Thinking out of the Box(es)

I'm not much of a collector, and actually it seems like most of the time I'm trying to purge, clean out and simplify my home's storage and decoration. Especially since I've disclosed my disdain for the chore of dusting, collections seem like extra nooks and crannies for dust to settle, and who do you think is going to dust it? Right.

So call me a dusting hypocrite, but for the last 20 or so years I've slowly built a meaningful collection of boxes...ceramic, wood, stained glass, cork, ebony, china, stone, and this little miniature beauty made of guess what...horse hair!

I appreciate expert craftsmanship, so just check out this Japanese Origami box made of match box "drawers" and shells.

I can tell you exactly where I was when I bought the ones I purchased myself, or exactly who gave it to me for which occasion and the "specialness" of the giver. Instead of one large jewelry box, I keep clusters of these gems on top of my dresser to hold everything from earrings and spare buttons to special notes and little souvenirs. They are like little presents that I look at as I'm getting ready every day.

So, that's it. Someday when I'm an old lady, maybe I'll be surrounded by shelves and shelves of dusty little boxes. But they'll all have meaning, and hopefully someone will want them because they'll remind them of me, just like the piece of my grandmother's one-of-a-kind Depression glass collection.

Happy dusting, collectors!