Posted a photo of this table on FB as a "giveaway" although many might have thought I was wanting to sell it as I did not specify. I would like to get money for it, but I would like to get it out of this corner even more. It folds out to dining room size. I may replace it with an old, small oak roll top desk so that I have a place for a lamp. No one sent me a message that they might want it...
Stuff! Old people have too much stuff! I gave away an oriental rug last year to an animal habitat center for their rummage sale. The same pattern and size were being sold on the Internet for between $1,000 and $2,000 dollars! It was a big, heavy, old rug that was kept in a roll in the basement for years. I had tripped over it many times on my way to the shelf for paper towels. It had belonged to my husband's parents, and we had no room large enough for it. See a third of it still rolled up below. I do not know if it sold at the rummage sale. (Taking the standard deduction this year, so all this stuff is truly donations.)
We replaced the old cast iron BBQ with a new one this year and that is on its way to the thrift shop...if they will accept it. It still works but has a problem with baffles cooking evenly.
I have a collection of baby furniture from my daughter to hold for my son. It appears that my son cannot have children...so do I give away the crib and other stuff? Do I hold out hope they will adopt? Do I just leave it in the stairwell under the basement stairs?
I have too much food as well as stuff. I reorganized (did not say cleaned out, although a batch of expired stuff made it to the trash can) my pantry. I have food in there for years. How many types of rice and pasta does one need? One would think I lived through a major recession!
I am going to try to live a more Zen life. I think it is healthier to not keep things that one does not use. Life is too cluttered already.
Now I am going out to get rid of too much in the way of weeds. That I really have too much of!!!
My semi-nomadic life style helps with keeping the food thing under control. I am already emptying the freezer in anticipation of a return to VT in May. Then anything unopened in the pantry will go to the food shelf. The place where I am out of control with accumulation is my craft room, but I do have to say it gives me great joy to be in that room.
ReplyDeletewhen we finally sold the city house and thereby cutting our last thread that tied us to the city we abandoned so much stuff. We had already moved everything we wanted years previous. and then the flood helped us get rid of stuff too.
ReplyDeleteI'll take the table, but I am here and you are there. I like that Bokhara too. Ah well, I have one of my own. Baby stuff...ask her and tell her she needs to make the decision. How about that.
ReplyDeleteStuff. You know that I have been getting rid of here. It's a very lightening feeling.
I share the concern. I have two homes and love the furniture that is in each-- the art even more so. I expect our son to take the farm in the next year or less. Complication: he's been building up furniture since his separation from his wife. What do I need to take from Oregon to give him room for his stuff; or do we sell Arizona and get a smaller home nearer to Oregon? It's an age of uncertainty for me, nothing I expected to be the case at 75.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with stockpiling food... which it seems that many people (friends and relatives) do. My mother-in-law did this and had pantries and freezers, etc. filled with food (from I don't know how long). This is something I've never done. Perhaps I tend to lean towards fresh (not canned or frozen) and since there are many stores nearby, my refrigerator and freezer stay half empty. We have enough for the week... and maybe some staples (flour, sugar, tea, etc.) but that's it. But I've seen friends and family's refrigs and pantries packed to the gills!
ReplyDeleteBut I too need to get rid of "stuff"... old cameras, old phones, technical equipment that we never used or needed that came with devices, as well as old papers, records, etc. that have been stuffed away in closets for years. Then there's the things we've collected from trips and family gifts. These are the hardest to part with... they carry memories. My friend told me she quit trying to clean out all that and will leave it to her kids to deal with. She said it doesn't mean anything to them... so it will be easier for them to throw out. Interesting thought.
I am very fortunate to have a partner who likes to cook simple dishes and keeps everything fresh. He doesn't allow me to interfere, and I'm happy, he's happy. :-)
ReplyDeleteOur local area has a Buy Nothing page on FB. It is working quite well. People can also post requests. Sometimes they do fun stuff like little ask/big ask. A little ask could be a piece of pie for dessert while a big one could be a stove to cook it on, not that the two have to be related and not that all requests get filled.
ReplyDeleteAs a lover of Oriental rugs, I bet that rug is worth a lot. You might want to have it appraised before you let it go. There are resale rug dealers
ReplyDeleteTo late, I gave it to the Animal Rehab organization. It is a good cause and have reached the time in my life where money means less and less. As long as I have food, shelter and health care.
DeleteI hope they figure out its value before they sell it. I see them on eBay and sometimes people just don't have any idea of the value.
DeleteI did a lot of sorting and reducing last year. Funny how it doesn't stay done.
ReplyDeleteI have to clear out the deep freeze. Raised by parents of the Great Depression hasn’t help me when it comes to stocking up on stuff. Always too much stuff.
ReplyDeleteThere is just plain too much stuff. We all have it, and our kids don't want it, either.
ReplyDeleteMuch as I’ve been trying to clear out things too, your table is something that really attracts me. And I love that rug too. Sigh... You’ve motivating me to get started clearing up stuff again.
ReplyDeleteBuilt my cottage 11 years ago and my down scaling continued
ReplyDeleteContinue with this but find children do not want a lot I have cherished
My books I keep
WE keep things for sentimental or memory reasons, and our children do not see or feel those ties. It is OK. I understand.
DeleteI have so much I need to get into and sort out. Will have to wait until I complete my income tax. Congratulations to you for your efforts!
ReplyDeleteSpring cleaning urge, what is so sad, is that our children do not have the same emotional bond to our stuff;)
ReplyDelete