Aging Gracefully

When I bought the "easy to assemble" pieces of furniture the other day, I was basing my skill level on physical attributes of approximately 20 years ago. Crawling around on the floor, screwing (even into predrilled holes), lifting, turning, reading directions--all of these diverse actions plum tuckered me out as I assembled one storage cabinet that looks pretty good, but has a drawer that won't close because I used the wrong screw.

And there was still one humongous 2-part storage center to assemble, but I hadn't yet been able to remove it from the back of the car as it was so bulky.

I cogitated about the ease of assembly, the weight of the pieces, and the ever-shrinking blank space against the wall this storage center was going to occupy. I dug the side trench for my yard project, sweating profusely, and asked myself, "Self, do you really want to go inside, shower, and tackle that assembly job?"

Of course, the answer was, "No, I do not."

Once I arrived at that point, the rest was easy: I backed the car up to the bed of the pick-up, which facilitated an exchange of delivery vehicles, picked up the receipt, and took the way too big storage unit back to Lowe's, which is an extremely return-friendly business. Then, I had to consider what I was going to purchase to store all the boxes and piles of precious business belongings that currently reside in the hallway and on the living room floor (protected by an old sheet).

As I considered the options, I decided to drive to Office Depot and return the stylus pack I bought for my PalmPilot as I found the missing one--and decided not to spend 20 bucks on a replacement pack! As I got back into my truck, I remembered that BigLots, which shares parking with Office Depot, has a furniture section ... and sells easy to assemble furniture manufactured by Sauder, which is "good enough" for storing office supplies.

I wandered through BigLots and noticed that in the furniture store part of the discount dealer's facility there were shelves for $30, but up in the sundry merchandise section, there were more Sauder shelves, and these were only $25. I asked for the furniture manager to explain the difference, and he said it's a sell-off; hence, the price.

Now, I don't need to know what a sell-off is and why it matters as I had just received a refund of $173.91 for the Lowe's storage unit, and I could purchase 2 Sauder shelving units for $50, a great return on my return! Feeling flush with my economic success in a falling market phase, I also added a new hand truck to my stash, capable of toting 600 pounts and costing a mere $26. I had priced new wheels for my current hand truck, and the wheels would have cost me $20--and I would have had to install them; hence, disposable hand truck marketing strategy.

I'm feeling good about my shopping success, but am writing this blog in a feeble attempt to forestall crawling around on the floor and assembling the 2 bookcases. I worked outside for 2-1/2 hours this morning, so I'm already physically past my peak, but duty calls.

The plus is that once these 2 shelving units are assembled, I can get all the crap off the floor, and that is worth whatever it costs at this point. The minus is that although I continue to age, I have stopped getting wiser and still think that I'm capable of doing all this work.

All I can say is "Thank God for Aleve!" Without it, none of this would be possible.