Winter Sports OCD and Addressing the Situation

I tend to be a collector of things, something that drives R crazy. It’s not an issue of spending too much money because a lot of the stuff we either get for free or for next to nothing at the Listen. However, the stuff can really pile up, and R is not shy about expressing her disdain for the clutter. I can’t say I blame her, but it’s not easy gathering equipment and making sure 4 people are properly equipped and prepared. To compound the matter, in numerous situations, I am venturing into new and unexplored areas, at least for me. This is especially true for hockey and to a lesser extent, skiing.

Now I’ve skied my whole life, but when you’re a kid, you don’t give a moment of thought to the equipment. That’s the parent’s job. All I had to do was put on the boots and hit the slopes. Even as a young adult, I just bought a cheap pair of skis and boots and went skiing. I wasn’t a stickler for high tech stuff, and I couldn’t afford it, either.

Since becoming a parent who is now in charge, I’ve had to be fairly diligent in order to stay on top of the equipment game. If we had unlimited resources, it would be no problem, and we could simply go out and buy new equipment, but that’s silly and wasteful, especially for kids who outgrow stuff every year. Plus, I’m still convinced that spending a load of cash on skis or snowboards is a complete misguided, and makes no difference in how you ski, but let’s not go there.

The process of scouring yard sales, thrift stores, and ski swaps yields amazing finds, but I tend to grab stuff up if it’s free because I figure it’s better to first see if the kids or adults can use it before rejecting it. This is where my OCD really kicks in and nowhere is this more apparent than with hockey equipment.

In my defense, hockey is a whole new world for me. I never played, and never really paid much attention to the sport. To complicate things, there is so much equipment a player needs, it’s crazy, and it can get expensive. So, when I’m presented with equipment for N or even myself, I grab first, assess and ask questions later. I figure I can always unload it at the Listen Center at a later date. The problem is, now we have bags of equipment, and it was mentioned to me that when I was done with it, the person who gave it to me said they’d like it back, so I can’t just unload it.

As you might have guessed, this is a source of consternation and angst for R, who wants to just jump it all in the trash. Plus, used hockey equipment can be a little unappealing. Plus, now that I’m considering hockey, I need to start hoarding equipment for myself. Preparing for winter sports could cost me a little domestic bliss.

Now that I’ve blabbered on for too long, I can get to the point of my post, and that is that if I’ve learned one thing, it’s that organization can make your life a better place, especially if your significant other is an organized person and you are not. Not only will the effort be appreciated, but the reduction of clutter will go a long way in promoting domestic bliss, and I’m all for domestic bliss.

With this in mind, I’ve set about making some big shelves. There is already a huge shelving unit that the previous owners had built, and we never use it. I decided to store a lot of the summer stuff (chainsaw things, farmer’s market stuff) as well as excess sports equipment over there. Since the basement gets a little damp in the summer, you don’t want to put too things like clothes, but I found a spot near the top of the stairs that would be perfect for hockey equipment. Best of all, there are already studs there, so all I have to do is nail in supports and lay a board over it.

The question is, how long will it take me to do just that? This should be good. Until then, thanks for reading.