[item] Baby blue rotary dial phone… broken.
[purchase info] Purchased on eBay
[time in my possession] Approximately 6.5 years
[last used] Several months ago as a decor piece
[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Medium
[destination] Freecycle
[replacement item] None
[info] I was going to save this and make something artistic out of it. It broke when I tried to hang it on the wall. These suckers are HEAVY! I’m sad it broke. I still have my collection of them displayed in my entry way.
[item] Vintage olive green iron
[purchase info] Purchased at a thrift store
[time in my possession] Approximately 4 years
[last used] almost 4 years ago
[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Medium
[destination] Freecycle
[replacement item] None
[info] I used this for art projects like melting crayons. It’s cool, but I just don’t use it enough to keep it. I hate getting rid of cool looking retro stuff. Oh well, I still have my rotary dial phones.
**Only 20 more days in the challenge!!**
[item] Salt and pepper shakers
[purchase info] Purchased for $1 at a thrift store
[time in my possession] Approximately 9 years
[last used] A long time ago, they put out very little salt and pepper.
[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Medium
[destination] Fundraiser
[replacement item] None
[info] I have another set that we use all the time. These weren’t purchased for show, but ended up that way. They were brown with pictures of bears and some state park name on them. I painted them. I guess maybe that’s why I hung on to them this long.
[item] Pretty Maid retro pink doll oven
[purchase info] Purchased on eBay
[time in my possession] Approximately 6 years
[last used] A couple of years ago
[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Medium
[destination] Thrift store
[replacement item] None
[info] I had this on my “weird stuff” shelves. It’s just a cool thing to have, but it has no purpose. I still have some of the stuff from these shelves, but all they were doing is collecting dust. Less is good.
The first thing I do when I’m on vacation in a new city is scope out all of the local thrift stores and resale shops. It was raining yesterday, so the kids couldn’t do some of the things they had planned, so we hit the thrift stores. 
The first one had some cool stuff, but way higher prices than what I’m used to. The second store was a combo resale-thrift store. I found a great t-shirt there, but they only take cash. Of course I didn’t have any cash with me. The boys found a treasure here, something I had when I was their age, but I said no impulse buys. If they wanted it, they were going to have to return the next day to get it. I was going back, after a bank run, to get my t-shirt.
The third thrift store didn’t have much that peaked my interest, that is until I turned the corner and found this little gem for $2. A vintage Polaroid 600 camera. Now that there’s a company making film for these, they’re not as easy to find. These are selling on eBay from $10 to $50. Replicas are going for up to $150. This little beauty was only $2, an expenditure that was not part of the $16 hours of fun that I’m about to share with you. I’ll have to order the film for this. Did I need this? No. My kids and I will have some fun with it, then probably turn around and sell it.
My kids were talking the entire time about the vintage toy back at the second shop. Honestly, I knew they would appreciate it and it was a cool flashback for me. When we returned, the nice lady working there greeted us with a big smile and said, “You’re back!” We bought the vintage toy…
Meet Rex, a 70′s vintage string puppet named after our favorite restaurant in Steamboat Springs, CO. He cost $16, a price that seemed fair for a real vintage toy. My boys have a great appreciation for vintage things, as they love our 12 rotary dial phones as much as I do. We decided to take Rex out on the town! Continue reading
With a goal of 365 items, downsizing one item a day over a one year period, has proven to be more difficult than I imagined. With the exception of my garage, there’s just not much left to downsize in my house. When I open a cabinet or a drawer, thinking I might be able to find some things I’m not using anymore, I’m rarely able to find anything. This is good, as I don’t have a lot of clutter and a lot of stuff, but on the other hand, I still have 214 items to go.
Now I still have a lot in my garage. Way less than I had a few months ago, but still way more than I need. The problem with that right now is the heat. It’s too hot to clean anything out, as my garage faces west. It’s a sauna x3.
At 150 items, here’s some financial info… that makes me want to cry. Think we don’t spend a lot on stuff we don’t need? Take a look at this.
If I bought these 150 items right now at the store, full price, it would cost me $12,320.36.
I paid $8,523.89 for these items, mostly shopping second hand and discount stores.
I didn’t sell much, as I gave most of it away. I have made $180.00, with an estimated potential of $1,487.00. Best case scenario, my stuff depreciated by 88%!! If this isn’t a reality check, I don’t know what is.
Wow. Even I’m astonished at these numbers. Even though I’ve had much of this stuff for many years, it’s still a disturbing snapshot of how much money I can waste. Have you ever added up how much money you’ve spent like this? If so, please share.
18 hours in a car? Not a problem for us! Yeah, I would love to fly and get to my destination quickly, but I’m good with a road trip. There’s more adventure in driving. (Texas to northern Colorado) I don’t have photos of all the beautiful sights along the way, but I have some. God was showing off His beautiful art yesterday… lightning, rainbows, rain, sunshine, deserts, mountains, clouds, storms, trees, rocks, sand…
[item] 2 smock tops
[purchase info] Purchased at thrift stores
[time in my possession] Approximately 3 years
[last used] Months ago
[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Easy
[destination] Resale and thrift store
[info] The red top is awesome but it looks terrible on me. The other top I just never wore. My mannequin, Darla, did though.
[item] 4 pieces of clothing
[purchase info] Purchased 2 new at discount stores and 2 at the thrift store.
[time in my possession] Approximately 3-5 years
[last used] Several months ago
[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Easy
[destination] Skirt went to a resale shop, the others to a thrift store.
[info] The t-shirt and white top were from the thrift store. The white shirt never fit and I have way too many brown t-shirts. The skirt is too short for me… so I got one that is 1″ longer. LOL The vintage pink t-shirt is cute but I never wear it.
[item] 3 tank tops
[purchase info] 2 from thrift stores, one from Marshall’s.
[time in my possession] Approximately 2 years
[last used] Several months ago
[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Medium
[destination] Thrift store
[info] I tried to sell these to Plato’s Closet but they said they’re too old. The first and third are Free People and retails for over $60 each. I paid $1 for one and $12 for the other. The middle one is Abercrombie, retailed for over $30 and I paid $3.99. I don’t look good in gray tones. The blue one I also have in faded pink.