Piles of stuff

"Have you ever noticed that their stuff is shit and your shit is stuff?"
- George Carlin

 So the in-laws arrive tomorrow.  I don't know about anyone else, but this results in frantic cleaning for me.  It's not that we're bad adults, it's just that we have a lot to do that doesn't involve a vacuum.  We also need to have two rooms ready for guests, so that means getting a lot of stuff cleared out.  Doubling the number of adults in a house is a bit of a shift.

I'm on day two of frantic house cleaning.  I want to go to the barn.  Give me aisle sweeping any day of the week.

While going through this, the hubby seems to have noticed my increasing collection of horse stuff.  I have a show this weekend, so the show stuff is running through the wash right now.  Boots, coat, shirt, saddle pad, breeches, they're all out in various stages of preparation.  Theo's scrim and fly sheets are inside so I can clean and pack them away for the winter while his exercise rug and new fleece dress sheet are waiting to be shipped to the barn.  I don't have much space at the barn as a leasor, so a lot of stuff rides around in my car.  Square cooler and irish knit are already in rotation.  Body clipping equipment had to come in out of my car, I needed a screwdriver to take the blades off.

My saddle pad addiction isn't healthy.  My new wither relief half pad from Total Saddle Fit arrived, so my old half pad is kind of floating around with my stuff.  I have a stack of pads that I just washed that need to get put away . . . somewhere.  I just got a new one from PS of Sweden and I have to say, champagne is definitely mi papi's color.  He needs a matching ear veil.  I also have five sets of polos in rotation right now.  All of this stuff regularly comes in the house for washing, making hubby stare.  Oh, and the towels I use for grooming.

The point?  I've got a lot of stuff and I can't seem to stop collecting more.  With a trip to a fancy barn coming up, I'm itching to get a Baker stable blanket to match Theo's Baker rain sheet, Baker turn out sheet, Baker irish knit, and Baker fleece dress sheet.  I also want to get new shipping boots.  I got his new show halter and lead already.  I may need another dressage saddle pad since most of mine are AP.  Should I get another pair of full seat breeches?  Will my black with pink accent full seat breeches be acceptable for a clinic?  Might be safer to get another pair in a more subdued color.

Hubby is starting to protest.  Part of today's work is to get the horse stuff under control.  The summer gear has to move to the loft in the garage and the saddle pad collection needs to get out of the laundry room.  While cleaning out my car in preparation for stuffing all of my winter gear inside, I found all of my ribbons for the year.

I don't know what I love more about this picture: my dog helping or my mismatched socks

What the heck am I going to do with all of those?  I feel bad throwing them out, I worked hard for those, but at the same time I'm not exactly a ten year old decorating her room with horse ribbons anymore.  Hubby already banned horse art from the living room. 

Seriously, how do people manage their horse stuff?  I need an intervention or a twelve step program or a magic bag of holding.  I've always struggled to contain my equipment, no matter what barn I'm at.  Right now I only have my locker which isn't particularly substantial.  I'm already in trouble with two bridles, no idea where that future second saddle is going to go.

I may have to beg and plead with the trainers for space for a trunk at the barn.  For the sake of my marriage.  If I start storing shipping boots in the entryway, I might be sleeping on the couch.  On the plus side, when I get around to buying Theo, I'll already have all of the stuff I need.  I won't have to go through the sticker shock of a purchase followed by the frantic shopping for a blanket wardrobe, a saddle and bridle that fit, and all of the other goodies that come with a new equine partner.  At least, that's what I keep telling the hubby.

Funny thing, telling him that it will all make sense when I have my new horse just makes his eye twitch . . .