I broke my New Year's Resolution... - Page 2

Julie928 · ‎04-08-2013

@Susan Louise ~ Pier 1 is only about 10 minutes away! I really do love the things in there. I'm not much for summer decorating so I figure once the Spring items are gone I should be safe ~ until Christmas in July, lol.

But seriously, I need to take a breather from the decor items. You can only display so much, then there's the storage issue. It's supposed to be in the 40's here this weekend so I am hoping to purge the attic of more things. Wish me luck! :-)

BornToShop · ‎03-10-2010

So @Susan Louise, if you broke your resolution, then I get to, lol! I am taking a well deserved vacation in the next couple of weeks & I am committed to purging all my Halloween decor. I have a lot from when my son was home but I am now a Coastal to Christmas decorator now; no in between. My only issue is my extensive collection of Jim Shore Witches. I am in a quandary about those.

GCR18 · ‎07-03-2013

Good job purging. It feels good to be organized. I have room for storage, but don't want to store a lot of stuff. Less is more.

Susan Louise · ‎03-14-2010

@BornToShop wrote:
So @Susan Louise, if you broke your resolution, then I get to, lol! I am taking a well deserved vacation in the next couple of weeks & I am committed to purging all my Halloween decor. I have a lot from when my son was home but I am now a Coastal to Christmas decorator now; no in between. My only issue is my extensive collection of Jim Shore Witches. I am in a quandary about those.

@BornToShop I can only advise based upon how I made decisions on what to purge...

Ask yourself:

Will you ever use *fill in the blank* within the next couple of yrs? (no matter how much $ value they have or even sentimental value)

If you narrow your collection down to just one or 2 of your faves, will they ever see the light of day again or just take up prime real estate out of sight?

I take pics each season/holiday I change decor. This way it makes whatever the piece is easier to purge/let go...

If you are worried about losing all that money spent, another view/reason why taking pics helps. It shows you used/appreciated the pieces and still can by having the pic.

Ask yourself if having the space/removal of clutter is worth more than the clutter...

The ways to get any amount of money back for me was just too time consuming and would take additional space...like selling on EBay and having to keep a storage area just for boxes and packing materials. I looked at it as my time is more valuable than whatever little I could get from selling the pieces I purged.

Same holds true by having a garage sale. I keep thinking of all the folks who go to them and try to knock down the prices even more! LOL I remember reading online about one lady who was not happy with buying something for a dollar and was only willing to pay 25 cents.

Think of all the work spent hauling out all the stuff in the garage/driveway to earn just pennies to the dollar anyway...no thanks. But that's just me.

Additionally, I took pics of everything I purged so getting back about 15% from taxes is better than nothing...

HTH

NycVixen · ‎10-15-2010

Enjoy. I've been spending way more than usual revamping my wardrobe and I've spent more than I should but after surviving 2017, one of my hardest years on record, I deserve it. I've slowed down and I will most likely put most of the money back this year but I'm enjoying every single item.

Those plates are beautiful. My advice which you most likely already do, is to make sure you don't purge older items simply because they came first; make sure you keep the best items regardless of when they were purchased.

I've found that I may stop appreciating what I already have and then upon a revisiting, I love them more than before. Happened today with a pair of earrings.

~Live with Intention~

ECBG · ‎01-08-2011

@Susan Louise,It's ok that you broke your resolution. It's a guideline, not shackles.

Your new items are beautiful! Enjoy happiness! It's often in too short supply!!!

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@qualitygal wrote:
@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:
It is a necessity to have dishware for all seasons!
Oh no, than I am a failure, I sure don't. LOL. Send me to my room.

@qualitygal

No, punishment isn't necessary, we must 'retrain' you!

There will be a shopping trip to the dish store in the near future and we will give you a complete education on how to over obsess on dishes, the minimum amount needed for each season, and even a graduate course in having an over supply of table linens to be sure you can coordinate all those dishes! LOL

Rest assured, you will be instructed by the best, as I believe many of us have earned our PhD in this field!

tsavorite · ‎03-09-2010

@Susan Louise wrote:
...and I feel fine...LOL

RED FLAG WARNING: Winded post...

It has been nearly 2 weeks since I posted last. I have finally come up for air after spending (what seems to be) endless hours purging/cleaning. The biggest chore was the basement and it is now complete and ready for setting up for sowing seeds.

When I started to put away our holiday decor I was faced with a nightmare. For those that have kept up with a lot of posts I have written since CIJ last year...including listing in one of my holiday pics threads the majority of new decor I bought, it was A LOT!
On one hand, I have no regrets since they are all wonderful pieces I am keeping...

HOWEVER, The amount of stuff I had to purge in order to make room for all the new treasures was just off the charts!!! I do not EVER want to go through that insanity again.

My purging this time was like no other purging. This time around also has given me the best perspective on just how I can 'maintain' all that I have accomplished. I have finally turned a corner and view space more valuable than 'stuff'. How?

I'll use my collection of dinnerware as an example...
Last month I purged about 70-75% of the dinnerware I collected over the past 3-4 yrs...all 3 shelves in the basement and some of what I had in the kitchen...enough so there is no dinnerware in the basement and it is now all in the kitchen.

In hindsight...what in the world was I thinking to aquire THAT much dinnerware anyway...

I posted pics on a thread in the home forum of the newly arranged/cleaned kitchen cabinets showing the dinnerware I had left. Funny thing was I still was not satisfied with my purge and purged even more at 2 more times last week. 1st time was to remove about 2 tall stacks of dishes, and a couple of days ago to purge more plates and mugs. I'll post updated pics when I get a chance.

Anyway, when I finally got the amount of dinnerware down to what I thought was reasonable, I noticed I had solid colors of green & white, Fall and Holiday but no real Spring/Summer - type...other than 3 mugs...one each of a Monarch, Hummingbird and Meadowlark...all of which I had for many yrs.

I not only wanted, but NEEDED just a few new pieces for Spring/Summer. I REALLY NEEDED a change...especially a new mug.

Although I hadn't been receiving any emails from retailers anymore...unsubscribed to all of them, 'google' still had this memory of sites I had visited and an image of the botanical dinnerware set at Pier One kept taunting me when I was on the pute.

I reasoned with myself and said that if I purchased new pieces from this set, I had to purge even more...which I did. I ordered 2 mugs and 3 salad plates. I purged 6 mugs and 10 more plates.
Why? to really instill how I am working on permanent changes when I bring anything new into this house!

In the past I would purge a lot, but never really to a point of 'reasonable amt' .

Anyway, today I just got the pkg from Pier One with the 'botanical garden' 2 mugs and 3 salad plates (just enough for DH & I and brought the order to over $49 for FREE S&H) and I couldn't be more pleased. The 'English garden' type of flowers look just like our gardens and the pieces are quality. I LOVE these pieces!
The salad plates are on the large size, so wonderful for DH & I for lunches with sandwiches and fruit....no need to get the dinner plates or bowls. I'm looking at my mug now filled with coffee and it's just making me smile...such a bright spot to remove some of the winter dulldrums and will be using from now til Fall...just very happy!

Below are pics of the mug and salad plate...

OH MY those are so beautiful! I wish we were having warmer weather here but these would cheer me up...going to look for them at Pier 1...enjoy!

Susan Louise · ‎03-14-2010

@Julie928 wrote:
@Susan Louise ~ Pier 1 is only about 10 minutes away! I really do love the things in there. I'm not much for summer decorating so I figure once the Spring items are gone I should be safe ~ until Christmas in July, lol.

But seriously, I need to take a breather from the decor items. You can only display so much, then there's the storage issue. It's supposed to be in the 40's here this weekend so I am hoping to purge the attic of more things. Wish me luck! :-)

@Julie928 We'll be getting a lot of snow between Sunday and Monday...anywhere from 3-5" to 5-8"+ depending on the track of the storm. It looks like it will be headed your way a day or 2 later depending on where you are.

Hopefully you won't have the high amounts predicted!

Julie928 · ‎04-08-2013

@Susan Louise ~ I hate to say this, but I would love a good snowstorm right about now. It would keep me indoors and keep me on track with my project, lol!

Whatever comes your way stay safe & warm, my friend!