The Hoarder Question Continues to Haunt

A scene from last year's Main Street Street Sale: I bought nothing displayed on the four-door sedan!

A while back, I ruminated on the show Hoarders and whether or not I was turning into one. If you haven't seen the show, a crew of garbage collectors and therapists enter the homes of massive clutter freaks and gently try to help them get rid of ALL THAT STUFF. I must admit that I tend to watch it through my fingers and I seldom make it through an entire episode.

I watched a little bit of it today and I do feel for the clutter freaks. They're actually good people who are incapable of throwing things out. There's usually a sad back story to it all, typically involving a deceased parent or spouse that the hoarder misses terribly. As a result, they can't bring themselves to throw away a single receipt that belonged to them. It's painful stuff and guilty viewing to be sure.

I sent two garbage bags of baby clothes to Goodwill the other day. I somehow doubt we'll have a second bambino. If by some fluke we do, I'll just have to buy new clothes. I think that's a better solution than saving bins of clothes for a child that may never come. Please don't feel sad. I'm happy with our three-piece family right now and I'm not longing for more kids especially.

As for my thrifting obsession, I've decided that I've got to be increasingly selective and only buy things I truly love. The problem is that I love a lot of vintage things and as long as we're living in our little semi-detached house, we're rapidly running out of room. That's where the hoarding comes in. We still have boxes of stuff we never unpacked when we bought our house over ten years ago.

I guess I'm not as bad as the woman who has to sort through all of the bags of garbage, or crawl on the floor looking for beads, but I don't want the joy of thrifting to become a problem down the road. Maybe I'll limit myself to one good thrift a week and give everything I'm tempted to buy, a second thought.

Don't get me wrong. Thrifting is not the same thing as hoarding, but when you start collecting things, you could be in for clutter trouble down the road. Has the urge the thrift led to space issues for anyone out there?

Thanks for reading this and allowing me to share my neurotic ramblings.

Erin

Song of the Week: More Pathetic Nostalgia

Alright, the song's not called "More Pathetic Nostalgia," but rather "Cuts You Up" by Peter Murphy. When I was a teenager, I was madly in love with Murphy. He played in a "goth rock" group called Bauhaus, but they were actually a very good band. Murphy went solo and I bought his first three records and thought they were great. Every guy I dated as a teen (not that there were tons, but a modest handful), seemed to sense that I rather wanted to be with Mr. Cheekbones. Because of this, I was subjected to a constant barrage of cruel jokes no doubt masking inferiority.

This song is actually pretty catchy and Peter looks great with blonde hair. I think he's bald now. Sigh.

Speaking of cheeky video memories from the eighties, check out The Damned's "Elouise."

I may be alone in my assessment, but I can't help but find Dave Vanian (the singer) at 2:45-2:46 curiously attractive when he raises one eyebrow. Yes, I have too much time on my hands right now. I should be marking or in bed, or in bed marking. Agggh!

Have a great week.

Erin

Here's the guy that inspired Johnny Depp's look in Sweeney Todd. Rrrrrrow!

Main Street Street Sale

Every year I take Duncan to the Main Street Street Sale. The best part of this sale is north of Lumsden. It's about a ten minute bike ride from where we live in East York. The residents of this street are best categorized as an eclectic community ranging from young couples, single hipsters, retirees, and even the local Communist Party candidate. Don't ask me how I know this. I am the Yard Sale Snoop!

There was very little in the way of vintage treasures, but I did score this lovely old biscuit tin from London. It's covered with romantic images from London town. I asked the seller how much she wanted for it and she said, "Just give me a quarter." Sold!
Trafalgar Square at Christmas graces the top of the tin. Ahh, makes me want to go back to my husband's home town.
I could tell by the weight and rattles that it came with some things inside.

It was used as a sewing basket.

I found some old Woolcrest buttons. Anyone else remember Woolworths? There's not much in the way of mid-price department stores. I miss the old days.
I also found these brass Royal Canadian Air Force buttons and some other military brass buttons with horses on them.
There's a family that always sell good-quality kids' stuff at the Main Street Street Sale. The mother always remembers us. I bought this Airplane Play Tent for my class next year for $5.00. I can't really talk about changes on the horizon with my job yet, but I'll share soon. It's all good, as they say.

This will be a reading tent for literacy centres. School should be fun.

She also sold me these games. The one on the left is a Leap Frog style math game that she bought in France. What I'd give to be able to say, "I picked that up in France." The computer on the right is for spelling games. It will go at the word study centre. I got the two pieces for $15. Not everything will always be dirt cheap at garage sales, but I'm still happy.
Last year, Duncan was a pumpkin for Halloween. I bought it at a rummage sale for $1.oo. Next year, he'll be Thomas, whom he loves. This was $3.00. I would like to make his costumes by hand, but it's hard to find time when you're working.
The Communist lady sold us the squeezy giraffe puppet and two Playmobil guys for .75.

Forgive Me For This...

My favourite guilty pleasure starts tonight and in 20 minutes, I'll be glued to the TV. What for?

Enter Linda's Latest Contest

As Linda counts down the days to the big 6-0, she's running some fabulous contests. The latest is a chance to win from a store listed by CSN. Go to her blog A La Carte http://ljm-alacarte.blogspot.com and check it out.

Erin

Best Story Ever

As soon as you finish reading these sentences, go to Kate's Love You Big blog http://love-you-big.blogspot.com (it's one of my favourite blogs and it's always linked at the right). Something incredible happened to her. I mean it. Go! Go now! (Come back later and you'll appreciate the film clip I'm posting). Swoon!