my dog is…..
a hoarder. i grin as i admit it (my husband hates it) and …truth be known, i support his hoarding— i actually enable his access to supplies. ha. it’s true... and i am fine with that fact. maybe it is because i aint too shabby in the stored supplies department myself... i guess that little furry guy values his secret stash of organic bone treats, high corn content crappy crunchies, and old mcdonalds stuffed toy prizes ( missing eyes & ears & popped seam stitches)... as i see it, don’t we all secretly love our little pile in the corner, bulging shelf in the basement, boxes in the garage, messy spare room or basement where we can go get lost a few hours? our own secret stash ? ( i get the feeling you are nodding….i know my dog is nodding in agreement , perched atop a chair next to closely guarded colorful pile in the corner). ya never know when a cat might mosey by with some interest in the dog’s inventory….Cat Burglers! …we got two of ‘em around here. they are always into exploring the new crap we bring into the house. they sniff & walk on what ever they chose to... Cats are so cool. I watch my schtuff like a hawk when the garbage can is running light for the week ... my spouse enters tidy-up mode. i have watched the whistlin’ fast walkin’ arm loaded dude pitch a roll of copper wire, a pile of excess handmade imported tiles and a baggy of 1960s neckties (garage sale purchase, such a deal i got that day ) like they were yesterday’s starbucks cup from my car console. I immediately need to tie the climbing rose with the copper wire, was “just gonna” put the tiles on etsy, plus ca$h in on those vintage neckties…wasn’t i? (fact: i have had those 3 items the past 10 years front and center in the garage shelving, that 10 years is nearly 1/3 of our married life….yes 28+ years i have saved 1/4 box of left over spackle, the last 5 shims of the bundle, and every wheat back penny i run across…and gently worn shoes that didn’t fit are put in a box for "another day" around here. If they "don’t fit, donate it" is painful to my ears! i am a rebel to that line of thinking! I AM the exact opposite of every one of my friends i have ever known. but there is answer to excess personal clutter that makes slobs like me a real conversation pig at cocktail parties…….inventory + computer time= ca$h... what? E B A Y
SOLD on ebay: last year’s model of calvin klein jeans new with tags will brought $30 . A birch burl bowl from Alaska =$130. then little table lamp from 1960s sold for $230. I am fine with loot going out the door in a shipping box! NO donating cast offs in my house...Are you intrigued?
i am not going to suggest my dog downsize his collection by opening an ebay store. I see value differently than most people. the older aint always the better in reaping the unexpected big bucks. grandma’s old cut glass, floral victorian era lamp or handmade lace linens are not hot selling items. People buy for different reasons. The Mattel toy kiddle doll from the 60s or the funkiest loudest geometric print necktie would likely bring more than something sparkly. and….the sneaky items that soar with bids might be a 4 x 6 inch painting from goodwill bought ONLY for the frame (became $1000+ painting from 1909 on ebay in 1 hour! a good day ) or the plastic bracelet with ear wax color dots on black brings a 3 way bidding war on ebay and $750+ unexpectedly——all of a sudden household crap of the hoarder becomes I N V E N T O R Y!!!!! dear god, have i got inventory. and you know what? i DO NOT, absolutely DON’T, can NOT see, understand, compute or fathom this phrase my pals say to me: ”how do you find enough to sell? i wanna do that! i look around my house, i have nothing to sell”
OK first of all. what is with the people who have no clutter, no mess, everything put away, ZERO excess. but then the have an alarmed house. go figure that one.
My daughter hears a NY designer bought from me, actually several designers left my ebay store feeling victory from buying a vintage treasure unlike any other out there listed for sale in ebay land. i, of course, am validated as a hoarder of funky junk because 3 items that went to NY and so cal in the last year were a total cost of $2.75 ——brought in $77. and bragging rights. The die-hard collector on ebay asked odder questions bought immediately got his $18,000 painting for the $1000 from me (i priced on a whim that it might “be something”…..uh, of course it was something…i paid a buck and getting a $1000 was just fine with me. I am happy for the guy who now owns it california—and scored in my ebay store….why i am i so happy for him? well, because he had an eye for the rare and unique valuable treasure. i am validated, because i had it for 5 years before i listed it—asking for the moon, i thought, just in case it was rare and sought after artist. . . but best of all, the shelf where the painting sat is EMPTY! a fresh spot for a little trinket from my next yard sale quest—i'll bring it in….hoard…and then sell….one day. Oh what fun it is to have serious clutter.