Friday, August 19, 2011

The Crossroads



{Gorgeous beaded Jerusalem bag bought at an Indiana Estate sale for 50c!!}



Oy vey! (translation: Yiddish exclamation of dismay meaning "oh, woe")...that is pretty much all I have to say for myself and my lack of blog expression this summer. I have no idea where summer has marched off to, but I miss it already.

Let's see...I never finished my GA thrift experience, started my summer experiences or even showed a teaser picture or two. I just keep running out of hours at the end of a 24.

Part of my busy-ness lies in the fact I am decluttering. Sigh. I need to get the main house cleared out of my mess and get the remodeling projects completed. Of course, it will be a lovely house just in time to sell it to someone else. I am also working on an eviction at our rental house. No payments since April. Ball is always in their court, but I am so tired of running a charity house for someone who just doesn't manage money well. Another sigh.

I also am working on my closets. I have gained 15 pounds since moving to Louisville and I am having major issues getting it back off again. That pesky time thing again, but I really need to get my butt back into the gym. Dieting alone is just not cutting it. So, I have cleared out the closets of clothing that just keeps taunting me with its small size. Pointless to keep items I will never squeeze back into (I'm keeping a couple of vintage items that I have a chance to get back into and my regulars).

I really need to have a yard sale or try my hand at Etsy/Ebay, but, reality seems to be, I am keeping time between two cities and a very demanding job and will never get to either one. So, much of my thrifted treasures are, simply, returning to the thrifts. Boo hoo.

Earlier this busy week, I visited a person's home in the course of my job duties. I fell absolutely in love with this person's home decorating style. He is obviously a thrifter and his apartment, an upstairs flat, reflected such a great vintage modern style. I saw a couple of "themes" running through the place, such as bird prints, but otherwise, his place was quite eclectic. This is my absolute favorite home "decor". After I left, I kept thinking why can't I decorate in that manner? I can thrift great things, no problem there, but I just can't seem to focus on a "style", even eclectic; I am all over the place! My house looks junky, not stylish in any sort of way. I am really trying to figure out what I lack. I am thinking patience, organization and cleanliness are the attributes holding me back from a gorgeous home. I constantly have laundry to fold on the couch, toys all over the damn place, and paper clutter on the counters and table. I really need to master these areas. My apartment is the same, so I ma positive I am the common denominator to its horribleness.

I love seeing all the treasures people on the 'net find at their local thrifty sources, but I am wondering where and how do they stay in control of the stuff? I have hoarded/purged many times in my life. Donated or sold wonderful vintage goodness that just sat in boxes or cupboards or basements. When I buy it, I usually have a nugget of an idea for the object, but, rarely, do I do anything with it. I always seem to be in mid-project. For example I have a great lamp I thrifted at least 15 years ago. I found it in the barn covered in cobwebs and hay dust. I brought it up to the house to rewire and it has sat in the sun room now for almost another year. I have to set boundaries at some point. I see, once again on the Internet, the products of creativity of repurposing and I am constantly in awe, not just by the product, but by the simple fact the person found the energy and time to follow through on a project. Am I alone here?

OK, enough whinging for the night. Sometime this weekend I really hope to share some thrifty things with you all!

1 comment:

Kylie said...

Hi Gina
We have finally decided to take the bull by the horns and start renovating this place properly. Yay! I am excited because we have lived here for nearly two years and it still doesn't feel like home as all of our special things are stored away etc. This also means that it is time to take stock and stop buying stuff just because I like it , or it's quirky, or it's to cheap to leave behind etc. etc.
I am going to have a major, major clean out...big garage sales ahead and start a little online shop to get rid of some of the stuff that we don't really have room for and that we don't totally love or need. Anyway, this is turning into a l-o-n-g comment so I'd better stop, but I hear what you're saying. Take care x