What’s lost is found again, in my own house

Two years. That’s how long I estimate the sack of dirty clothes sat hidden in the spare closet. My husband’s bag of work shirts in a dry cleaning bag.

I found it over the weekend when I went in the spare closet to search for art supplies for Olivia’s class project. Adding to the theme of this story, I could not find the big paper because I hid it so well under the living room sofa. 

These are the work shirts.

As I was digging around the semi-messy area full of clothes, long-neglected wetsuits from a life before parenting, suitcases that also suffer from the same neglect for the same reason, a box of fabric in case one day I get a wild hair and learn to sew, and my beading supplies, I spotted the familiar green bag.

Could it be? I thought. Really? 

I peeked inside, but the first thing that hit me was the smell of musty shirts waiting to be laundered. Confirmation.

Claus’ habit had been to stuff dirty shirts in a bag, and let several bags accumulate before he made the trip to the cleaners. He no longer does this, but that’s what he was doing through 2015. Apparently, he forgot this one bag in the closet/storage area.

To be fair to him, it’s a cramped little area under the stairs; we added a closet rod on one side and we throw all kinds of other junk around on the floor. The ceiling descends diagonally because it’s under the stairs. In the very back, you have to bend over and remember not to stand up or you’ll hit your head. You can imagine it’s easy to not see clearly. 

The very small crawl space/ closet.

He’s asked me several times over the past two years if I’ve seen this or that shirt of his. It was byzantine that we couldn’t figure out where they went. I knew, though, that if we were patient enough, they’d surface. 

I try very hard not to let things get cluttered, but in a house with a young child, that is a daily struggle. Over the years I’ve definitely lost and found things right here at home.

Speaking of, those art supplies. We had large pieces of cardboard (two by three feet) that I placed under the living room sofa last year. It is narrow in the spare closet, so they’d eventually droop if I stood them up vertically. I thought myself brilliant for using the space under the couch for that.

The craft kit with glue, glitter, and stickers is in the storage closet. I should have kept it together. I should have known that out of sight = out of mind. Who’s brilliant now? 

We already went to the store to buy her the big cardboard she needed for this presentation, when I chose to rearrange the living room. When we moved the sofa, guess what we found? Right. 

Oh well. Win some, lose some. We won a new bag of old shirts! And we’ll be so ready for the next class project. If I can remember where I keep the big cardboards.

Author(s) on this Post

Diane Ako

Peace of mind By Diane Ako I like to reflect on life. Sometimes it’s philosophically. Sometimes it’s humorously. For all its beauty, life is far too difficult a journey to take alone. You need the support and connection with others to help carry you along the way. Writing brings me that connection– within and without. It clarifies my thoughts and feelings. It helps me reach out to others for advice, wisdom, or feedback. Your thoughts become your actions. Your actions become you. A wise yogi- Patanjali- said, “Speak what is true. Speak what is pleasant.” Let’s speak of things pleasant to one another and seek some peace of mind along the way. ABOUT Diane Ako joined Hawaii: In Real Life in October 2016. She likes being part of a community of local bloggers – people who like writing and sharing, like she does. Ako is an anchor/ reporter at Island News (KITV4 – ABC) in Honolulu. She previously anchored and reported at KHON2 (FOX) and KHNL (NBC), and at stations in California, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. She freelance writes for NMG Network's magazines. In between news jobs, in 2017, she launched and ran her own p.r. company, Diane Ako PR. From 2010-2014, she headed the public relations department at Halekulani Corporation, which oversees luxury resort Halekulani and boutique hotel Waikiki Parc. She’s been blogging since 2009 – before Hawaii: IRL, she wrote for The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the state’s largest daily newspaper, where her stories garnered a dozen journalism awards and an Emmy nomination. Ako has a BA in Communications from Menlo College and an MA in Political Science from University of Hawaii at Manoa. She volunteers as a board member of the Honolulu Gay & Lesbian Cultural Foundation, a Shinto shrine maiden at Daijingyu Temple, a citizen-scientist studying shrimp, and a yoga teacher at a senior center.

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One thought on “What’s lost is found again, in my own house

  • May 29, 2017 at 9:50 am
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    Sounds like what happens at our house. Hoping we’ll find it sooner or later.

    Reply

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