Liwen! What an appropriate day for this time of year. :)

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    1. Haha, yes, I thought it'd be fun to write about. :)

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  2. Liwen, one of my favorite quotes about decluttering comes from the 1880's: "Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful." -William Morris

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    1. That is a great quote! Useful and beautiful—got it!

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  3. I now ask myself if I want to dust it from now on. If I say yes (which I don't much anymore), I'll get it. Dusting is one of my least favorite household chores.

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    1. That's a great question to ask! It's amazing how much dust collects everywhere!

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  4. Did you say you’re writing a book to include this?!

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    1. Haha, no, I'm not ... but maybe I should! ;)

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  5. I have so many books on my Kindle I think it might explode. Now every time I see a new book that I can't resist, I talk myself out of downloading it. Self-talk and reasoning with yourself really helps. :)

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    1. Good point! I think just pausing and thinking it over before acting is a smart thing to do. :)

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  6. I’m not a pack rat and am known as a minimalist by my friends. But like anything, to stay that way, it requires work. Some things that work for me are: 1. Keep what’s LOVED. 2. Buy clothing that works together. 3. Go through your entire house every season and donate anything you no longer love. And Liwen Ho, love that I discovered you :)

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    1. It's great that you're a minimalist, ZT! The older I get, the more I realize how much stuff I don't need. I love your 3 tips! And aww, thank you for your kind words! :) It's great to connect with you, too!

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  7. My pack rat tendencies have been curbed by two things. Moving and my husband who likes to throw things away. Even his pay check once by mistake.

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    1. Oh my! I hope he was able to recover the pay check!

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