Last night I was chatting with Joe about the concept of 10 things I can’t live without. He quickly agreed that his tools and machine shop equipment would make his list. They’re essential to him. He appreciates being able to walk out to the garage and create, fix, or modify something whenever the need (or inspiration) strikes.
Once we got into the spirit of Can I live without it?, Joe suggested we talk about our “kitchen stuff.” In his mind, kitchen stuff is like tools: lots of items under one umbrella, but together they count as just one item. “You could get by just fine with one skillet, one soup pot, and the all-purpose cooker,” he said. That cooker makes short work of dry beans, hard-boiled eggs, and Greek yogurt. Joe makes yogurt weekly and cooks beans two or three times a week.
I suggested we should also keep the crockpot, a boiler pan for cooking pasta, and a small pan for rice and quinoa. He agreed.
So yes, of course we are keeping our kitchen stuff. Do we need all of the stuff in our kitchen? Probably not. When we moved from California to Minnesota, we gave a lot of kitchen items away. And here I am, slowly collecting more…
Monday is my usual “play with Oliver day.” Their household is dealing with some illness right now, so Megan let me know and gave me the option to opt out. I decided to go anyway. Oliver was fine, and it gave Megan and Jeremy a chance to rest for a few hours.
I mention this because one of Oliver’s favorite games is emptying and refilling my pockets. My cell phone is always one of the items (along with a clean Kleenex and a stick of gum). Once he has the phone out, he likes to look at photos and videos saved on it. By now, most of the recent photos are of him. I take a picture every time I feed him something messy, today’s wild mashed blueberries and cottage cheese were especially MESSY, and then I show him. He finds the photos hilarious - lot's of wide-eyed "Ohs!."
That sealed it for me. Taking photos of our three adorable grandchildren puts the cell phone firmly into the keep category. Yes, I could buy a digital camera, but that would be one more thing to carry around all the time. And as a bonus, keeping the cell phone also means I can continue paying my bills online.
Here’s my updated list of items I’m considering for my 10 things I cannot live without:
Vehicle (maybe)
Cell phone (KEEP)
Computer (KEEP)
Printer/Copier (KEEP)
Kitchen “stuff” (KEEP)
I still have some tough decisions ahead, and I suspect a few surprises as I keep working through this list. Some items are practical. Some are emotional. And some might earn their place simply because they hold pieces of the people I love most.
How is your list of items to keep coming along?
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