Today I have a wonderful surprise for you. I’m greatly honored to have the marvelous Myndi Shafer post as my very first guest.
This fun-loving, easy-going lady has really appeared to find her voice since coming onto the scene, and many of us have watched her blog truly blossom. She’s currently working on an (Upper) Young Adult novel with a fantasy twist. Her first novel… and I simply can’t wait! That sounds like my cup of tea. But until the day her new blockbuster hits the stands, we can get our fill of her amazing humor and grace at her blog. Head on over there and check her out, as well as find her on Twitter, I’m sure she would love to meet you if she hasn’t already.
Today she is going to share with you her quandary over her underwear drawer. Yeah, I know. But honestly, you are going to love it. So as Myndi would say, grab a latte and come chill for some fun discussion…
~Underwear Drawer~
Good morning, friendlies.
I have a thousand things to do today (mostly laundry-cleaning-grocery shopping related. Basically, the scourge of motherhood), but I’m putting off the dull duties of hausfrau for just a little longer, to ask a question of you, my dear readers:
What’s in your underwear drawer?
A while back, I read somewhere (it was ages ago, and I don’t remember whose blog it was, so I’m afraid I can’t give credit where credit is due. If it was you, feel free to comment and leave a link!) about an author who, in order to get to know her characters better, went through their imaginary underwear drawers to see what they kept hidden/stashed there. I loved this idea! Even though I had all but finished the first three books of my series, I decided to do it, because it sounded like fun – I am a born snooper, and the chance to snoop through anybody’s drawers unhindered is super-appealing.
It took awhile, and was harder than I thought it would be, but it was oh-so-good. But then, in the moments after I was done, grinning at the secrets I’d unearthed about my characters, I found myself wondering: What do I have stashed in my own underwear drawer?
My grin turned to a frown as I thought about it. Nothing. I don’t have anything hidden in my underwear drawer.
Really? I asked myself. Nothing? Surely there’s something.
I immediately marched into my bedroom and dug. Nothing but undies and other unmentionables. My frown deepened as insecurity turned me to my hubby’s drawer. Surely he didn’t have anything stashed there, either. Surely I wasn’t alone in the nothing-but-underwear underwear drawer.
Wrong. Tucked in the back, in a little cedar box were some momentos of his grandfather and great-grandfather, along with a card I’d given him on our wedding anniversary a few years back.
I turned and marched into my kids’ room (I’m not proud of it). Tooth fairy keepsakes, special toys, birthday cards, all sweetly tucked into their underwear drawers. Even my three year old has treasures stashed there.
I sat myself on the floor and thought: How is it all of my family kept treasures in their underwear drawer, while my own was lacking? I mean, come on. I’m a stasher, folks. Of gargantuan proportions. We’ve nicknamed the space between the wall and our bedframe ‘China’ (aka, the other side of the world) because of my fondness of stashing things there (don’t judge). And don’t even bother trying to open my desk drawers. They are crammed-full of heaven-knows-what to the point that opening them is difficult at best, deadly at worst.
So why does my underwear drawer lack little secret treasures? Am I that uninteresting, that non-sentimental that I own nothing secret and precious enough to hide in a place few would think (or be brave enough) to look?
I chewed on this for days. It made me cranky. There was a three-day span of time where I became snarky and cantankerous as I wondered: Am I a boring, heartless person?
Then I came out of the fog. It started with a little clay heart that hangs from the lamp on my desk. My son made it for me in kindergarten, for Valentine’s day. He’s nine now, but every time I look at it, I remember that little six year old boy bringing it home with the proudest smile on his face. Next to the lamp on my desk is a pinecone. My seven year old brought it to me about a year ago. I don’t know why I’ve held on to it. He just loves nature so much, and I think that’s sweet. Downstairs in a cedar chest I keep photos from college, along with a note from a guy I had a crush on. In the linen drawer in the hallway I have a photograph of my mother, gaily laughing in an eternally happy moment. As I thought about it, I realized I have thing after thing stashed somewhere in my home. I’ve simply never thought to stash them in my underwear drawer, because my underwear drawer just isn’t big enough.
That’s been the funny thing, for me, with writing. It causes all kinds of selfinspection. Before beginning this process of putting pen to paper, of bringing a new world and all its inhabitants to life, I would have never given a rat’s tail about my underwear drawer, and what it could reveal about the kind of person I am. An unexpected fruit from the labor.
And it makes me wonder…do you stash things – precious treasures or ugly secrets – in your underwear drawer? Or do you keep your cherished things tucked in various places around your home where you bump into them now and again?
What a fun post! I totally stash things in my underwear drawer. It’s a force of habit from living in South America where the banks are not trusted. I used to keep all my money in my underwear drawer. Now that I live in the states, I keep my money in bank. (Note to all you burglers, there is nothing worth steeling in there now!) My underwear drawer has become the place I stash secret things I want to keep but don’t want anyone to know about. Old letters and pictures, keepsakes and knickknacks, mostly. It’s also become the place I stash all those buttons in tiny plastic bags that come with new clothes, because you never know when I’m going to need those!
Sweet post, Myndi! And congrats, Debra, on your first featured guest. Enjoying your blog-blossoming as well.
My whole closet it filled with personal, special items. I love the positive feelings they bring while forging into my clothing stash in hopes of something matching. 😉
My drawer is clean…..but my house is one big scrapbook! I liked the way you described it…my husband like to compare me to the ‘Hoarders’ show….but he has his own stash of beloved articles out in the barn.
Great post! At least you have a respectable underwear drawer. I have an underwear basket that sits in my closet because our room is so small. So sad. I do keep a lot of little sentimental things though. Like movie ticket stubs from years ago…because one day I will tell the story of my life completely with ticket stubs…er…
Awesome post! I have a basket on my dresser that is filled with random notes from my kids from over the years. Definitely a treasure. My underwear drawer has no treasures, unless you count antiques, like the fancy pants Victoria’s Secret underwear (circa 1992) buried at the bottom. 🙂
What a great post! I am tempted to go through my underwear drawer right now, but I’ll resist.
I do, however, stash little mementos everywhere! I like to find treasure in all kinds of unexpected places – not just with my undies! 🙂
Very enlightening blog…now I know where to search for my wife’s hidden treasures…I’ll be back in minute!
Bahahahaha!! That’s freaking classic. 🙂
Yeah my whole house is one big underwear drawer ;-). When my father-in-law died we discovered he had an underwear shed. We thought he just kept garden tools in there. Oh no. It was a giant, living breathing scrapbook. The walls, ceiling, every surface was covered in ticket stubs, photos, coffee mugs, twigs, rocks, things the kids had made, etc. It was like a time-capsule in there.
Very cool!
Great blog – you’ve got me wondering now too. I know I have things stashed all over the house but I’m going to have to take a look at the underwear drawer ’cause I’m just not sure. If I don’t find something there, I’m gonna fix that today!
Great post! I do have things hidden everywhere, including my underwear drawer. Only problem is that sometimes I hide things from myself. I definitely need to check out the drawers of my characters :).
Paige – you crack me up! You could actually scrap book those ticket stubs. I have the same problem with random pictures, ticket stubs, maps, you name it. LOL Holy moly, I am bad!
Tim – something has me thinking your wife might not be so crazy about this new found information. LOL Then again, maybe she won’t mind at all.
Melinda – was it a scene out of Hoarders? Yikes! My great uncle was like that. He never got rid of anything. He figured he would just die one day and it would be someone else’s problem. And so it was.
It is a great idea, isn’t it Isis? I need to step back and do this for my characters. I think it will be a lot of fun!
Lynne – shove chocolate in your drawer. I told Myndi that’s what I hide in mine. It’s the only place my little monkey hasn’t thought to look yet.
Oh Coleen! Those notes from your kids are true treasures for sure. Maybe make a nice book cover or something else very special from them someday. Just a thought.
Thank you, August. I’ve felt a little blocked lately, but I think the damn has opened up. I think this blog will start finding its way.
Emma – I too stash all those little buttons in there. Why is that? You might find a mini liquor bottle too. Just in case I find myself trapped in that closet for a long time. God knows why.
Ha ha ha! Karen. Too funny. Isn’t it so funny that our men will see our stuff as clutter but not their own? What’s up with that?
Julie – If you are stashing things everywhere, there is a good chance you might find something in there later when you finally get around to checking. 😉
Thank you all for coming by to read Myndi’s awesome piece. It made me giggle so when I read it, I just had to be the one to share it.
I wonder why it is we stash things in our underwear drawer to begin with, hmmm. I’m not sure I have anything it it now, do to the recent move. I think it got cleaned out:) But I do have stuff stashed all over the place in my house.
I love this guest post. I’m with Myndi – I have sentimental mementos all through my house, too. My underwear drawer is a mess, not neat and folded. Just everything tossed in. It’s funny but true that you can tell a lot about a person by their underwear drawer. My mom’s is nice and neat, everything in its proper place!
Thanks for hosting Myndi, Debra!
I am soooo impressed with the quality of care you take with your underwear. Mine is thrust in after the laundry, although I do have separate drawers for the tops and bottoms (if you know what I mean). Right just going to have a root around and see what else is in mine. Be right back.
You’ve just caused a slight domestic incident, Miss Debra.
My husband has demanded to know what I’m doing out of my sick bed and why there’s a pile of silk knickers on the carpet and what do I think I’m doing tidying drawers. I said Debra Kristi wants to know what else I have in my underwear drawer. His eyes went really wide and he stared over my shoulder. Okay, what’ve you found, he asked. A couple of packets of spare buttons and a rubber fitness band, I replied. Is that all? he said and picked up a pair of silk knickers with ‘that’ look in his eye. I said, don’t even think about it. He just grinned and added as he went out the door, Debra’s going to be so disappointed in you, I bet she’ll be expecting a box of fruit flavoured condoms. You would have been proud of me, I yelled that my WANA’s are not like that!
Although I could be wrong (!)
LMAO!
It’s a curious thing, isn’t it Kara. Give it time; things will creep back in there.
Lynn – Mine is a mess one week and spotless the next. What does that say about me? LOL It just depends on how crazy my life is at that given time.
I laughed at this post. In my lingerie drawer is a small pocket size yoga book and buttons. You know all the spare buttons that come in the little pouches attached to new clothes? I put them all in my lingerie drawers. 🙂
And Myndi, thank you for the characterization idea. I would’ve never thought of this!
Ah Debra, you are so hard on yourself. I want you to stop it right now.
Why does your most treasured momentos have to be kept in a tiny confined space. Should we judge ourselves for how much or how little we save?
It sounds like you have sprinkled your precious memories throughout your home. You have proudly displayed them, keeping them fresh in your mind everyday.
Great First Guest Post!
What a wonderful post, Myndi!! I used to have “secrets” stashed in my underwear drawer…but now most of them are in other drawers, or my cedar chest, or like you, scattered all over. One thing I’ve learned, though – never put important stuff (money, passports, gold coins, expensive jewelry) in your underwear drawer, because that’s where the thieves look first.
Stupid thieves…
Well…of course. Doesn’t everyone keep secret stuff in their underwear drawer? From what I understand, that is where it all happens! Hide money and it grows. Write down your goals, and they manifest. We all know that.
Mine has money (that I pretend isn’t there), jewelry I never wear, tokens that don’t have a home. Yeah. It’s a whole new world.
Myndi really made us think, didn’t she. And yes, she probably was a little too hard on herself. I think we can get her to ease up. You know where else thieve look Christine? Under the bed! Stupid thieves… LOL I have also been guilty of shoving money I want to pretend I don’t have in the underwear drawer Diana. But only temporarily. I usually move it to my “secret” account within a short period of time. 😀
Great post, Mindy (and Debra)! Let’s see — just like the clothes in my closet, my underwear drawer is organized like a color chart, ha,ha. Seriously. There is no mixing of the colors although they all co-exist nicely next to each other.
I also keep some fun cards from the relatives in there. Weird, I know 🙂
That’s funny! I color code too! Great minds think alike. 😉 The color coding only gets out of whack in the drawer during terribly chaotic times. Then the drawers gets messy for a while until I have time to reorganize it again.
Yikes, Myndi, forgive me! I mispelled your name, ack. Fast fingers.