Inefficient Design

What does that bring to mind? The first thing that comes to my mind is the gallon milk jug. That has to be the most completely inefficient design I have seen in a while. It is near impossible to open a new gallon of milk and pour some into just a glass. No. Not just a glass. The glass, down the side of the carton, drops on the counter, etc. Try doing that one-handed with a child on one hip. Impossible. Is it really that hard to design a jug that holds the gallon of contents, AND can be easily and cleanly emptied from the beginning? I think not. I think the gallon jug design is not for ease of use and convenience for the consumer. No. It's for ease of use, and shipping and handling convenience for the manufacturers, packers and shippers. I think they designed it that way for strength and durability while distributing to grocery stores all over the country. Notice I said "country" and not "world." I seem to recall milk being packaged and distributed in bags in Canada. Something I originally considered unusual. Looking back, I think the Canadians had it right! We would take the bag out of the box it came in, slip it into a specially made "milk pitcher," snip off the corner and pour. I would even say that we got more of those "last drops" out of the empty bag than out of an empty carton. Then the bag gets tossed, and the pitcher reused. Less bulky recycling or garbage, more accurate and cleanly pouring... easy, clean, refreshing enjoyment.

There are many other completely ridiculous and inefficiently designed products out there. But the milk jug is a daily nuisance in my house with as much milk as we go through. What other inefficient designs have you encountered lately? I'd really like to know.

The Picture

Here's what I came up with. I decided not to make fence-shaped cookies, because I didn't have a fence-shaped cookie cutter. If anyone knows where I can get one, I'd still like to... Anyway. I did have a fence stamp, though. So I made the card in the shape of a house, and put the fence across the bottom. It can open up to read the rest of the letter. I decided on chocolate chip cookies because everyone likes chocolate chip cookies, right? They do look good, don't they? Mmmmm... Hopefully it's enough of a peace offering. I know, I went totally out of my way. But it was kinda fun to make everything. I haven't had much time to be crafty lately. Feel free to click the picture to see the words. And yes, they both say different things at one point. One of our neighbors has an in-ground trampoline and a treehouse-type play area with a slide, and the other one has a pond with a bunch of goldfish in it. Hence, the fence. We don't want any tragic drowning accidents this summer with four little ones who don't know how dangerous water really is. What do you think?

The Solution

I've created it. The nice, friendly, non-offensive way to inform my neighbors I'm putting in a fence. I guess I could say that it's not ME that's telling them... it's the kids! How can they get mad at kids, right? Here's what it will say. Feel free to comment with any suggestions for change to make it more amiable.

Dear Neighbors,

Our Mama has to come outside
each time we want to play and hide.

There's too many things to straighten and dust
to spend all her day outside with us.

She often likes to come out, too,
but sometimes needs a break for a few.

So even though we really like you,
(your toys are fun to play on, too),

Our parents decided it just makes sense
to go ahead and put up a fence.

We hope you don't take it personally.
She needs this 'til we're good at listening.

Love, The Farnsworth Children

This little poem will be on some cute paper, maybe all shaped like a house or something, and will arrive with a plate of fence-shaped cookies. I'll post a picture when I get it all put together. For now, I'd like to know what you think and if there's any spectacular changes you can think of that I didn't. What do you think?