Friends

04 August 2011

Packaging, love it or hate it

It’s black as night here. That’s not the reason I bought a Yankee Candle diffusing thingy but I did need cheering up. I’d already bought one for one of my rooms but I wanted to extend the pleasant smell to others. Mercifully, I arrived back home before the rains came.

After a quick cuppa I set about unpacking my pretty purchase. I had at the ready scissors, a craft knife, and my trusted gripper that will undo anything except a Yankee Candle diffusing thingy. It wasn’t until I’d actually bought one that I found out how difficult it is to get into the package. First I had to remove a fancy bit of card that (I thought) was holding together a package of stiff cellophane (if that’s the right word) … sounds simple but I promise you it was a major task. Quite literally you have to fight your way in.

Next, having found no obvious opening, I jabbed the cellophane with the scissors thus creating a hole through which the blades could enter and take over. I literally had to cut off panels of the so-called cellophane before reaching bits of cardboard that held the bottle straight. That wasn’t so bad, I’m used to cutting cardboard. In fact, I’m used to cutting anything that’s cut’able since I became dedicated to making the un-recyclable waste as small as possible. I now have only half a black bag of trash to leave out for the bin men instead of several overfull bags.

Anyway, with great glee I pulled out the bottle of smelly liquid and attempted to undo the stopper. I had forgotten it was sealed with a lesser thickness of cellophane. It did have a mark though to indicate the point at which I should start this mammoth task. The craft knife dealt with that, slitting down the dotted line like it’s been doing it all its life. Using a short fingernail I managed to get some leverage and Wowee the seal unwound itself from the stopper.

Then came the really difficult part, as if the aforementioned procedure wasn’t bad enough, of prising stopper from bottle. Yes, I know I’m weak but I’m not usually that bad. I tried the gripper but it was too wide for the stopper. I wrapped the stopper in a piece of felt that I happened to have lying around, then tried the gripper again. Aha, I detected movement. I persevered, yanking the gripper left, right and upwards until in the end the stopper came out.

Here endeth the tale of unwrapping hell. No wonder the world is hard up if it has to use so much stuff to pack a simple bottle. Packaging? I hate it! But the worst aspect of the whole situation is that I don’t like the smell of the diffusing thingy and I can hardly take it back to the shop without its packaging. Can I?

10 comments:

  1. Excessive packaging drives me nuts! Not only does it cause me to swear several times whilst trying to get the stuff off, it clogs up our landfills unnecessarily. And what bad luck that you don't even like the smell, after all that fighting to get into the darned thing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. oy, you had quite the journey in opening this...ugh on not being able to take it back...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hilarious! I know what you mean about that packaging. It takes a hammer, anvil, sharp cutting tool, and lots of patience to get into the package.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sharon, I agree about the landfills. WI ran a campaign to try and reduce excessive packaging and in a lot of cases it worked. We need to do more, methinks.

    Brian, yes I was very disappointed with the smell on that particular item. Others are quite nice though. Trouble is you can't smell before you buy!

    Mona, it's a good job we're handy with tools...grins.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How disappointing to find you don't like it after going to all that trouble to unpack it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Packaging? I hate it! But the worst aspect of the whole situation is that I don’t like the smell of the diffusing thingy and I can hardly take it back to the shop without its packaging. Can I?"

    OMG...how FUNNY, Valerie. And I soooooooooooooo agree with you about the packaging of things. You need a buzz saw and hand grenade! I especially get frustrated with the things that are packaged in that tight, thick plastic, where you end up cutting your fingers on it while trying to PRY it open.

    Btw, I also have purchased those duffusing thingies and I love them! We use to see them at a candle store I use to work at.

    Have a super- sweet smelling weekend, dear lady!

    X

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pearl, it was disappointing. I've loved all the smells... especially the Yankee gel I have in the car.

    Ron, gosh I never thought of a hand grenade. Silly me... I shall make sure I have one or similar if and when I buy another smelly thingy. Have a sweet smelling weekend yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Smell can be a very subjective sense. You won't make that mistake again.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh no! You don't like the scent after all that hard work?? That's a shame. I loved how you shared this journey with us through this post. Even this topic kept me interested. You're so talented.

    I think that I will borrow your idea to cut the unrecyclable garbage down. It makes good environmental sense.

    ReplyDelete
  10. well said, I know exactly how you feel........

    Gill in Canada

    ReplyDelete

If you're new to A Mixed Bag you might find something to interest you, a bit of mirth, a story or two, or some pictures. I'm so pleased you popped in, do leave a comment if you have time.