OPC stands for Other People's Crap, something Ken (hubby) and I argued about this weekend.
Our house has become a haven for OPC, and it's pissing me off and he doesn't seem to care or understand what the problem is.
The problem is that people ask us if we need an item that they're trying to rid their house of, and before we can say, "No, thank you," they tell us that they'll give it to us, and if we don't need it, then we can throw it away. Why not just save yourself the trip to our house and throw it away yourselves?
Dad came over for dinner last week while mom was away on business. I was in the shower when he came so I didn't see the huge bag of OPC until after he left and Ken asked me where he can put a thermometer? What thermometer? Oh this one that your father brought over. I'm now looking at a thermometer the size of an oversized pencil. Look at the length between your knee and ankle. That is the size of this thermometer (my father sells lab equipment and is preparing to retire in a few months, hence the reason he has this oversized thermometer.) We don't know where it's supposed to go and I asked Ken why he accepted it. "Because he brought it over." Okay, so say No, thank you. "I did, but he told me that if we didn't need it, to just throw it away."
This is nothing new. This is nostalgia. My father-in-law brought Ken some of his old National Geographics that he wants to get rid of. Since Ken read them too when he was younger and still lived at home, he thought Ken would want them. So he brought them over. Brought them ALL over. Ken admits that he probably won't read them, so he'll go through some to see articles he may want to read and throw the rest away. The entire stack is still in our basement, collecting dust. Dust on OPC.
In the past month, others have tried to pass on their OPC to us with no success. Books, figurines, even pantyhose - all have been responded to with as a polite as can be, "No, thank you." Both us still have our own crap to sort through and throw away so we don't want or need anyone else's. And the funny thing is, few have been offended that we don't want them. Like it's a gift we should be honored to get.
Givers of OPC take note: We don't want what you don't want either.
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4 comments:
I deal with a lot of OPC.
I don't blame you. My brother-in-law keeps sending my husaband all of his old VCR tapes of every episode of Star Trek and each series related to it. As of this date, each box has been tossed in the trash. We don't even own a VCR at this point.
Here is my own advice, based on something I did. We had a storage shed, we paid $55. a month to rent it for what turned out to be FIVE years. Hmmmm...if I have not seen something for five years, do I NEED it? Took a few weekends, but, the shed was emptied and VERY LITTLE of what was inside was kept.
Then I started to do the same thing in my house. If it had not been used or worn in the last year, it went. I got rid of a ton of stuff and there went the clutter.
Places such as The Youth Ranch and Salvation Army are always glad to get these things. I say, put up a sign on your door saying you have enough of your own crap and don't want anyone else's crap!
Very well said!
Isn't it OPP (other people's problems)? From that song way back when. So if you two were arguing, you should each slap each other!
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