Substance Abuse

We were house hunting a couple of years ago and there was one house in particular that stood out and not because I liked it. On every wall available, there were two to three pictures. There was no blank space to rest your eyes, only intense stimulation. In another home, every room was littered with piles of knicknacks. I don’t like knickknacks. I know some of you are coo-coo for Cocoa-puffs, I mean, nutty for knickknacks. I challenge you to think about whether or not you even look at them, or if their visual cacophony is something you now ignore. For me, something on every surface is just so much clutter. Your house might as well be messy. Besides, how much of your life do you want to spend moving, dusting, and resetting stuff?

I knew someone who collected a certain type of animal figurine. She had filled an entire table. There were no spaces between them. One look at that table and I had to look away. I didn’t have my sunglasses. What a shame, some artist designed every detail of each of those characters, only to have that detail lost in the herd. I would never voluntarily approach that table to study any one of them. Having to decide which one to pick up—the critter with the basket of flowers, the critter holding the little critter, the critter with the semi-automatic rifle—I just couldn’t do it. Why would I purposely overwhelm myself?

People must look at these collections and say, “I’m wealthy. I have a lot of stuff.” I’d rather have the actual money than a herd full of critters jammed on a table. One extraordinary piece of art or one interesting object beats a house full of mass-produced trinkets any day. I’m more opposed to their proliferation then their presence. You do know that, unless they have monetary value, some loved-one will wave those goodies into a garbage bag the week after you take your last nap in the big box? Don’t get sensitive on me. One person’s critters are another person’s crap. If you want to protect your critters, you better bequeath them to someone who cares.

This is my opinion. If you love knickknacks, I encourage you to dust and polish them, display them to their best advantage, and bask in all their gewgaw glory. As for me, I say ban knickknacks. They steal your peace, your time, and your money. Why would anyone want a product that does that?

Complete the experience. Listen to Katie Melua’s A Time to Buy.

Posts come out every Monday morning, a poem every third Monday. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to receive notifications of my posts via email. Follow me on Instagram username: pollyeloquent. Thanks for reading. 🙂