You caught me! I’m currently in the middle of a big spring-fling with cleaning and organizing. Drawers have been dumped, cupboards gutted, closets overhauled, and dandelions warred on. Donation boxes have been deposited, dozens of trash bags full of weeds have been dumped, and I feel fresh as a daisy, and a little crazy, too! With a lighter spring in my step, I’ve begun seeing every little pocket of disorganization around our home as if it’s mocking me from under a microscope. Maybe this spring fling is becoming a fever? At any rate, when I was preparing for our family’s annual Mother’s Day Weekend Planting Extravaganza, I opened my seed storage boxes and realized I had to make a change right then and there before any more spring planting could commence.
Bleh. Why in the world would anyone ever stack seed packets on top of each other? Why would I do that? Every time I have needed a packet of carrots or zinnias these four long years, I’ve rifled through the whole lot, peeking in and around and under, like looking for flecks of basil in a lasagna.
- Seeds actually fall out this way, which means I’ve been WASTING SEEDS.
- Seed packets also get lost this way and are sometimes reordered even while still in stock, which means I’ve been WASTING MONEY.
- Stacking storage also makes it a pain in the neck to find what you need, which means I have been WASTING TIME.
- And finally, stacking seeds in a box is just plain ugly. In other words, every time I open my seed store, I have been SQUANDERING JOY. (Those minimalist peeps might even say I’ve been “stagnating life’s chi!” *gasp*)
This was serious, my friends. Money, time, beauty, and happiness were all stake. Yes, I jest, but only just.
It suddenly occurred to me, only four years after the fact, that storing seeds vertically and alphabetically could remedy my entire, seedy mess! I just needed a proper container . . .
Enter an extra sewing kit I found lying around the house. Here’s some irony: I don’t sew. I mean, I can sew . . . but I consistently choose not to, year after year. It’s taken thirty-something years, but I’m finally learning the life-changing creed of KNOW THYSELF. I’m not ever going to need an extra sewing kit. I’m barely going to use one sewing kit on the rare occasion that I actually decide to reattach a button and not just take it to Mom’s. In my defense, my mom is a sewing wizardess and enjoys the chance to practice her magic. I do it for her, really.
So, no, I’m not going to sew, you know? But I am going to sow, so . . .
Ten minutes of happy filing later and my seeds are now almost as cheerful as I am looking up at me from their little alphabetized, index world.
And so, my seeding friends, this post is just a silly little spring thing to say that if you have seed packets stacked on top of each other like I did in some dark, sad little cardboard box (or four), I implore you to turn things around and make yourself a vibrant, growing little library!
Happy planting, my sowing friends!
Love, ~Candace Arden
