Be prepared, that's the Boy Scouts marching song, Be Prepared.

[venta]

I have just finished attending to some items of correspondence. (Doesn't that have a lovely, respectable, Victorian ring to it ? Actually, I was parcelling up a birthday present for my godmother and writing a get-well card to the uncle who accidentally threw himself severely downstairs earlier in the week. But not to worry.)

Being a post-y sort of person, I have spare blank cards, and wrapping paper, and parcel tape and things like that on hand for these moments. What I currently seem to lack is scissors, which is weird because I know I own at least three pairs. And you should always know where your scissors are.

Having parcelled my parcel, I addressed it with a marker pen. A permanent marker, which meant I could write across the tape without worrying about the ink smudging off. And I paused to think: aren't marker pens great ? Everyone should have one, just in case they want to write on things with shiny surfaces. You perhaps don't need them often, but when you do they're incredibly handy.

So, this post is dedicated to the small things which aren't in everyday use, but which every household should have, tucked away in a drawer in case of need. At my parents' house there is a drawer known as The Everything Drawer, which is full of many such items. Unconsciously, I seem to have nominated one of my desk drawers here to be The Everything Drawer.

A marker pen. A ball of string. A pair of long-nosed pliers. Some blu-tac. A spare battery for that Thingy which takes an odd-sized battery. Elastic bands and saftey pins and paperclips. A box of matches. A silver-cleaning cloth.

Incidentally, I don't have pens on that list. That's because I assume a house has pens like I assume it will have windows. Yet a few times in recent years I've been in someone else's house and it's been a real scramble to find anything to write with. Who are these freaky people who don't regard pens and paper as household necessities ?

Let's hear it for useful everyday objects.

Comments

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

I'm a pencil-using person. A couple of years ago I discovered Tesco economy pencils (12 for 20p or something silly) and hit on the strategy of pre-saturating my flat with them, so that all the places that a pencil can hide are already full of pencil. I still need to repeat the exercise from time to time as the pencil demons carry a few off, but on the whole I can usually find a writing implement when I want one.

[cardinalsin.livejournal.com]

I think the pencil saturation strategy must be the finest example of taking on the laws of nature on their own terms and winning that I have ever seen.

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

On the issue of the natural habits and half-life of pencils, I think a study such as this is indicated, just as soon as I can get round to writing a funding proposal.

[cardinalsin.livejournal.com]

That rocks. Surely the suggested followup involving tracking devices must now be carried out?

[venta.livejournal.com]

That study is utterly delightful. Thanks for bringing it to my attention :)