The little things

It's the little things...

The plastic newspaper bag

At school, the daily newspaper comes rolled up in a little plastic bag. I had asked the librarian to please put the used plastic bag into my mailbox instead of throwing it out. (My mailbox is in front of hers so I'm not asking her to take extra steps). I love using the little bags at home to put in the used kitty litter, or some organic trash I don't want laying in the garbage pail for a few days until I get the trash outside (like banana peels and peach pits). Those little bags are perfect.

I just used the last one... that's what makes me appreciate them all the more! I save the English muffin bag and the bags we put our produce in to weigh, also. But those little newspaper bags were a boon.

The hook

When I come in to the apartment I put my keys on small hook and my purse on a large hook. It's on the back of a bookcase that stands a foot away from the wall. This is so I don't have to see the bag, it's behind the bookcase. In a small apartment keeping the eye pleased with lack of clutter is important. It makes the place feel bigger, and every item counts. I'd used a nail but the nail head was actually tearing through my canvas bag strap and when I switched to a leather purse it began to do the same. A friend gave me a wonderful hook. It's white and has an incline upward so the strap doesn't stay on the hook, and it is adhered with an adhesive so I didn't have to nail it into the particle board. It is a great hook.

I come in and got out a lot every day and being able to throw my purse on the hook without having to carefully place it, or worry about a serious rip, is a small thing but it is a big thing too. Who likes many small daily aggravations? Not me.

The fan

I have a small tabletop fan that I've used for three summers now. It is metal and squats low rather than have a long stem with an oscillation. It was inexpensive and it is light and easy to carry from place to place in the apartment. I hate to turn on the air conditioner until it gets really hot, so I can save on electricity and more importantly, have the windows open to enjoy the birds. This little machine is used at least 10 hours a day, every day, and it has never failed. It is the one thing that allows me to delay putting on the AC and it is really a lifesaver. Whoever made this fan must really know about small engines, because the thing is tiny but mighty.

The screw

The tiny screw fell out of my glasses this week. I was standing in the kitchen and all of a sudden the lens to my glasses popped out and fell to the rug. I took off the frames and saw that the screw at the end of the bow had come out. This released the frame to widen itself, and they no longer held in the lens.

It is a very, very tiny screw. I got on my hands and knees with a flashlight and used my other hand to gently sweep all over the entire rug. Of course the screw is the same color of the rug, and it's about 1/32nd of an inch long. I never found the screw.


Without the screw that holds the frame together that holds the lens on the glasses that go on my head that allow me to see...I can't see. I have severe astigmatism and I cannot see things even a few feet away. I'm not allowed to drive without glasses, either. I have a spare pair but the lens prescription is a bit outdated, but they had to do until the next morning when I went to the Dollar Store and bought an eyeglasses repair kit.

One small item, the screw, makes me not be able to see. Amazing!

We take the small things in our lives for granted. The insignificant items that make our lives easier, in small ways, but those small ways accumulate to make an easier-flow to the day.

All hail the little things!