i have the opposite problem

most people complain that they never have enough clothes hangers. my own mother suffers from "lack of hangers" syndrome, so i actually grew up with it. but something strange happened when i set up housekeeping for myself. i have a plethora of hangers. wire, wooden, plastic, the fancy types for hanging skirts and pants - whatever, i have many more of them than i can use. it's like i hang them in the closet, and after i close the door, they multiply. i throw them out, give them away, force people to take the clothes on hangers at yard sales whether they want them or not... and still, the rods in my closet are a tangled mess of hangers.

what opposite problem do you have?

Buy something new, something old goes out.

Though I've managed to keep the inventory at a level that allows 4 or 5 open hangers at all times.

And my rule applies really to my closet and shelf space, not just the hangers.

and fall asleep. Take certain painkillers and end up in pain.

And the curse just came on me. I don't wear them anymore because what's the use. Plus I always hated them anyway and at 62 I like to be comfortable, so the curse was a blessing in disguise.

Most people say "I wish I had more time to volunteer." or "I'd like to volunteer more."

I don't have this problem. I love to volunteer and I'm a pretty exceptional one...good enough that I generally don't have to do the entry-level stuff (sort books, pick up trash, or that sort) unless I want to because I'm skilled in the field and have experiences that make me better suited to more professional types of work. (I used to be a development coordinator and have backgrounds in poli. comm. and administration.) Especially in this economy, I am pretty much guaranteed the volunteer assignments and task-work of my choosing. (I like the grunty physical stuff as much as the grantwriting though. I'll always choose PR/Comm. or event planning over either.)

My problem is that I've tried to take these skills and go professional as a services contractor. I also have a group of artists & filmmakers (both looking for well-funded work they can use to deepen their portfolios and showcase talents on a large stage), Madison Ave. level designers and PR professionals (out-of-work but more expensive than these organizations could afford F/T considering they've really have only got maybe 6 weeks of work a year for them.) The idea is better services than they can provide internally at a lower-cost in a fair-trade environment. Pretty great business idea. So, I did the logical thing...I told my friends in the NPO community and asked them to recommend me to people they knew in need. They all had a great deal of work for me...and because their project was important, special and unique each-and-everyone of them thought I should do their project for free because they couldn't afford to pay me. I said " Well, pay me what you can. I have 15 prospective projects all of whom want me to work for nothing. I can't do it. It's about 60 hours a week worth of projects, I can't hire help without resources, and I have to still work my current job so I don't starve." I got 15 variations on "Actually, we budgeted nothing for "that" because we just figured you'd do it because you're awesome."

Seriously?

Especially the portraits. They love them and praise the work but they want to have it done dirt cheap or for free.

Sometimes I think it's a curse to have artistic talent. Everyone thinks since it's so easy for me then why would I charge for it?