The Anonymous Arsehole Commentator will be shaking themselves into a apoplectic fit of the vapours with today’s post for sure as I’m talking money.
Ok I’ve got a few theatre trips booked, ok I’m off to London with my nephew, but like everyone else in the country, I have and increased amount in bills per month now so have a need to save a bit of money where I can.
I’m going to have clear out.
Only yesterday I looked at a wood cut print of two geese, I have hanging on my stairs .
I looked at it as if I had never seen it before.
It’s pretty enough, I thought, but over twenty years it has been ignored and not enjoyed and so I moved it where I could see it more clearly.
This one thought and action has prompted me to sell some of the unseen, unwanted and not needed items I have around the house.
I feel a car boot on the way
With a few smaller items earmarked for eBay
Within three minutes I had the starters collected
A bespoke early Victorian corner cupboard from a Northumbrian farmhouse.( above)
A broken Art Deco mantle clock
Some silver pieces, tarnished and isolated on a bookshelf
A pretty Staffordshire sheep
A tea caddy without its liner
Old dvds and books , flamingo containers, bits of treen, plant pots , an Art Deco bedside cabinet,
Oh and some antique Italian marble fruit bought from an antique shop ran by my sister’s mother in law in the 1980s.
I must admit that a proud little Staffordshire Greyhound who was sat unloved in the duck egg blue bookcase I fell in love with all over again and I moved him to a new spot in the limelight in my bathroom but the cull will be extensive yet compassionate me thinks
Sentiment is a big emotion with me and the pieces that I love will be kept and dusted and looked at with affection.
I will leave you with this video.
An audience made into a choir
Rather stunning
I have sung in a choir that seemingly out of nowhere made something equally as emotional and as beautiful as that video and it’s a magical place to be
Very sensible. Things not unloved but needing a good home. Very nice things too
ReplyDeleteLike my twin sister always said
Delete“ you never own antiques , you just look after them for a while”
And why shouldn't you travel and see friends, family and culture?!!
ReplyDeleteToo bloody right ..I’m off to Manchester for a naughty night on on Friday
DeleteThe video was quite magical. Just a suggestion for the clearing out and car boot sale - over the years I have noticed your extensive wardrobe of fashionable outfits, maybe it's time for a cull.
ReplyDeleteNo one would ever wear my gravy stained t shirts YP
DeleteLots of wonderful things here. I’d snatch up that corner cupboard in a heartbeat. And that audience choir gave me goose flesh. Wow. Wow. WOW
ReplyDeleteThe cabinet seems to be a popular choice
DeleteI have a similar corner cupboard in my kitchen - not so nice though and bought from a stable antique centre 30 ish years ago x 🕰 🎶
ReplyDeleteSend me a photo
DeleteI will if possibe x
DeleteI've taken photo on my phone - not sure what to do next x 📱
DeleteEmail it me
Deletebut wth what John? x
DeleteOh dear
DeleteTo paraphrase William Morris, if it's no longer useful or beautiful to you, move it on! And, it's your life, your money, your choice. I have a display cabinet (my cabinet of curiosities) for all those little bits and bobs that I want to keep but would just be a bugger to display and clean. Makes me smile whenever I look in it. xx
ReplyDeleteWilliam Morris was a wise soul, I love his quote
DeleteSo true
Do a bit of research into the boot fair you choose. Some are a bit everyday, kids toys, shoes, dvd type fodder. Other ones border on Antique/Flea Market type of thing. That little haul looks like the latter to me. Is the Malvern Flea too far away for you?, next one January, enough time to have a good cull and you can ask around the family if they have any 'old' stuff to add . Go on Anon toss-pot, knock yer'self out with that nugget of wisdom, John begging stuff round the fam! Shesh!!! Tess x
ReplyDeleteYou do make me laugh tess . X
DeleteThat choir sent chills up my spine! Like only music will do!
ReplyDeleteLove the little sheep!
I may run a competition with the sheep as a prize
DeleteI hope you get good prices so you can plan future adventures, John! xx
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed
DeleteEverybody needs a good cull now and again.
ReplyDeletePurge x
DeleteThere is a joy in singing together that we don't often experience.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I do miss choir , I can’t wait to return
DeleteThanks for the little video, just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBriony
x
It’s delightful
DeleteVery sensible. I wish I could stir myself to get rid of some stuff.
ReplyDeleteMy 'method'of choice for clearing out is this: I set a wicker basket in the front hall and through out the week as I move around my house, I begin to gather up things that I don't need or use and drop them in the basket. It's a slow process but it allows me to make the decisions in an unhurried, thoughtful way. Each week, I gather the things together, and drop the books off at little library boxes around town. The rest goes to the charity shop. I've been doing this for a few weeks now, and I always have a full basket when it comes time to load it up and drop it off.
ReplyDeleteSince my retirement, I've been working steadily on all the things that got skipped over while I was working. Last weekend, my husband finally noticed. LOL.
Systematic and mindful
DeleteYes I did the same l holding each item and giving one some thought and time remembering how it was obtained and why I want to keep it
Well done! I did much the same thing, and did wonder why I had collected and hoarded quite so much stuff. The more you sort, the easier it gets. I think it is part of the process of ageing, concentrating down on the things that are and remain important rather than being just 'stuff.' And is both reassuring and freeing. And stuff the anonymous snipers, whose levels of jealousy and spite does no-one any favours, least of all themselves. And the saddest thing is - they don't even get that. Tone deaf. No self awareness, no empathy or compassion. Wastes of space.
ReplyDeleteThe therapy of decluttering cannot be over estimated. You physically feel lighter seeing things go.
DeleteI had a outdated Victorian dinner service of over 100 pieces
I smashed the lot
NOW THAT felt very good
DeleteIt's good to move things around every once in a while. It helps us see them anew.
ReplyDeleteYou just have plants lol
DeleteI love that corner cabinet too, quite lovely.
ReplyDeleteIt was in our bathroom for years, the only wall in the entire cottage where it fitted
DeleteI should do a declutter. A *real* declutter, not just put a few things out now and then. Of course, I've been saying that for years, many years. My problem is I pick things up and decide I still like them, or think I'll still use it (craft, sewing, needlework, & cooking things especially). I did learn not to look through books when I did a clear-out the fiction years ago. Maybe I should hire someone to pull things out and hold them up so I don't touch them while deciding? And then box them up and haul away so I don't change my mind and pull back out of the box.
ReplyDeleteI like that corner cabinet. It's a good thing I'm across the ocean and half of North America from you. I imagine shipping would be horrendous.
You have first refusal lol
DeleteOh John! That choir brought me to tears; I wish I had been in that audience. What a superb way of conducting and relaying the tune and volume. Wow! Wow! Wow!
ReplyDeleteMust listen again> > > > >
That’s how Jamie conducts our choir , it’s easy to follow
DeleteThe video was indeed magical and emotional! Thanks ever so much for sharing with us. It was just what I needed today.
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing isn’t it?
DeleteJamie with his RAF moustache uses the same conducting with our choir
I applaud your worthy plan to divest yourself of things that no long charm you while keeping those things you do still love. We need to do that, too.
ReplyDeleteHow do you find such wonderful videos?
Hugs!
Tic tok
DeleteI bought my daughter a similar corner cupboard a few years ago. When we opened it it reminded me the smell of old English churches. My daughter is convinced it is haunted as the door keeps opening on its own! I too am glad I am 13,000 miles away otherwise I would offer you a pretty penny for it and the sheep. The video made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.... wonderful.
ReplyDeleteJo in Auckland
Lol send me your address, I will send u the sheep,it’s old but not worth much
DeleteWhen Cappy commented earlier how much they loved the sheep you said yo'd run a compettion for it but now you're giving it away to someone else - how unkind.
DeleteYou anon are a twister 🔬
DeleteThank you for your kind offer John but I fear the postage to NZ will be horrendous for such a lovely item and it would probably go missing anyway. I ordered stuff during lockdown and that is who knows where hahaha.
DeleteJo in Auckland
That cupboard ❤️
ReplyDeleteOh how I wish I were wealthy or the cost of shipping to the US was a pittance!
I hope it finds a lovely new home.
Yes it’s a good piece . Dated around 1820 and it had
DeleteProvenance to a farmhouse in North Yorkshire
A home made piece
Sometimes we forget or get use to our paintings or objects were we put them when we first moved into the room/house. Move things around like your greyhound you just never know.
ReplyDeleteYes that’s a good idea, and I do that regularly with my favourite paintings .
DeleteSome things just just grow out of though, style changes, I know mine has
I can see you as an excellent antiques/ collectibles dealer, with your personality and excellent eclectic taste.What a fun way to pick up a few extra bucks---or more. Car boot or yard sale? Good luck. [if you sell at home enlist a helper to keep an eye on things indoors and out, since you have had some issues w vandalism. Theft during home sales can be a problem.]
ReplyDeleteThe good pieces I’m selling on eBay and I’ve listed most of them today. The tat will go to the boot sale
DeleteAffable despot Jason loves a good boot sale ,I may join forces
DeleteGreat plan! Do it soon before it gets too cold. Problem w eBay is...you have to pack and ship ASAP; I have had complaints when I did not ship same day etc. Fragiles need insurance, $$$ an extra expense. The buyers complain a lot about shipping costs, as if you were pocketing that money, not giving it to t he postal service. I finally had to take a break this year.
DeleteWe bought a similar corner cupboard at a car boot this summer. Needed a little tlc but we will have it to take to the next Antique fair we do. Love the original hinges on yours. Sadly they have fallen out of fashion rather, which is a pity as they are useful storage space. Check out the value of your little Staffordshire sheep - better e-baying it than carbooting it, in my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt was an expensive piece when bought from a workshop in Staithes near Whitby
DeleteIn fact the prof bought it , but never took it with him
Exactly . Things clutter the mind and the psychi
ReplyDeleteI find letting go of things easy…other things I find harder to let go
Going through stuff and getting rid of things I no longer use has always been good therapy for me. I loved the choir video. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI find a good clear out is beneficial in many ways. The choir is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteyou might as well let someone else enjoy the things you no longer value quite so highly
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the dollar value of antiques has plummeted over here. I decided I wanted rid of a whole lot I'd inherited, and loved, 30 years ago, but that had sat, unopened, in a box since we moved last (in 2007!!) so I took them, still unopened, to an antique dealer I know and just gave them to him. I was pleased to not be responsible for them any more, and perhaps he might make a buck or two for them.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to find the Tom Selleck USA Volleyball poster I’ve had since the 90s is worth over $70 USD. Your tea caddy is lovely.
ReplyDeleteYour corner cupboard looks old and rustic, I would have thought it would be perfect for your cottage. I also have one which is 'tidier' and less interesting. Mine has wavy fronts to the shelves which is nice.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with hoarding tendencies so I have to move things on very quickly when I decide I can bear to let them go. Otherwise I simply find myself putting them back. So no ebay for me, but charity shop which is quicker.
ReplyDeleteFinding treasures that you simply can't part with is one of the perks of having of good clear out of things that you can. And being able to appreciate them in a different spot so you can see them every day is just perfect. I've been doing a lot of this recently, I am whittling away at all of my stuff.
ReplyDelete