Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

Whenever I need a ———-, there aren’t any handy

Ginevra

By Ginevra,
in The Chat Board

 Share

Recommended Posts

SKL

SKL

Posted
Posted

Pretty much anything, but especially scissors and writing instruments.

We have at least a dozen scissors, and I round them up periodically, but somehow they are never there when I want to use them.

As for pencils and pens, whichever one I need is the one I can't find.  Today I need a pen and there's 10 pencils.  Tomorrow I'll need a pencil and there'll be 10 pens.  😛

  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
SKL

SKL

Posted
Posted

Used to be forks, until someone bought a pile of them.

We had plenty of forks, but there must be someone in our house that uses multiple forks daily and never washes them.

I always wash my fork right after using, and leave it in the dish drainer.  Then when I go to use it again, it's always gone.  UGH.  People.

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Storygirl

Storygirl

Posted
Posted

Sharpened pencils. The pencil drawer in the little desk in our kitchen is filled with pencils, but they are never sharpened. Every once in awhile, I gather them up and sharpen them all, but they seem to mysteriously break and/or disappear and/or go too dull to use almost immediately. Once I asked for a box of sharpened pencils for my birthday. (This makes me think of, "I would send you a bouquet of sharpened pencils, if I knew your name and address," -- quote from my favorite movie!)

Also, band aids. I always have to hunt for them.

When my kids were little, I never had Kleenex in the car when I needed them. Once I had to beg some tissues from someone else in a parking lot, when my son had a bloody nose.
 

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Katy

Katy

Posted
Posted

Guys, spend $100 on your sanity.  Buy multiples of everything on your list and stash them everywhere. Scissors.  Pencils.  Your favorite pens.  Lotion (my favorite scent is in bottles all over the house).  Hair ties. A set or two for everyone who uses them plus plenty of extras to stash around the house.

I have two pairs of scissors in every bedroom (of people over 8).Three in the kitchen. One or two in almost every bathroom. One pair in my nightstand, one in my jewelry box, one in my desk.  Multiple backups hidden in a drawer in a craft station. 

Except tools.  For that I found a pink tool bag filled with pink tools at Walmart and hid it in the laundry room.  Now everyone, even DH, uses my pink tools instead of navigating that massive mess of a garage.  But I’ve only had to ask where my bag was once. 

I was sick of DH stealing my car phone chargers so I bought 5 on Amazon just for him. And when they started going missing again I ordered him more and switched to a lighter charger.  One piece so you can’t use it inside at all. It doesn’t help with the apple car thing but it never gets taken. 

It was maybe an extra $120 at Walmart and it has more than paid for itself in take out food.  Calm me is much more likely to cook than throw my hands in the air, exasperated, and say I don’t have the energy to cook. 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
kbutton

kbutton

Posted
Posted
53 minutes ago, Katy said:

Guys, spend $100 on your sanity.  Buy multiples of everything on your list and stash them everywhere. Scissors.  Pencils.  Your favorite pens.  Lotion (my favorite scent is in bottles all over the house).  Hair ties. A set or two for everyone who uses them plus plenty of extras to stash around the house.

I have two pairs of scissors in every bedroom (of people over 8).Three in the kitchen. One or two in almost every bathroom. One pair in my nightstand, one in my jewelry box, one in my desk.  Multiple backups hidden in a drawer in a craft station. 

Except tools.  For that I found a pink tool bag filled with pink tools at Walmart and hid it in the laundry room.  Now everyone, even DH, uses my pink tools instead of navigating that massive mess of a garage.  But I’ve only had to ask where my bag was once. 

I was sick of DH stealing my car phone chargers so I bought 5 on Amazon just for him. And when they started going missing again I ordered him more and switched to a lighter charger.  One piece so you can’t use it inside at all. It doesn’t help with the apple car thing but it never gets taken. 

It was maybe an extra $120 at Walmart and it has more than paid for itself in take out food.  Calm me is much more likely to cook than throw my hands in the air, exasperated, and say I don’t have the energy to cook. 

Tried this; doesn't work. We do color code some things--this just means we knows whose is missing, not why it's gone, or who took it, lol! 

We have two people in the house who legit live on autopilot perpetually. Real conversation in my house; not the only time we had it, but the placement of the missing cup varied...Me: You're drinking my coffee. Why are you drinking my coffee when you have your own cup? Him: It must be mine; I put it there. Me: No, I had that color of cup. You must've put yours somewhere and then used mine. Him: confused Me: Wait, is that your cup on top of the refrigerator? Him: Yes it is. I have no idea how it got there. 

The not so funny part is that we do, indeed, have all of those items stashed all over the house in the end, but we don't find them until someone runs across them in the wild, random place they were teleported to.

  • Like 2
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Drama Llama

Drama Llama

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Katy said:

Guys, spend $100 on your sanity.  Buy multiples of everything on your list and stash them everywhere. Scissors.  Pencils.  Your favorite pens.  Lotion (my favorite scent is in bottles all over the house).  Hair ties. A set or two for everyone who uses them plus plenty of extras to stash around the house.

I have two pairs of scissors in every bedroom (of people over 8).Three in the kitchen. One or two in almost every bathroom. One pair in my nightstand, one in my jewelry box, one in my desk.  Multiple backups hidden in a drawer in a craft station. 

Except tools.  For that I found a pink tool bag filled with pink tools at Walmart and hid it in the laundry room.  Now everyone, even DH, uses my pink tools instead of navigating that massive mess of a garage.  But I’ve only had to ask where my bag was once. 

I was sick of DH stealing my car phone chargers so I bought 5 on Amazon just for him. And when they started going missing again I ordered him more and switched to a lighter charger.  One piece so you can’t use it inside at all. It doesn’t help with the apple car thing but it never gets taken. 

It was maybe an extra $120 at Walmart and it has more than paid for itself in take out food.  Calm me is much more likely to cook than throw my hands in the air, exasperated, and say I don’t have the energy to cook. 

For us the strategy that works is the opposite.  We have one of things.   For example, there is one pair of paper/craft scissors in the house, which means we notice fast when it goes missing and are more likely to remember who had it where.  

But, I get really easily overwhelmed by stuff.  

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Spryte said:

Hair tie

lip balm

phone charger 

And we have an actual $100 bill that keeps getting lost, then found, lost again.  We decided today that it must be cursed.

With the hair tie, I have some of the Invisibobble type hair ties, but you get three in a pack. I love those the most but I *never* have one when I want one. They always seem to be in the last place I wanted one - desk drawer, purse, art table, beach bag…

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Frances

Frances

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, LucyStoner said:

SCISSORS

I want scissors that shock anyone who picks them up who isn’t me. 🤣

QFT. I’ve bought my husband so many pairs of different types of scissors, but the vast majority of the time he uses our kitchen shears or the pair of scissors in my desk, probably because I always put them away in the same place.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
barnwife

barnwife

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Katy said:

Guys, spend $100 on your sanity.  Buy multiples of everything on your list and stash them everywhere. 

Oh, I have definitely done this with things, including scissors. Actually, I have done this with scissors multiple times. And Santa often puts a few pairs in my stockings. I have no idea what happens to them. They just...disappear. Okay, total honesty here: DH puts them...well, I don't actually know, because if I did, I wouldn't have this problem.

I grew up in a "put things away after using under penalty of death (TIC)" family. DH, much to my dismay and annoyance, did not. I frequently think such things as "he has good qualities, he has good qualities, he has good qualities" as I hunt for scissors. And he most certainly does. I am definitely guilty of other things. I am determined to do what I can to impress upon our children how rude it is to not return things to their places. Alas, with at least one kid, I feat it is a losing battle. 

It's the kids who make rubber bands disappear though.

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
prairiewindmomma

prairiewindmomma

Posted
Posted

I have purchased an additional five pairs of scissors, four pairs of nail clippers, and three phone chargers this year (and 6 lightning cables). 
 

My super secret is that I have a hidden stash now where I keep my backup supply of things.

Living with people with severe ADD is not for the faint of heart. I at least no longer take it personally anymore (even though it feels hugely disrespectful for them to take my stuff and not return it).

  • Like 7
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I have purchased an additional five pairs of scissors, four pairs of nail clippers, and three phone chargers this year (and 6 lightning cables). 
 

My super secret is that I have a hidden stash now where I keep my backup supply of things.

Living with people with severe ADD is not for the faint of heart. I at least no longer take it personally anymore (even though it feels hugely disrespectful for them to take my stuff and not return it).

I did this with the phone chargers and lightning cables this year. I bought a 5pack on Amazon and three of them are super long, like 8 feet. I was so tired of walking all over the house to find one, and then when I did, it was so short I was tethered to the wall. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Shoeless

Shoeless

Posted
Posted

Chapstick. I swear someone eats them.

DH loses scissors and blames me and kiddo for taking them. They are fancy, lefty scissors and DS and I are righties, so NO, we didn't take your scissors. It hurts to use them, so NO, we didnt take them. But every time he loses a pair, "Did you take my scissors?!?!" NO!

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
fraidycat

fraidycat

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, kbutton said:

Counter space, or honestly, any horizontal surface at all. (Pretend this is the old running in circles emoji.) 

This! Ugh. I dig down to the surface to clean it, but it always seems to get buried again. Today I cleaned off dining table and counters and wiped everything down before leaving town for an appointment. Can barely see the surfaces again upon arrival at home this evening. It's the "drop zone" for keys, wallets, groceries that can't fit in the cupboards (tiny kitchen). 😫
 

All the other things, I have my own hidden versions (nail clippers, pens, pencils, etc.) or people in my house are not allowed to touch it - phone charger does NOT move from beside my bed or heads.will.roll. If they need to use it, they need to plug in in my bedroom or find their own lost one(s).

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
LucyStoner

LucyStoner

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Katy said:

Guys, spend $100 on your sanity.  Buy multiples of everything on your list and stash them everywhere. Scissors.  Pencils.  Your favorite pens.  Lotion (my favorite scent is in bottles all over the house).  Hair ties. A set or two for everyone who uses them plus plenty of extras to stash around the house.

I have two pairs of scissors in every bedroom (of people over 8).Three in the kitchen. One or two in almost every bathroom. One pair in my nightstand, one in my jewelry box, one in my desk.  Multiple backups hidden in a drawer in a craft station. 

Except tools.  For that I found a pink tool bag filled with pink tools at Walmart and hid it in the laundry room.  Now everyone, even DH, uses my pink tools instead of navigating that massive mess of a garage.  But I’ve only had to ask where my bag was once. 

I was sick of DH stealing my car phone chargers so I bought 5 on Amazon just for him. And when they started going missing again I ordered him more and switched to a lighter charger.  One piece so you can’t use it inside at all. It doesn’t help with the apple car thing but it never gets taken. 

It was maybe an extra $120 at Walmart and it has more than paid for itself in take out food.  Calm me is much more likely to cook than throw my hands in the air, exasperated, and say I don’t have the energy to cook. 

I have at least a dozen pair of scissors.  They still make off with them.  Either that or the scissors are holding parties with the lost socks behind the dryer.  Yesterday I needed scissors and ended up using the tiny ones on the tiny pocket knife on my key ring. 

  • Like 2
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Farrar

Farrar

Posted
Posted (edited)

Once I cleaned out Mushroom's room after he insisted that he had absolutely no scissors in his room and found seven pairs. SEVEN. I'm not joking.

ETA: I was thinking about this and how weird it was that there were so many and I remembered that part of it was that he wasn't just pocketing MY scissors, he was also pocketing scissors from the theater where he was working at the time. They shut down after a scandal so he couldn't even return them all. I have a pair of those in my pencil cup right now.

Edited by Farrar
  • Like 4
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
RootAnn

RootAnn

Posted
Posted

Mechanical pencils

It used to be transparent tape.

I have purchased rulers, scissors, pens, measuring tape, colored pencils,, and mechanical pencils in bulk multiple times. I have my own measuring tape now. Kids run off with the rulers, scissors, & pencils. I think they hoard them. No idea where most of the scissors are but at least one of the two pairs in the kitchen better be in the cabinet when DH goes looking Or Else.

One of my kids asked for new nail clippers because theirs were broken so I gave them mine. I'll buy new when I get the chance. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BlsdMama

BlsdMama

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, Katy said:

Guys, spend $100 on your sanity.  Buy multiples of everything on your list and stash them everywhere. Scissors.  Pencils.  Your favorite pens.  Lotion (my favorite scent is in bottles all over the house).  Hair ties. A set or two for everyone who uses them plus plenty of extras to stash around the house.

 

A set or two for everyone... bwwaaa haaa haaa.  Sorry.  The large family mama is laughing so hard right now.  A. Pure quantity alone will not ensure availability and B. I'd need to own 120 pens. 😉 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Shoeless

Shoeless

Posted
Posted

We bought DS a moderately fancy mechanical pencil, (I think it was $15), and he never, ever loses it now. He puts it away in the same place every day, and would you look at that, it's right there in the morning, exactly where he left it! 

DS and I are pretty good about putting things back where they belong. It's unusual for either of us to lose things. DH, however, cannot find anything because he just tosses his stuff into a pile and walks away. If he can't find something in the first place he looks, he starts griping that such and such is lost, someone must have taken it, we must have run out, he can't find it.  Like, no dude, I did not take your drill and leave it somewhere. That was all you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lady Marmalade

Lady Marmalade

Posted
Posted

Flyswatter.

Nail clippers.

Expo markers.

The expo markers are a work thing. We use them for everything and I've been personally buying jumbo packs and sharing with the other leaders, only they're terrible about putting them back when they leave for the day! I bought a pack of 21 two weeks ago and there are just two left.  I'm going to have to go back to just buying them for myself and carrying two with me all day long. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...