Wannabe Clutter

I love to hear my grandchildren talk about what they want to be when they grow up. While some children stay with their chosen career path from preschool through adulthood, most children find new interests that lead to other kinds of life work.

Adults frequently identify new interest areas throughout their lives. For example, my husband started golfing in his 50's. My sister started quilting in her 60's. They were both able to identify something they wanted to do, acquired the necessary equipment and skills, and carried it through the action phase.

New interests are sometimes the source of clutter, and I call this Wannabe Clutter. My definition of Wannabe Clutter is the material that accumulates as a result of start and stop interests.

For example, Ana's co-worker is an avid cross country skier. Ana thinks the sport sounds like fun and would be good exercise. She invests in the equipment. Upon trying the activity once, she finds she dislikes it. Now the equipment, which once offered so much promise, is now a pile of clutter in her garage. Ana really wanted to be a cross country skier but never became one. For her, the activity became a start and stop interest. The unused equipment became Wannabe Clutter.

Do you know of examples of Wannabe Clutter? I hope you will share them with us.