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Overprepared

I tell myself we are not hoarders but what is it in my head that makes me keep saying . . about everything . . what if I run out? What if I run out of Dr. Pepper? What if I run out of my favorite flour? What if I run out of the chocolate chips I can only get by mail order? What if we run out of toilet paper in the middle of the night? Is it that I want to be so prepared for any possible scenario or . . am I a hoarder?

It isn’t like we have 5 years worth of Dr. Pepper or toilet paper or anything but it isn’t like we’re going to run out any time soon.  When we moved from KY to MO, it was December and I had about 15 – 12 packs of Dr. Pepper in the garage. I will only buy them when they’re on sale so I stock up when I find 2 – 12 packs for $5. I almost had a stroke when I went outside and the packers had packed every last case of Dr. Pepper. I said “Wouldn’t you think . . if you saw 15 – 12 packs, that someone might have an addiction and you could have left ONE 12 pack out for me?” Nope . . they packed everything and then I was forced to buy a 12 pack not on sale.

Here’s where I’m trying to be realistic. When I go on a trip, I take way more knitting projects than I’ll possibly need. I did it with quilting projects too. You do it too, right?

I figure I need projects that are pretty mindless . . plain vanilla socks maybe. I need projects that are a bit challenging. There will be nights when everyone has gone to bed and I’m still knitting. I need projects that are fun and interesting. When I was gone in early November, I was gone almost three weeks and had probably a dozen projects with me. I think I worked on 3 of them. For our upcoming trip, I’ll be gone 10 days. I keep telling myself three projects will be fine:

  • Sunset Highway – Pure stockinette for 15″, then the sleeves. That’s something I can easily do while talking, visiting, watching TV.
  • ADVENTurous cowl – Something I could possibly finish. Mostly all stockinette and requires no attention.
  • Leftovers Cowl – That one requires attention and is interesting and holds my attention.
  • DaVinci Cowl – Plain stockinette . . no attention needed.
  • Linho – Lots of stockinette, a bit of cables up the front.

Those are plenty of projects to keep me busy the entire time I’m gone but then I start thinking . . what if I run out of projects? There are no yarn shops nearby. I can’t even guess how far it is to the closest yarn shop. I know there’s not one within two hours of where we’ll be. Every time I think about that, I start packing more projects. I’ll have my Kindle. I’ll bring Dominoes. I’ll bring a puzzle. I am not going to be sitting around twiddling my thumbs.

We’re taking groceries because the grocery stores around there are smaller and may not have some of the things we need and will be more expensive than what I pay here. It’s a pretty good trip to Walmart so I want to have everything I need. I’m taking pie pans and the cheese melter and bread pans and sourdough starter and Wheat Montana flour; and a big dog bed for Rita and a crate for Rita.

At the rate I’m packing, we’re going to need a U-Haul for a 10 day trip!  But, I am not a hoarder!  🙂

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Comments

  2. On the other hand, you could just pack your clothes, Kindle & 2 or 3 knitting projects and go with the flow for the rest of it. I’m sure wherever you’re going has food. Let it be an adventure!

  3. My motto is better have it and not need it than need it and not have it! Hope you have a great trip and a wonderful Christmas!

  4. I think you need to throw in a sock ufo or two. Pretty mindless. Where abouts are you going? Spending Christmas with Addie?

  5. Never fear! I pack the same way you do. Some call it overpacking and I call it having what I need. Many of my projects just go along for the ride, but I have them if I have time for them. Have fun and make lots of wonderful memories.

  6. WHOA! This reminds me of when I was no longer able to get diet vanilla pepsi in TX anymore but I could still get it in OK. I found a small grocery store that would order 30 12 pks for me (not always on sale) and I’d run over the border about an hour and pick em up. The customers in the store would GAPE when the employee came hauling those puppies out! And it filled the back end of my Sorento. I went thru them in no time–best diet soda I’ve ever had and now I can’t find it anywhere. 🙁

  7. You pack like I do. Too many projects to take and too much food. I’m vegan, so taking food is my way of making sure I’ll have something to eat and to avoid paying full price for everything I want. Not to mention not having to buy a larger quantity of something than what I need. For example, for a recent trip, I packed 3/4 cup of millet.

  8. You are not a hoarder. You are funny though!! Where are y’all going? I bet Rita is happy for a road trip!!!

  9. I think my desire to always have more than I need comes from being so poor when I was little and never having enough. We really DID run out of things and have to go without until it was payday for my dad. I really DID run all summer without shoes because they were too expensive for my growing feet. So now I have way too many shoes, and lots of projects and food and fabric. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think it means we are making sure we are never without. ‘Cause I know it can happen!

  10. I feel for you. We are going to a resort in Florida for a week with grown kids. I am thinking what am I going to do for a whole week without a sewing machine.

  11. Better too many projects than too few – that’s my motto. I pack for a weekend quilting retreat like i’m going for two weeks 🙂

  12. I always overpack knitting projects…everything else, I assume if I forgot something, there are stores…but not knitting…LOL

  13. OK I admit I am one! Does that make you feel any better? Every time we go somewhere I pack way more than I need. Mainly because we never know what the weather is going to be here! Is it going to be 90 degrees or 32? Will the sun be shining or will it be raining? In Texas you never know what to take and like I said I take way too much!!

  14. Well if we are hoarders what were our parents way before us. It is true we do keep more stuff than we need but that is due to the way our parents grew up. There was something called depression remember that? They had to do without so much food, clothes, shoes, tires , and sugar even butter etc. They promised themselves never again so they stored stuff. Most had a store house of what some called a wash-house back in the late 40’s-50.I know I get up with grandparents and mother who lived in those days.From what I was told it was really bad. So now we live that way. Always have at least one back up, but the more the better because you just don’t know. SO ladies don’t listen to the people who call you hoarders They will be the first at your door when all H_ll breaks lose some day wanting some of your stuff. Just look at the Mormans they store for one year worths of stuff all the time. And how many of people are called hoarders? SO store girlfriends who’s it going to hurt other than our kids when we die. They will have do clean out so what gives them something to do. And we don’t have to worry about them cause we aren’t here.

    • Well, we Mormons are Encouraged to stock up for one year….but most of us don’t have enough space for that much food, so we aim for as much as we can. I have enough fabric!

  15. I can definitely relate. The first time we went to Texas for a month I brought a huge bag full of books – I was afraid I’d run out of something to read. That led to my first Kindle. Then I started bringing fabric and a sewing machine – even went so far as to buy a sewing machine in Texas because I didn’t have mine and I found a wonderful quilt shop and bought fabric to start a quilt. Now it’s yarn – I always have 3-4 started projects with me plus extra yarn ‘just in case’.

  16. I totally want to know about the fabulous chocolate chips that you like that can only be ordered online. What kind are they…..because now I want to order some, too. 🙂

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