Gas or Family

Currently we are faced with a dilemma; go to a family reunion and let our checking account go negative on buying the gas to get there or stay home and hope we’ll be able to go next year. I hate making these choices.

After asking a coworker to swap a couple days at work to be able to go to the reunion, we decided to become a little more serious about an upcoming family reunion. However, as luck would have it, we simply won’t have the money to drive there and back. At least, not from our current funds in our bank account. That sucks. Especially since we also will have the boys that weekend and they’ll get to meet more of the family.

I suppose that we could always hope that my husband makes enough money at the garage sale today to possibly fund the part of the gas portion of the trip, as it would be doubtful to make the whole amount. But then again, that would be if we sold practically everything, and let’s be honest, how many do that during a garage sale?

Old Fabrics and Crafts

Some people hoard stuff. I hoard crafts.

Yesterday while going through stuff at the old house after work and tagging it for tomorrow’s garage sale, I came across a bag of old fabric I’d never even touched. More than likely it was a gift from someone. At first I thought I’d use it, but years later as we were packing up stuff to move I left it behind to sell. Now I’m torn. Curiously, I’m wondering if I should go ahead and try to sell the bag or take it home and place them on the bookcase with the rest of my fabric.

Then I looked at a bolt of cotton suede I bought for ten bucks while I worked at Crap-Mart and wondered if selling it was the right thing to do. After all, it is quality twill-backed fabric in a cream and sage checkered pattern (large two inch squares) and could probably be used to make something, I just don’t know what. Should I keep it because I might use it?

Boxes of beads, pipe cleaners, yarn and the likes are all still awaiting prices too. Hundreds of dollars worth of stuff, most of which unused. I think growing up poor has messed with my psyche in matters of getting rid of crap, probably because I know how much this stuff cost and I know how guilty I feel for not using it. But then again, it was money I spent when I had money, mainly in high school and college while I was still living at home. That means I should just get over it, break out of this funk, and sell it since it’s been fifteen years or longer. Easier said than done.

So here is the plan; put it all out for sale and whatever doesn’t sell donate to our church. That way if it sells, I’ll get some money back from my “investment” and if it doesn’t, I’ll still feel okay about donating it. Except for the cotton suede checkered fabric bolt… I’m keeping that.

Old House

Yesterday on my lunch break I went to the old house with plans to start tagging stuff for a garage sale. A leaky water heater decided otherwise.

The water heater had been slowly leaking for the past year, pretty much since before I fixed it when it needed a new thermostat and element. However, the leak was more like water buildup around the base and easily remedied by a quick toweling every now and then. Seeing a stream of water come out of the garage when I pulled up to the driveway made me assume the worst, but fortunately it looked like it had just started to leak out.

So I moved the stuff aside to get it all out of the water’s path and called my husband to tell him the news. He was not amused. I also noticed that our lawn chairs, some of which we were planning on keeping had been taken as well as the old umbrella. A quick peek over the fence to the neighbors behind us found them in their lawn. While it doesn’t bother me that they had them, it was still bothersome they took them, but oh well. More junk we don’t need. Besides, I had a goal to drain the water heater and needed to locate the hose in the jungle formerly known as our backyard.

As I was pulling and yanking the hose I wanted to use, it became quite obvious it wasn’t coming out without assistance, mainly of the weed and grass removal type, so I abandoned both of the non-kinking hoses in favor of the one I could actually get to. By the time I attached it to the water heater to drain it, I decided I wanted nothing to do with pricing crap to sell. I was far too pissed. Pissed at the fact that the water heater started leaking. Pissed that someone took our stuff, even though it was stuff we’d probably end up selling anyways. Pissed that we were in the situation we are in. I’m ready to move on, and the more I go over there the more I find myself both wishing we never had to move in the first place while at the same time I never want to go back there again.

Anniversary

Today is our fifteenth anniversary. I’ve got nothing.

Since we had the kids since Sunday night until last night, it was practically impossible to plan or figure out anything for my husband and I for our anniversary. Albeit, I’m working all day too, so that puts a damper on plans until this evening anyway. And with no rain in sight he’s thinking today and tomorrow would be a good time for a garage sale. Alas, I’d agree, assuming we had anything ready for such a sale, which we don’t. We’ve barely got a pile in place. I have no clue if we should even bother doing anything other than packing and maybe getting stuff ready for a garage sale tomorrow at least. Oh well. Happy Anniversary!

Packing: Part 2

Packing is hard work. Especially when you realize you’ve already thrown away stuff you no longer want.

Now comes the hard part. I’ve cleared out under the futon in the craft room and so it is time to open up the closet and start going through its contents. I don’t think it is a battle I can win (I almost wrote ballet instead of battle. Hmmm… that might work…) With so much stuff crammed into the closet it is near impossible to open, let alone be able to get to most of the stuff in there. Alas, I’ll have to hunker down and hopefully find some stuff to toss or sell. It shouldn’t be too difficult, even if it means going through boxes and taking out things I no longer wish to keep and putting the stuff I want in them. Of course, that is also assuming that I didn’t already do that four years ago when I completely overhauled the room. Then again I still haven’t used quite a bit of the stuff in there, so maybe this will be another excuse to purge.

There are a few things I’m wondering if it is worth keeping, like stuff from our wedding. It was five years ago and I still have all of the votives (well, those that I haven’t taken out over the years to use, anyway) and even the leftover bubble tubes. It might be time to throw out the bubbles and donate the votives. Oh my gawd, I just realized that our wedding was five years ago, which means this will be our fifteen year anniversary! Eeeek! What is the traditional Fifteenth Anniversary Gift? Crystal? Or should I go with the Fifth Anniversary Gift of wood? Ugh…

Anyway, back to packing, I’m pretty sure there are a few things I can think of that’ll need to be thrown away. Namely, the accumulated gift wrap we hardly use. If my husband is serious about having a garage sale this weekend (and week… it’s Spring Break next week here, after all) then I suppose I should get some stuff ready for that. Like old throw pillows I was going to repurpose by making new shams for. And beads. Lots and lots of beads. Now I’m getting overwhelmed again. I better stop before I simply shutdown and get nothing accomplished.

Stuff

With the move only a couple months away, there are a few things to think about. Of course, the one at the top of the list is that we’ve got a lot of shit.

I mean, let’s face it, any time you move it is a time to purge what you no longer need or use or want because, well, why would you want to take it with you to your new place? When we moved into this house we really didn’t have that much, however after over thirteen years we have acquired quite a bit. Yes, we’ve had garage sales and Goodwill donations once a year and gotten rid of a lot of junk, but we still have a ton of stuff we use regularly that I don’t think we’d be able to fit into a new place, especially if that new place is (GASP!) an apartment!

Ideally we’d find a duplex or a rental house with a single or double car garage we could use as storage. Heck, there are some apartments that have garages too, which would also be good for storage, but not so much for a Great Dane. Okay, so it’d be fine for her but more work for us to have to make an effort when she needs to be let out to go potty. I guess the thing is, we will need to downsize no matter what because there is just way too much stuff in this house as it is, and it’d be quite doubtful we’d find something larger for the amount we can afford to pay in rent. Alas, I suppose it will all come down to wherever we find ourselves a new place to live.

Of course, the plan is to be able to move a couple weeks before the house sells at auction, or as more likely the case, reverts back to the bank because it is highly unlikely to sell at all in this market. That way we can take our time moving stuff in and be able to figure out what will not fit, which will then be sold in an estate sale type deal. It’ll be April, so I’m sure people would totally appreciate being able to shop inside the house rather than just a damp and leaky garage. Ugh… the thought of moving at all seems particularly daunting, however.

I suppose the best way to look at it all is that it is just stuff. Replaceable. Obviously there are some things that we can’t part with for sentimental reasons, but a majority of it is simply material, which in my craft room closet, this is quite literally the case! If I were a smart person we’d start packing stuff we know we want to keep but won’t use before we move. Again, this is if I were a smart person, but alas, I’m a procrastinator, so it’d be a miracle if anything even got boxed up in the first place.

Uninspired Quilting

It is time to get back to working on this quilt project I started last month. I just wish I had some motivation.

Thinking I needed to do something with all the excess fabric in my stashes, I pulled out the fabric for a quilt I intended to make four years ago but, well, never got around to actually doing anything other than cutting squares. Anyway, so I created a pattern that worked and cut the pieces further to fit said pattern and sewed up all the squares and most of the rows. That should recap nicely for my not-so-daily readers. Now I’m thinking I have got to get the top at least put together as I’m tired of looking at this project lying in my dining room.

I know that part of my reason for delay is that it I’m not keeping it or giving it away, but plan on selling it. I guess the Profit Motive isn’t such a motivating factor as the government would lead us to believe… at least not with me. Perhaps I’m not the best business person, but when I feel a personal connection with something it works, and when I begin a project with a disconnect it doesn’t so much. I know when I make cakes I feel personally vested in the project because I know what it will mean to the recipient. Methinks I need to rethink my rethunk.

While my partner and our friend were running a garage sale this last Saturday, I kept looking through the garage and house finding stuff to sell. I remembered we had a bunch of old wooden thread spools from textile mills in a box we had used as candle holders and priced them and put them out. Right after doing so I went inside to check what they were going for online and quickly gathered them all up, cleaned them of any wax residue and posted them on my Etsy shop. Funny, that was definitely motivated by profit, so what is my issue with this quilt?

Perhaps the underlying issue is that I originally intended this to be for a very good friend of mine, but some of the colors she dislikes and the patterns really aren’t her style. The more I look at them the more this becomes obvious, but four years ago I thought it would be perfect. Maybe after I get over that it’ll be fine and I’ll be able to finish the project. Or perhaps rethinking its purpose from a regular quilt to maybe a picnic blanket would help. Then again, maybe it could be a multipurpose quilt and I will just have to figure out how best to advertise that. I guess this will be a good learning experience in the future, but during the present it is just damned annoying.

Prepping for a Garage Sale

Today we are pricing and organizing stuff we plan to get rid of along with stuff brought over from our friends’s old house they just moved out of. What fun.

Garage sales are, well, annoying in my world. While I like going to a few of them every year, actually having one is a whole different matter. Then again, this was all before both of us were unemployed and could afford to simply donate our unwanted stuff to Goodwill. The goal this time is to hopefully make a little money, which means a little more work.

Cleaning up items for sale seems like a no-brainer to most, but we’ve never done it. Usually we would just put a price sticker on it in all its glorious grunginess and wonder why nobody would buy it. Of course, some items really should just be thrown away if they are too far gone or at least put into a free bin for stuff that might need a little work.

Personally I can only think of a handful of items I’ve got in the garage now that I can sell and most of those are bagged up for a trip to Goodwill that never came to pass. Oh sure, we have a couple furniture pieces to get rid of, but seriously I think a majority of our stuff is sci-fi collectables. And by collectables, I mean action figures. Anyone interested in a Mulder and a Scully action figure? Perhaps Han Solo or Yoda? Star Trek comic books? The joke is on you if you think I’m kidding.

But alas, this morning our friends are coming over to get their stuff all priced and set up and we’ll do the same with ours. All this in hopes that we not only empty out our garage, but add some funds to the checking account.

Garage Sale Finds

Do you ever take a look at a garage sale from the car window and judge whether or not to even bother getting out and inspect the merchandise closer? Unless you are in a hurry, why not get out and see what they have as you never know what you will find.

While driving around to check out a few garage and estate sales on Friday before we went to The Lion King, our first yard sale we pulled up to I said, “It’s all fishing stuff,” and sure enough it was. But as my partner was looking for a new tackle box we checked it out anyway. His mom said she’d like to get one for the boy who couldn’t come because his parents honestly believe that they would all go to hell if the kids saw The Lion King as he likes to fish too. The prices seemed a little high, until the seller informed them to open the boxes which were all loaded with brand new tackle. He said when G.I. Joe’s went out of business he snatched up a great deal on fishing gear. Suddenly the $25 and $15 prices for the tackle boxes they were looking at didn’t seem so bad considering they had a couple hundred dollars worth of new tackle in them so they paid for their stuff and we continued down the road to the next one.

We drove a bit and followed some signs to the next garage sale, which when we pulled up had a makeshift banner proclaiming ANTIQUES. Walking up the driveway into the garage we came upon a beauty of an old sewing machine that looked a lot like the one my grandfather used to use. But since none of us needed a sewing machine I just admired it and we moved on to look at some of the other stuff the lady was selling. My partner’s mom of course found stuff she had to have and my partner was back looking at the sewing machine again. It’s beautiful vintage black gold styling, the solid maple table it was attached to, the fact that it was plugged in and a piece of fabric in it to test it out, the $35 price tag. After his mother paid for her stuff, we all were talking about the machine and the lady said she’d take $30 for it or for $35 she’d throw in the bench, which she quickly went into the house to get. I still said I want it, but I don’t need it, and then the lady took the seat off the bench to reveal a dozen different feet, at least twenty bobbins and tons of other sewing stuffs. My partner’s mother handed her $35 and said, “We’ll take it.”

Well, my partner’s mother drives a Jaguar and there was no way the machine was going to fit in the trunk, so I gave the lady my name and phone number and said I’d be back in a couple hours to pick it up. We did, however, put the bench in the trunk and continued our garage sale adventures. I offered to get cash to pay her back but she insisted on not accepting any money, touting that it was too good of a deal to pass up. Well, after picking up the machine I decided to research a little more on this particular model and dated the machine to be built in 1948 in Elizabeth, New Jersey and also found that in top-notch condition these machines sell for between $50 and $100. The tables sell for about $10, maybe $15 if you have the coordinating bench. Okay, so this wasn’t that good of a deal, but the machine is still in perfect working condition.

So then I had to test it out. I plugged it in, turned on the light and pressed the knee pedal to start sewing, fiddling with the various stitch lengths and it seemed to sew perfectly on both the front and the back. Then I figured it was like my 1963 Singer Touch & Sew in that moving the stitch length lever all the way up made it stitch really close and wanted to see exactly how that was possible as the 30 stitches per inch length was closer than I’d ever use and it started sewing backwards! I know this seems a geeky thing to get excited about, but I’ve never used a sewing machine that actually sewed backwards and forwards and now I can’t wait to get it cleaned, possibly serviced and start using it, mostly to see if this beast can handle quilting. It only does straight stitches, but if this really is like the one my grandfather used for his upholstery work, I’ve got a feeling it’ll take it like a champ.

Cleaning out the Closet

Do you ever look into your closet or wardrobe and think to yourself when the last time was that you wore a particular article of clothing? If a date from this century doesn’t pop into your head, it may be time for a trip to Goodwill.

After we installed a new closet system, one that allowed for our clothes to all fit into the closet that is, we probably tossed out a good third of our clothes that we no longer wore into two piles; donate and garbage. If it was in fair condition it went into the donate pile and if there were holes and tattered edges it went into the toss pile… except for a couple of my old button up shirts that I really liked the fabrics and plan on cutting them up to make a quilt out of.

Don’t underestimate a second life for some of your clothes. If it is still wearable then donate it or have a garage sale for someone else to get some use out of. However, for the holey jeans, khakis and even screen tees there is room for upcycling. I don’t know why but just writing that last sentence made me finally think of a good use for the many, many, many old screen tees I have. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it work and put them in my Etsy shop assuming I can find the courage to let them go.

When Cory was in Closetland

“Let my screen tees go!”

Okay, so you’ve gone through and cleaned out your closet and yet another six months or a year has gone by and that means it is time to rethink what you kept. I like to clean out our closet's old clothing in June and January for the simple reason that in June if there were any winter clothes not worn they can be tossed, and January the same for summer garments. I will freely admit that this is much easier said than done. Ever since I was a young warthog I’ve loved screen tees and probably have never intentionally thrown any of them away. I’m still trying to figure out what happened to my Prince concert T-shirt my stepmom brought back for me when she saw him in concert back in 1989 in Atlanta, Georgia, but I have a feeling that if it isn’t in my box of school stuff (freely admitting my pack-rattiness here by stating that I have every piece of homework from sixth grade up in a box, along with that year’s binder or… gasp… Trapper Keeper) then it must have gotten tossed. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but had we gone to the 80s prom a couple weeks ago this would have been a perfect shirt to wear.

Screen tees are the only exception I’ve allowed myself and sadly since I didn’t wear any of my plaid flannel shirts this last winter they will have to go. Considering they would now be considered “VINTAGE” and early representations of the “Grunge Rock Era” that so defined my middle and high school days it’ll be sad to let them go. But alas, they are taking up space and unless I suddenly get the urge to wear plaid flannel again… uh oh, I think my brain is telling me it is time for a revival. Hmmm, maybe I could keep a few around, you know, just in case.

Garage Sales

The season of garage and yard sales is upon us! Let us rejoice in the bounty of unwanted crap we are about to receive.

There is a saying that goes one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, but sometimes trash is just trash and should be disposed of as such, not try to make a buck off of it. I couldn’t tell you how many garage and yard sales we’ve been to where they were literally selling garbage. And for the love of everything holy refuse the urge to purchase a “Surprise Bag” if they are selling those too for fear of getting used tampons and poop-stained underwear! Okay, so maybe that would never happen, but it does in my brain, and my brain is a very scary place indeed.

When you are on the hunt for something specific, try to keep to those specifications as much as possible while shopping. Impulse buys are nearly impossible to resist, especially if it is a perfect condition vinyl of The Mamas and The Papas album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, but that is part of the fun. Almost like a treasure hunt (trash and treasure connection made here for those who are dense.) However, it is best for your wallet and future stuff you’ll end up having to garage sale out yourself if you keep those impulses to Must Haves and not Want Nows. If your criteria is like-new used books of a certain genre or author, stick to it, but if you are looking for a bookcase and find one that will work but isn’t what you had in mind, get it. It seems simple, but you’d be surprised how many people would pass on something that would work but isn’t the color a coat of paint couldn’t cure and continue looking at other sales and not find anything else and go back to the place they saw the bookcase and it was sold. Remember to expect some wear, after all it is used stuff you are looking at. However, if they have new items and the price tags are still on them you should be weary, they may have stolen it and were unable to return the item without a receipt and if you buy it you are probably feeding a drug habit! Again, overactive brain disorder… sorry.

If you are setting up a garage or yard sale yourself, the key to a successful sale is organization. Keep like items together. This not only will help you keep better track of items, but also help potential buyers who are probably on a mission themselves for something specific. That and it just plain looks better. If you are getting rid of a bunch of toys but have them scattered throughout it’s going to look like you simply opened your garage and invited people into your space and quite frankly makes you look like a slob. By gathering the toys into one location, a buyer can see what you have all at once and find what they are looking for much easier. And another bonus of putting like items together is if you are a serial garage saler (like those people up the street from us who seem to have one every weekend during the summer) it’ll be easier to box everything up and put it back out again on another date, as well as add to the boxes new items you want to get rid of.