More Confessions of a Messy Organizer

I Broke a Bowl: And I Kept It

I know. It’s shameful. I blithely say in our book, Organize Your Way, that people of my personality persuasion — Organics and Smarts — should just throw out anything we break, because it will be years — if ever — before we fix it. And we break a lot of things. Is it worth the real estate? I found, or rather gathered this little box of goodies the last time I was trying to put away platters from a feast and didn’t have room for them. It was taking up PRIME real estate in my dining-room cupboard next to plates I actually use.

So I put them in the box and was going to close it up and put it in my basement storage. It’s a move we DO recommend in our book, Organize Your Way. (You’ve read it yes? Bought it for everyone on your holiday list right?) Put things you can’t part with in a Magical Later Box and then store it in an out of the way spot and if you can’t remember it’s there in 6 months or a year, then chuck it.

Some of it is sentimental. That purple vase was given to me by one of my dearest and oldest friends, but even before it got broken I didn’t have it on display. Two broken Tiffany crystal candlesticks are probably easily fixable by a professional, AND I did use them all the time before they broke in a move, and they were a wedding gift, but will I ever take them to said professional, and do I love them that much? The china I know I can get on replacements.com, so that would be the easiest thing to chuck and I probably will before I put that box in storage.

But yes, I’m going to put that box in storage.

It’s shameful I agree. But then again, what’s the harm? There’s also a Raggedy Andy Christmas ornament that my godparents gave me when I was a kid. It was broken before I even started putting it on my own grown up Christmas tree, but I still haven’t fixed it. I used to place it gingerly on a branch, but it’s gotten more broken and now it’s with all the other broken things. Shouldn’t I just take a picture of it and be done with it?

Nah.

It’s going in the box. And now my shame is dissipating. Probably didn’t help that my Organic Structure mother and me talked about our boxes of broken things last weekend. I’m not alone. Plus as I write this, the first Lake Effect snow of the season is coming down in chunks and now I’m thinking about Christmas and getting that cozy feeling that first snow against the last yellow and red leaves of autumn, engenders in me. I’m transported back in time to how I felt about that perfect Raggedy Andy ornament and how grown up it made me feel to have my own ornament that wasn’t made by me, and hadn’t been with me my whole life. I’m sure my godparents have long forgotten even giving it to me.

But it still sparks joy in me. Broken and truly raggedy as it is. It reminds me of childhood and adulthood and all the good things in life. It’s not even going to go into the box of broken things.

And I have no shame about it at all.