Confessions of an Avid Junker, and a Friday's Finds Recap

THE PLEDGE

I am a hoarder

But I can change

If I have to

I guess

(with apologies to Red Green and the members of Possum Lodge)

Last weekend I hauled a pick-up load of accumulated "stuff" up to my sister-in-law Claudia's house and together we put on a massive one-day yard sale. Even with all my junk, Claudia's trove dwarfed mine. (I had to say that!) Decades of dedicated collecting have definitely reared up to bite us on our middle-aged posteriors, and the stark realization was most embarrassing.  (I cringed when I heard one woman get out of her car and exclaim, "What happened here? Did somebody die?")

It was an exhausting ordeal, and the upshot is, both Claudia and I have committed ourselves to achieving a less cluttered lifestyle. No more indiscriminate nabbing of vintage goodies. It will be a strict regimen, and I will only allow myself to fondle the merchandise before resolutely replacing it on the table and stepping away empty-handed. Or mostly empty-handed. Only the best shall be allowed to come home!

In case either one of us should be tempted to err, I post these photos of shame to keep us humbly walking the straight and narrow pathway of bargain austerity:

I hate to tell you, but this isn't even the half of all the stuff we had to sell.

These two photos above were taken the night before the sale. We were attempting to set it up in 104 degree heat.

It looks a lot smaller and more respectable in these photos, somehow, than it did in real life!

 We braved the heat valiantly and by mid-afternoon, we were offering everything at half price, just to get rid of it. By four o'clock, we were giving it away. Anything to avoid having to rebox it and restore it!  The bits that were left were donated to our local hospice care thrift shop.

Okay, having come clean about my murky identity as a "junkie", I do have to admit that my husband (I'm blaming him, yes) has already hauled me off to some local sales. BUT I have been very good and only purchased the things that were (to me) the creme de la creme and I'm being a penny-pinching skinflint, to boot. I do have to have some new stuff  to put in the shops, after all!

Here's what I have to show you today...little finds for which I paid 25 cents apiece:

 

I LOVE these greeting cards!  They're huge--9 1/2 inches by 7 1/2 inches, and they've never been used. They'd be wonderful framed. I think these will sell well (when I can bear to part with them--it may be a few days) and  help raise money for Mimi the pomeranian's veterinary bills. I found these undiscovered treasures in the back of a box of children's books at a garage sale about a mile from home today. I'm surprised (and delighted) no one else snapped them up, but either they didn't find them, or they just don't like vintage. Poor souls.

Also costing a whopping quarter were these interesting 1950s ballpoint pens in their original box. (These actually were a "Friday Find".)  The ink is dried up/used up, but the value here is their collectibility. Arpege and Chanel No.5  perfumed writing pens with "14 KT. GOLD FILAGREE" design. I didn't even know such things ever existed!  I looked these up on ebay and they're definitely selling, anywhere from $9 to $26. 

I was pondering these interesting and quite old sunglasses (?) when Claudia mentioned how much these sorts of things are being sought out by the steampunk crowd. I think these date to the 30s or 40s. I shall test the waters and see how these sell.

Lastly, I got a big bundle of unused vintage Christmas cards, all the same design. Okay, I actually paid 50 cents for these, not a quarter!  But there are about twenty of them, and I'm thinking I'll sell some, and use my large Fiskar's punches to cut some into gift tags. I also have some vintage Christmas playing card decks I want to use for this purpose.

Okay, I'd better sign off for now. I've a bride's lace bag to complete, and a house that is crying out for some custodial TLC. When I finish the bag, I'll post photos--the ones I've made for the bridesmaids are really special, and I'm excited about how the project is shaping up!