"We might need it some day"

One of the main roadblocks people face when decluttering is the belief (usually a fallacy) that they might someday need the products in question. We used to say that all the time (still do, to some extent), and you do, too. Admit it.

That ice cream maker you haven't used in four years? What if you suddenly get a hankering for peach-mint ice cream and need to make some? That DVD of Gone with the Wind that is still in shrink wrap after 10 years? What happens when you want to watch it, but Blockbuster has gone out of business and Netflix doesn't have it?

Yes, tough choices indeed.

We have, by necessity, gotten better about getting rid of things. If we haven't used it for a while and have no prospects of doing so anytime soon, we have been able to part without too much heartache or second-guessing.

The downside to that, though, is what happens when you suddenly do need something you no longer own. I have been faced with that predicament twice in the past few days.

The first time was last week when my mom and I were making potica/kolache (Hungarian/Slovenian nut roll). We went over the list of ingredients several times to make sure I had everything we needed. We determined that all we lacked were walnuts and enough butter, so Mom walked to the grocery store to buy them.

Shortly after she left, it occurred to me that I had sold my rolling pins, sort of a necessity for rolling out dough. See, I hate rolling stuff out. I don't like flouring surfaces that inevitably need to be cleaned. I can never roll things evenly enough. The only time I used my rolling pins were for making gingerbread cookies at Christmas, and I guess I figured we could live without those for a couple years.

Anyway, I tried calling my mom, but she had left her cell phone here. I'm not sure the grocery store would have sold rolling pins anyway. I envisioned us rolling out the dough with bean cans. I wondered if  I could substitute PVC pipe for a rolling pin, but I worried about toxic chemicals leaching into the dough. (I never said I was rational.) Finally I calmed down and went to borrow a rolling pin from my neighbor. It was a win-win: I was able to roll out the dough, and my neighbor got a free nut roll.

The second instance of realizing I might have gotten rid of something prematurely occurred last night. I had made some chicken mole for dinner. The cocoa and spices remind me of Christmas, and I commented that it would be a good Christmastime meal. That prompted a discussion about last year's Christmas Eve dinner: Swiss cheese fondue. Elias didn't like it much because he prefers orange cheese. I asked if he'd like to make cheddar cheese fondue this Christmas Eve, and he said he would.

That's when I realized I sold the fondue pot.

I'm sure I could rig something up, but I'm also sure that I won't bother.

Now, do I regret having sold my rolling pins and fondue pot? No, I don't. As I have learned, I can borrow a rolling pin if I need one. True, it might be harder to find one in an RV park than our regular neighborhood, but I bet it's possible. As for the fondue pot, really, we'll live. It's best not to trust Elias with a long sharp fork covered in scalding cheese anyway.