I Need a New Thimble

Now the book is published, and I'm moving on. Literally. I plan to arrive in Lithuania in August with just two suitcases and a carry-on.In 2009 my 3BR house contained an appropriate complement of extension cords, tools, linens, gadgets, cleaning supplies.... you know the drill. When I got divorced, we sold the house and divvied up the stuff. By 2014, I shipped my possessions to CA in two moving containers. On the move to PA in 2016, I needed only one container. When I moved from PA to NJ a few months ago, a young friend and her little boy helped me load everything into a rented van. Now, as I sit in NJ, I can count about a dozen file boxes of the Best Stuff here in my room.I'll admit it's really convenient to have everything you might need available under your own roof. If you have space and can stay organized, it could be a great way to live. Just remember your family composition and needs change over time, and if you're not careful, you might be looking at a crib in the attic when you're 85 years old. Trust me, you don't need it.Why do people these days have so much stuff?My sister told me once that she read how F. W. Woolworth revolutionized merchandising by subtly changing the way people thought about buying things. She explains, “People used to say, ‘I need a new thimble,’ and they would walk into the store and buy a thimble for five cents. Woolworth’s began offering them a wide selection of things they could buy for a nickel. People would walk into the store and ask, ‘What can I buy for a nickel?’”I’d prefer to be an “I need a new thimble” person. Like Katherine, my practical, competent, creative, hypothetical friend.Katherine's favorite pants, the ones she wore when tending her garden, had been patched many times over. It was time for a new pair. She pulled out the much-used pattern and some sturdy cloth she had purchased last spring, pulled out her sewing box, and set to. She knew just what she wanted this time: pockets in the front and back, the waist a little looser, some reinforcement at the knees. She had conceived the pants one night while stirring a pot of soup. And now, one warm August evening, she had cut the pieces and was ready to begin joining them.When the sturdy fabric turned out to need a firmer hand, Katherine cast her eye over the contents of the sewing box. No thimble. She tried to remember where she might have left it. The last project had been a leather purse. Surely the thimble had been used and put back. But no. She would have to get a new one tomorrow.Well, no matter, thought Katherine. The day is getting long and I have plenty of reading. I'll only need to run out tomorrow during lunch and pick up a new thimble. I know exactly what I want and where to find it.And she did.Katherine isn't a minimalist. She sees value in having tools to do the things she wants to do. She isn't wandering into Woolworth's to see what other people's ideas are. She has ideas, and the skills to bring them to fruition. She's leading, not following. I like that.