Save it for 'Best'?
By GreenMoo
@GreenMoo (11834)
December 1, 2012 3:24am CST
I got up early this morning and spent some time on the computer whilst the house was silent. On the concrete floor my feet quickly got freezing, despite my socks and slippers.
So over breakfast I suggested to my partner that we drag out some of the rugs that we've got in one of the thousands of storage boxes littering the place and get them on the floor. Of course, the ideal solution would be to finish our 'work in progress' house but rugs at least seem an interim solution!
Anyway, his response was that the rugs are too good to waste and we shouldn't put them on the floors just now because they'll get spoilt.
Excuse me? I don't think I paid actual money for a single one of them, having found / acquired them over the years as they're so handy. None of them are valuable, and although we haven't got the cash to replace them if they got irreparably damaged, I don't think we'd miss them awfully. And of course they aren't doing anyone any good at all sat in a box forever more.
What do you think? Use them now and get some benefit from them, or keep them boxed up awaiting a day in the future when we may have a perfect house? Do you keep things for sometime in the future when things might be better or for 'best'? Or are you the type of person who likes to enjoy things in the here and now?
4 people like this
15 responses
@Orson_Kart (6757)
• United Kingdom
1 Dec 12
My first thought is that you should use them now, otherwise they are being wasted. However, once you take them out of the boxes you will then have a number of empty boxes, and you are going to be asking yourself, "What shall I put in these boxes?"
So unless you have something to take the place of the rugs in your boxes, I would consider holding off until you do. 
1 person likes this
@Orson_Kart (6757)
• United Kingdom
1 Dec 12
And he'd be lucky!
There were 15 of us living in a cardboard box, int' middle of road!
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
1 Dec 12
I can relate to the idea of conserving something for future use, but if we constantly do that then we will use nothing, which makes any purchase a total waste of money.
I must admit that I have heard many points of view but the suggestion that we should not put rugs on the floor because they will be spoiled is original.
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@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
1 Dec 12
That is very true and I know that concrete can become very dusty and is impossible to sweep properly. Even so, the underside of a rug should not present a quick and easy cleaning problem, unless you were suggesting using them upside down.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160491)
• United States
1 Dec 12
You know, I am not really sure, but in your case, I would have those rugs out and on the floor. Those found items can add so much comfort to your home. I have some things that I only take out on special occasions, but mostly what I have I use all of the time.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (63569)
• United States
1 Dec 12
I hear it got down to freezing the other morning, but that may have just been outside town - it was pretty cold I'll admit. But the house is only beginning to cool off. It takes a while for the slab (concrete slab the house is built on) to chill, just like it takes a while in the spring to warm up.
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@GreenMoo (11834)
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2 Dec 12
Ours is stone built, which is brilliant for the same reason. In summer it stays cool if you keep the doors and windows shut, and in winter it stays warm once you've warmed it up. Unfortunately it's half done so there's big gaps all around which the wind whistles through. The early morning is when it's coldest here and our stove has gone out. Brrr!
1 person likes this
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
1 Dec 12
It's zero at night just now, but fine during the day. The house is actually colder than outside at the moment (mid-afternoon). I should know better than to sit stationary for several hours really first thing in the morning, but those rugs will be joining me there just as soon as I can find them. In the meantime I've put a piece of cardboard down as insulation. The cats things it's brilliant!
2 people like this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
1 Dec 12
There's no reason to have something if you're not going to use it! My grandma was the same way your partner is, saving things for good. We gave her many nice things that she put away so they would not be spoiled and she never got to enjoy them because the "good" never came.
I'm tempted to do that myself sometimes. My mom gave me a beautiful kitchen towel made from bamboo, so soft and beautiful, and I put it in the kitchen drawer because I was afraid of staining it. She admonished me to use it because I should enjoy nice things instead of storing them away. I'm still using it 4 years later and I'm glad it's not in a drawer--she got to see me enjoy it and it's still my favorite kitchen towel, I think of her every time I pick it up.
Use those rugs! If not, one day you'll finally take them out and they'll be rotted and full of bugs. You'll not have gotten a bit of use from them and your feet will have been needlessly cold for years.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (47144)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
1 Dec 12
Hey, that might motivate him to dig out the rugs, looking at that bedraggled piece of cardboard after a while of use.
@changjiangzhibin89 (16750)
• China
1 Dec 12
Your partner is really a thrifty person, but I differ with him on that matter.For one thing,the rugs aren't brand new ones and even if you put them on the floor,they are not such as to be irreparably damaged;for another thing,It doesn't strike me as a good idea that you stamp your foot with cold while set the rugs aside.Why don't let the rugs serve their proper purpose?
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16750)
• China
5 Dec 12
You are so right! "While the grass grows,the horse starves."
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
12 Dec 12
Strewth, surely your comfort should come first? They aren't doing much use being stored away are they? They could actually get spoilt whilst being stored away? If it was me I'd have them out straight away, they are only mats at the end of the day and can be easily replaced as you said you wouldn't miss them. And besides mats and rugs are hardly likely to get worn out in a few weeks are they? They do have a longer life than that LOL.
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
22 Dec 12
My house is a building site, so there's a fairly good chance they'll get wrecked. but wrecked rugs are small price to pay, I feel.
ACtually, I've managed to get hold of some old secondhand ones which were destined for the bin, so I can wreck them with a clear conscience!
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
9 Dec 12
I think the fact that your feet are freezing in spite of socks and slippers needs to be taken into consideration too.
What is the good of the ruddy things sitting in storage when they can be used here and now? And why is the house a work in progress when your feet are freezing and there is stuff wasting away in storage?
We can continue to ask questions on this subject in a never-ending circle...just get the rugs and say nothing more to him. He's just a man.
Doin' the happy dance on Moo's "new" rugs will get out feet warm. @BarBaraPrz (47144)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
1 Dec 12
I agree with everyone else: use the rugs. Cardboard is a great insulator, but not nearly as lovely as a rug.
I would imagine the stored rugs are in a largish carton?
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
2 Dec 12
I think everything I own is in a largish carton, and a lot of things other people own too judging by the collection!
Trouble is that we've hauled stuff out as we've needed it, without making any effort to record what is where or keep a system going. We had to empty our last house, which we were using as storage space whilst we worked on this one, in a tearing hurry after some idiot tenant said he wanted to move in right now this instant. Then he never showed, and I'm left with the box heap from hell.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
4 Dec 12
I would use them now....and be comfy. They also wear out in storage. Ask my kids who are military and sometimes have things stored for a few years..my one daughter just got her washer and dryer out of storage and they were fine when they were put in....when they hooked them up they didn't work anymore....my other daughter is also military...their furniture was in storage for two years...some of it doesn't look so hot any more. They had to replace some of it....so use it or lose it!
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
4 Dec 12
I know from experience how poorly electrical store.
´
I´ve come to a lucky compromise on the rugs thing. We were asked to use our truck to clear out a load of junk from a house in the village. There were a few old rugs so rather than put them in the bin I put them on our floor. They were due to go in the bin anyway, so if they get trashed it´s not of any consequence. Sometimes it´s great having a big truck!
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
1 Dec 12
Er....they are rugs and belong in the floor unless they are very exotic when perhaps they can hang on the wall. We have a room full of old carpet 'just in case'. Not sure in case of what though. When the Boss and I first met I was 27 and still wearing pullovers that an aunt had knitted for me in my teens. The Boss said 'let's put these away for best"; I haven't seen them since. I wonder when there will be an occasion sufficiently grand for me to have to wear them for best again? LOL.
@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
2 Dec 12
Hi GreenMoo
I don't think I paid actual money for a single one of them, having found / acquired them over the years as they're so handy
maybe your partner has got some sentimental attachment with them and he has plans and attachments again for them being used in the finished house... in the future. You should look into this from those aspects too.
Personally, yes, things are better used at the right moment when they give us the best of their services.
I don't think I paid actual money for a single one of them, having found / acquired them over the years as they're so handy
maybe your partner has got some sentimental attachment with them and he has plans and attachments again for them being used in the finished house... in the future. You should look into this from those aspects too.
Personally, yes, things are better used at the right moment when they give us the best of their services.@GreenMoo (11834)
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4 Dec 12
Found a fabulous solution that makes everyone happy. We have a big truck and often get asked to move stuff for folk in the village. We got asked to clear a whole pile of stuff and I rescued a couple of rugs destined for the bin! Perfect solution! I´m giving something a new lease of life and our own rugs can stay safe and clean for the time being. 
@KristinaRae (11)
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2 Dec 12
Besides the functionality logic, I would like to think that every day should be considered a special day worthy of our best. If there's something really wrong with the floor, it should be fixed. Otherwise, it seems like kind of a depressing mindset to keep things stored away waiting for a "better" day, since it correlates to saying that something about today is not good enough. Life doesn't have to be perfect to be comfortable or enjoyable.
@GreenMoo (11834)
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2 Dec 12
I wish 'fixing' the floor was so easy! It necessitates fixing the house first, which we're living in whilst building, but I'm sure we'll get there eventually.
I love the idea that every day should be considered a special day worthy of our best. Thankyou for sharing that.
@KristinaRae (11)
•
2 Dec 12
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come across as saying "you" should fix the floor as I know only you can be the judge of the means and necessity for that. What I meant was that if someone has the mindset that they're being held back by something, they should either address it or be at peace with it enough to work around it, not hold off on life and/or suffer indefinitely waiting for it to change. Your solution for getting out the rugs seems just right for the situation.
Sometimes I wonder if Einstein did us a disservice with his practical story of not wanting to wear a hat in the rain because it would ruin the hat. Besides the questionable logic of why would one wear a hat out in rainy weather that can't stand up to the rain in the first place, replacing a hat would be cheaper than treating bronchitis or any other resulting illness. It's the same issue with your rugs, I think. Even with worst case scenario, the consequences of lost rugs would likely be less costly in the long run than the consequences of unnecessarily cold feet.
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
1 Dec 12
for sure saving for the last and all there time we need to keep changing it for sure all the time and also make sure the waste needs to be evaded
