The Bins

My friend Misty wrote that her ducks are finally getting back in line. I think if I have ducks, they've taken a permanent leave of absence.

So there I was down the basement. It's really coming together and finally I was able to shake that nagging feeling of being unable to help and really get things organized. Finally, a basement project that was mine. Look at me: Mighty Contributor! The contents of what is left of our deep dark storage area were splayed before me and my wonderful husband had just assembled 4 shelves that would hold 40 bins. FORTY! Oh the heavenly organization!

**OK, for those of you who don't know this about me, here's a little confessional. We all have our vices, our...we'll call them idiosyncrasies (compulsions is such an ugly word). Mine is organization. I organize my daughter’s toy bins weekly. Everything has a place. When she asks me to play Polly Pockets with her (they are these annoying little plastic people with plastic-rubbery clothes) my “playing” usually entails dividing out their clothes from their accessories and their shoes and putting them all in their own separate little containers. I know it’s silly and a waste of time. I don’t get mad when she dumps them all out the next day or anything, but I still just can’t help myself from organizing them. The world seems such a better place when my home is organized. You can imagine what this has become during my pregnancy.**

…Back to the bins. All the disaster is splayed before me and I decipher how many bins I need to house all of these things; stray sports equipment, old year books, an original Nintendo, camping supplies and more… About half of what we have is already neatly bined and labeled. I stuff the compulsion (oops…there’s that ugly word) to buy ALL NEW BINS entirely so they all match exactly, and deciding a dozen bins ought to do it, off we head to Target where the previous bins had been purchased because, let’s face it, the new bins at least have to match the old ones.

And therein lies the problem dear readers.

The bins aren’t there. I NEED these bins and they’re not there. Oh, they have bins alright. Really nice Rubbermaid bins that are the same size, but they’re transparent BLUE—not the clear ones I have with the nice snap on green and blue lids. These Rubbermaid bins aren’t the same brand, nor the same color. The same brand bins are clear, but have been redesigned square instead of the nice rounded corners mine have, and they don’t have the handy snap on lid. Even if they did, there still aren’t as many as I need of any ONE kind.
My pulse quickens and I swallow the anxiety that has begun to creep into my throat. I’ll try somewhere else, a different isle maybe.
Nothing.
I call Jayson who is very patient pretending to understand my pre-panic and checks Home Depot, Lowes and Meijer online. We’d have to order them and they take 4-6 weeks (HELLO! Baby being born here!). PLUS they only give a description. There is no picture. I explain to him how I need to see a picture because of the square corner/round corner problem I’m having and he patiently tells me he’ll go out and scour the town when he gets home (what a man!).
A bit disheartened that my organization will be thwarted I go to buy some Halloween candy for Evy’s preschool party. I turn down the isle, and THERE ARE MY BINS! The lovely rounded corners, the 66 quart size, there are even more than I need! AND they’re ON SALE!
Except…

Well…

The lids…
…They’re bright orange with black handles.


Yup.
I panic. The sane Mindy KNOWS that I should get over the color of the lids and buy them, they’re a great price and exactly the same in every other way. But COME ON!!!! Haloween bins? They really HAD to be orange and black?!?!
This is a dilemma.
Really.
I call Jayson for some sympathy and he LAUGHS at me.
“Buy the bins,” he says, “You’re crazy and pregnant. It’s truly not that big a deal.”
I try to plead my case. He is laughing harder and I can hear his secretary is laughing as well. I know the sane Mindy sees the humor, but Pregnant Organizer Mindy has taken over. Don’t they see the PROBLEM here?!
I’ll buy them, but I know the color will bug me. It’s already bugging me. I devise a plan in which I can return the lids for other ones after Halloween is over and they get the regular lid colors back in. Or maybe I can spray paint them…Jayson hangs up still laughing and I call Shannon for support. If anyone will understand it is my neighbor Shannon. She has a similar…affinity to cleanliness and order.

Well, if Shannon says she’d buy them, I guess I should.

She’s sane. She spoke sense to me. They are behind closed doors after all. Form FOLLOWS function. I purchased the bins and left the store. And now here I am, all my bins on the shelves nice and organized, all orange lids hidden as best as I can.

Oh, and I’m still considering swapping out the lids at a later date. I honestly don’t think it’s just a pregnancy thing. They SHOULD all at least coordinate. Right?
RIGHT?!