One of the great ways to justify your hunting habits for collectibles is to see your collectibles at work. Not only are they functional but you see and use them regularly. And for me, the tiny thought keeps slipping into the area of value. It is fun knowing that my basically new Keurig coffee machine was $18 instead of almost $100. Don’t forget to open with your mouse over the photo to enlarge it.
I mention in another page that in 2011 is the start to visiting the Salvation Army and Goodwill. This is a wonderful hobby and reasonably inexpensive, and in many ways, this hunting more than pays for itself. Of course there is always the increasing realm of collecting different items. The start of the hunting starts for our tiny beach place. We supply it with everything we need plus some. We are here living at the beach for more than six years and now it becomes time to get a house.
More stuff is not what we need, I think, but when we have a niche to fill I will find it at my hunting grounds. Now we are inland and have gone to an area from about 5,000 population to a county of 450,000 population. We have a few needs, but we also have 4 Goodwills in our area. Salvation Army shuts down their stores; these are my favorites. We also go from 600 square feet to now a house for our combining of two families.
Forever Home
We move again, and now we are in our western townhouse in Wyoming. We end up buying what we think we don’t want and we have what we love. It is too big, too many bathrooms, too tiny a yard and too much maintenance free. We are enjoying every square foot, appreciating the space for guests and loving the minimal outside maintenance. Our backyard is crowded with a townhouse behind us and we have more privacy than we have experience with in the past.
We get to see collectibles at work in the kitchen, 3 bathrooms and a tiny kitchenette. Then the other collectibles are busy working by entertaining my eyes. My mother calls this stuff ‘eye candy’ when I grow up, and I definitely enjoy it all. There is a requirement of self discipline and dusting when the collection is needing it.
Time to see what is Working in our Spots
We have a full bath for our guests. It is small but designated for guests, this actually is a first in years. I have the time to do a small bathroom remodel by painting. After some time I decide to replace the mirror, of course after the painting is already done. I have only one piece from Goodwill on the counter top, and this is actually a little hand made and signed art piece of a seal for $5. Of course I love it. I also use one of my shells for a glycerin soap.
Our basement bathroom has a few more collectibles. The countertop is larger and has room for a few more items. We do our movie nights in the basement ranch room; so for me, I still have plenty of time to enjoy the items I have placed for our downstairs guests. The blue glass theme starts at the coast and continues since I discover I love collecting the blue glass. The 3 glass pieces; basket, cup and dolphin, are all hand blown and signed. There are also 2 seashell candles. Nothing here is over $5.
The Kitchen, the favorite room of Homeowners
I have 3 arrangements in the kitchen. On the left of the stove and near the sink is a fun red crock I pick up for $5 and the Keurig. Some of the cooking tools are also from my hunting. Our Goodwill charges between twenty-five cents up to $1.00. The paper towel holder is new. On the right of the stove is another $4 crock with my spatulas, crystal lidded sugar jar which is $6 and our vintage butter dish which is $3. The turntable knife holder is also a find. And there is always the peninsula, just waiting for my favorite collectibles–glass bowls!
I have bowls out over the years for tomatoes and bananas. The two you see are $4 each. Bananas and tomatoes are a weekly purchase and mainstay in our diet. Every now and then we have a collectible plate that will have avocadoes just waiting to eat super fast. They always ripen at the same time and go from one day of ‘almost ready’ to the next day of ‘they are almost over done’!
This last year I was able to convert a basement bedroom into a craft room. Found a kitchen table for $20, and found two school children’s chairs for $5 each and wall bin shelves for $10. Got a painter’s tarp for the floor and now the little one crafts to her hearts’ content.
We also have an office, and of course we have little vintage bowls holding paper clips, black push clips and push pins. Another bowls for a staple remover and one for business cards. There are a few inside the drawers too for other purposes. If we add a collectible to the house, it has to have a function, and no matter what, these are put to work to please the eyes or have a working function. Is this good justification or what for being addicted to collecting?!
Response Magic