{"id":21307,"date":"2023-08-08T10:23:10","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T17:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/?p=21307"},"modified":"2023-08-10T08:30:26","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T15:30:26","slug":"do-you-suffer-from-hotgs-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.4x4training.com\/w\/do-you-suffer-from-hotgs-syndrome\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Suffer From HOTGS Syndrome?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was hanging out in my garage one day with good buddy Bruce. He had a project to work on and I, well, I just felt like hanging out. (It is my<\/em> garage, after all!)<\/p>\n

At one point the conversation turned to this nasty malady that afflicts so many men \u2013 me included \u2013 which I call HOTGS Syndrome. Care to know more? Step inside my garage that Tuesday afternoon\u2026<\/p>\n

Tom\u2019s garage is stuffed floor to ceiling<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You know, Bruce, we men seem to have difficulty throwing away good stuff. I mean, look at this place. I\u2019ve got stuff everywhere and just can\u2019t throw it away. It\u2019s good stuff, of course, but I have piles of it.<\/p>\n

I start sorting it out, and I end up moving it from one spot to another spot. Any flat surface — stuff ends up on it. I clear off my work bench, and a week later it\u2019s already cluttered.<\/p>\n

Look here: On the camping side, I bought six sleeping bags and coolers and stuff for outfitting a couple groups. I keep them because I thought I\u2019d use \u2018em again. You never know when you might need it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what you mean buddy,\u201d Bruce looks at me over his shoulder. \u201cWhat if the grandkids want to go camping?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure, this stuff is organized, but do I really need it? This first rack here is all sorts of different camping stuff, including sleeping bags and tents. I don\u2019t know if they\u2019re all good tents, though.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Over there you see the bag compressors I use for work.<\/p>\n

You know my work bench. See the shelves up above? Look at all that crap. Yeah, I\u2019m organized, Bruce, but that doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t have too much crap.<\/p>\n

What is HOTGS Syndrome?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If I want to generate space \u2013 meaning I intend to buy something \u2013 I have to decide where to put it. What do I get rid of to make room?<\/p>\n

I could hold a garage sale, but I can\u2019t let go of the stuff. That\u2019s the problem.<\/p>\n

I know you have the same problem, Bruce. \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think this is a common malady that men have. I\u2019m going to give it a name: Holding On To Good Stuff, or HOTGS for short. I pronounce that like \u201chot guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remember: We\u2019re not hoarding. We\u2019re hanging onto good stuff.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a nasty flip side to this. When I do throw out something to create a little space, I immediately have something else to go there.<\/p>\n

Now, as far as letting go, the best piece of advice I once received: Take a picture of the object, then throw the object away. Hang the picture somewhere prominently, and you can \u2018enjoy\u2019 that item forever.<\/p>\n

\"\"How a HOTGS space differs from a normal workspace<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou see, Tom,\u201d as Bruce takes a pause. \u201cWe don\u2019t have piles of newspapers and magazines. We have good stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

And unfinished projects. And heaven forbid you\u2019d finish one project before starting another. That\u2019s just not the life of a HOTGS man.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlus, you\u2019d mess up the creative process. Say you have a great idea? Start it before you forget it\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd let\u2019s say you\u2019re working on a project on one side of the garage that belongs on the other side,\u201d the wise sage continues, \u201cAs you walk across the garage to put that in its place, how many projects do you see that might distract you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only that, you might have to wait on parts. You have gone on to the next project so you can keep going. If anyone asks why I\u2019m not working on a particular project, I say, \u201cI\u2019m waiting for parts.\u201d<\/p>\n

You know what? I move things from here over to there, then move that one from there over to this space. Get all done, and haven\u2019t accomplished a damn thing. Still don\u2019t have any more space than I did before.<\/p>\n

Buy pricier items to save space<\/strong><\/p>\n

One thing I\u2019ve noticed is that, in some cases, an expensive version is smaller than its cheaper counterpart.<\/p>\n

\u201cCounterpart? C\u2019mon, Tom. What\u2019s with the big word? I know for a fact you\u2019ve got more parts than you can count!\u00a0 And yet, you can never have enough. Especially spare parts. Spare parts guarantee you won\u2019t ever need that part!\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, I could replace my stereo system with something that\u2019s smaller and in all likelihood sounds better. The speakers, for sure, are smaller and of higher quality.<\/p>\n

So, when you decide to replace something, you can replace it with newer technology that\u2019s smaller, better, faster.<\/p>\n

The exception to that is the TV. It\u2019s gotta be bigger. But they\u2019re flatter, today. Think of the space you save by getting rid of that old cathode ray tube TV and just getting a flat screen. They\u2019re cheap, and you put one everywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother solution is to hang stuff from the ceiling in the garage,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve done that already. The point of this article is that men who suffer from HOTGS simply can\u2019t throw away good stuff.<\/p>\n

Take those golf clubs that haven\u2019t seen a course since the turn of the century. Or that canoe that hasn\u2019t been in the water in years. Or the racquetball and tennis rackets gathering dust in a closet somewhere. You used to go bow hunting. You can\u2019t pull back the bow anymore. But you don\u2019t give up the bow.<\/p>\n

You gave up on the sports, but you can\u2019t give up on the sports item.<\/p>\n

Garage projects simply won\u2019t get done<\/strong><\/p>\n

I come out here all the time and seems like these projects just don\u2019t get done. Oh, I have good excuses, Bruce: It\u2019s too hot in here or Mary Pat hands me a honey-do list.
\nBut even if I do get out here, I could spend hours and not get anything done.<\/p>\n

So, I\u2019m thinking of offering solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no solution,\u201d Bruce responds.<\/p>\n

Hey, Bruce. Remember what William Shatner used to say during the intro to the \u201cStar Trek\u201d episodes: \u201cSpace: The Final Frontier.\u201d You see, Bruce, we\u2019ve conquered all the other issues. We just haven\u2019t figured out how to conquer space; this kind of space.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll agree with you there, old buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n

We have all this stuff and not enough space. I imagine our kids will come in and clean it out someday. It doesn\u2019t mean anything to them.<\/p>\n

#\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #\u00a0\u00a0 #<\/p>\n

\n

Did you miss the previous articles?<\/p>\n

2023<\/strong><\/p>\n