Somehow it always happens with me. I am perpetually running out of fuel or my scooter breaks down mostly after dark my driving licence is never where it should be, which means I normally end up getting challaned and worst of all, bundles of clothes tumble out whenever I open my cupboard. How do neat people do it? Do they keep everything back exactly where they took it from; right from the little thimble to the dictionary! And what about the things that are no longer of any use? Do they just toss them in the bin, heartlessly, callously? I preserve everything even that shit pot tank which has a three-inch crack in the hope that it might be required one day.

Just in case. A neat person would have tossed out the toaster after a rat got stuck in it for an entire day. After all, who wants to eat a toast that comes out with the lingering smell of a rat? But I couldn't just chuck it. I reasoned it wasn't the toaster's fault that a rat, and not a slice of bread, found its way into it. So, packed neatly in brown paper, it lies at the bottom of a trunk in the store. I can never understand how people discard things. I still have that mug a cousin presented a couple of years ago -- albeit without the handle. Occupying the most important place in the store, it's now home to nuts, bolts and screws. Interestingly, the family alleges they can never find a single nut or bolt when the need arises. I wonder why.

The store has everything they may need at any time. Only, I've been told it's easier to run down to the market to buy a roll of adhesive than hunt for the few rolls that might be nestling in some dark corner of the shelves.