2020 resolution - shopping my own bag and wallet collection. Any one else?

[dcooney4]

I think one of my hardest parts is seeing all the “mes” I used to be. The Japanese woodblock collector, the 1930-1970s animation expert, the restorer, the Pearl dealer. The poet and the painter and the glass artist. I’m not that person any more. But I miss her. So I held onto her “stuff” in case she came back - does that make any sense all?

And now I have to say “look, she’s left. And I’m here. So, let’s make space for the me of now, and not the person I used to be.”

I can understand that. Sometimes having all that stuff laying around is to much pressure and not leaving room to be creative in another way.

 

[dcooney4]

The pre-loved Abbey hobo tote finally came! Here she is all cleaned up and a little ribbon for pizzazz.
The size is perfect for this style bag. Not too big!
View attachment 4936013View attachment 4936015

Congrats and wear it in good health.

 

[dcooney4]

Elaine incase your reading and not posting , I hope all is well and your are healing quickly. Hugs!

 

[momasaurus]

The pre-loved Abbey hobo tote finally came! Here she is all cleaned up and a little ribbon for pizzazz.
The size is perfect for this style bag. Not too big!
View attachment 4936013View attachment 4936015

Looks great. So classic and what a great shape.

 

[SouthernPurseGal]

I also hope Elaine is well!

 

[doni]

All the best to @ElainePG

Don’t know what number usage I am up to. Decided to put my new leather bow on this bag till Christmas. Then it goes on the black or brown bags. Needed to feel a bit of Christmas cheer today. View attachment 4935554

I am not into bag charms. At all. But somehow I love this! Must be the Christmas nut in me.

I think one of my hardest parts is seeing all the “mes” I used to be. The Japanese woodblock collector, the 1930-1970s animation expert, the restorer, the Pearl dealer. The poet and the painter and the glass artist. I’m not that person any more. But I miss her. So I held onto her “stuff” in case she came back - does that make any sense all?

And now I have to say “look, she’s left. And I’m here. So, let’s make space for the me of now, and not the person I used to be.”

Oh, it makes so much sense.
In a way, you are and will always be all of them. Just the fact that you have so many interests says so much about your personality!
You could keep a small memento of each of your lives, and let go the rest.

There was a tale I had in a book as a child. It was about this old lady with her chest of drawers and the children in her family would come, open a drawer, select an object (a pin cushion, a handkerchief...) and she would tell a story brought up by the memories stored in that object. I wanted to be that old lady when I grew old!

Thank you! So far so good. The hospital sent me a photo of him he looked so sad but he was sitting up.

Very happy it went well, the poor little thing.

 

[doni]

So you may remember that H Faco Box Clutch I bought on an impulse. I went to pick it up today. It comes in the original discolored orange H box and on top, the seller had placed a handwritten note. It wishes me happy Christmas and it explains that the bag had belonged to the seller’s mother in law who was “a lover of beautiful things”. The seller hopes I will honor her memory by carrying and enjoying the clutch.

I found the message so sweet and moving, I have not opened the box but placed it directly under the Christmas tree. When I open it tomorrow (can‘t wait) I will send a greeting to that fellow lover of beautiful things, wherever she is.

 

[More bags]

One thing I should probably start by saying - this year, I’ve moved, cleared my place in the mountains to make room for renters, and got several boxes of stuff from my dear parents. For the first time in 6 years, all my stuff is in one location. And it’s a lot

My stats are only counting sales, not donations or trash.

So. Tips.

1) All of the current decluttering books talk about doing things by category. I challenge Kondo-sama to declutter by category when there’s over 100 mystery boxes that need to be moved or eliminated in three weeks. I give myself 15 minutes per box for decluttering. If I can’t do it in that, I take a quick photograph and move to the next thing.

2) haul out trash immediately.

3) have a staging area for sales. Everything listed goes in that one area.

Everything that survives this initial deep cut needs to have a home out of site and be put in its home. After i finish my hour of decluttering, stop. Start on my hour of processing. Do not give in to the blandishments if “just one more box.”

4) if it’s bulky, list it cheap. Jewelry, I can wait to sell. Bags, nutcrackers, Radko ornaments. Those are bulky - let them move on

5) if I haven’t used it in 5 to 10 years, I’m not going to. I had a half dozen bags I was going to restore; I saw myself as a DocRide-in-Training at one point in my life. But I never got past the initial steps. I listed and sold them cheap. Because it feels good to let go versions of yourself that no longer fit.

6) if it’s a good candidate for consignment (for example, clothes and shoes, any brand of bag where lowballs and authenticity questions will drive me completely insane...) haul it out once a week. Don’t let it linger but don’t waste the gas. Once a week is a good compromise.

7) Consignment for things that need to be seen. Facebook groups for specialty items (collectibles, art supplies). Ebay for things you want gone quickly but don’t mind paying for shipping. Posh for clothes and accessories that you don’t care how quickly they move, you just don’t want to deal with shipping. Galleries for art

but most importantly

7) know why you’re doing this. Honestly, it’s exhausting and sometimes I wonder if I’d be better off walking away. But first I decided I wanted a house. And the money came in handy; I sold enough to cover moving expenses.
I’m still going because I know I want my mental health and to reduce stress. And I decided I want a pair of earrings.
I hope that’s helpful.

This is outstanding, informative and well written. Thank you for sharing your thought.
My favourite was:
7) know why you’re doing this. ... And the money came in handy; I sold enough to cover moving expenses.
I’m still going because I know I want my mental health and to reduce stress. And I decided I want a pair of earrings.

Congratulations on all of your processing, best wishes with your move and please show off your earrings!

 

[More bags]

Thanks ! I just wanted to wear something that could be cleaned in case my dog got sicker on the way to the veterinary specialist. So for that it was perfect.

So far so good. He had to have spinal surgery yesterday. He injured his back but we don’t even know how and things got worse rapidly . So yesterday he had an MRI and then went right in to surgery. Now they will keep him for a few days . So any good thoughts or prayers are appreciated.
That is a photo I took just before I realized he was not looking to cheerful.
View attachment 4935532

Best wishes to Ryder on recovering from his surgery.

 

[More bags]

Let´s put it like this: I´m trying hard to only shop my own wardrobe.
I certainly have not succeeded in doing so this year, but:

I have learned not to buy random bags even when the prices on the preloved market were too good to be true and I was yearning for a pick-me-up

I have done a lot of research on bags I thought I´d love and then only bought the ones I really was sure about and crossed the others off my list including bags I now know I only wanted, because I thought "I had to have them" (brand!)

I have sold bags I did not love

I have bought bags I truly love

Thank-you to this thread! It has changed my bag behaviour very much to the better plus I´ve had the pleasure and honour to meet wonderful people!

You had a lot of success this year, congratulations!

December bags...

...no bag, barely a humble slg.
This manicure case is always by my side.
The instruments inside were a Christmas present from my boy-friend´s Mum 30 years ago. They used to live in their original very 90ies white leather/fake croc covered plastic case until it became too shabby 3 or 4 years ago.
I found this replacement at a car boot sale for 1 glorious Euro. It´s so nice with its lovely suede lining and smooth leather upper.

Great upgrade @cowgirlsboots!

 

[BowieFan1971]

So helpful, and I wasn't even the one who asked you the question! I'll put this into practice, thank you!


This!
I was saying to a friend via PM earlier on, I've been thinking about how far away I am from the person I want to be; how I want to be a better, more helpful, more generous, kinder person moving forward. But as I read this line, it occurred to me how grateful I am for the person I was and currently am, because everyone has to learn to crawl before they walk. Hoping I can leave behind the lesser-than version of myself that doesn't fit anymore- along with any material belongings that come with that- and grow into more.
I know I've strayed away from the point you were making, but I find that I learn so much in the way of unexpected "extras" from everyone's posts.

We are always changing and evolving...it’s natural. The world does not stop doing it and we adapt along with it. We can’t stop the river, nor can we try to stop moving in it. The current keeps going and will start to erode us if we do. The best we can do is try to stay pointed in the right direction and guide ourselves while riding it. Remain true to your core values, your core self.....that is staying pointed in the right direction. Using that direction as a guide for steering...that is using our core self to guide our thoughts and actions. But the world is what the world is...sometimes there is a lot of turbulence and things move very fast. Sometimes we veer off course, but we are still moving. At those times we do the best we can with what we are able to do. That’s it. Our journey ends on the day we die and until then we will never reach our destination, just stay true to the right path to get there.
My dad once told me something I have never forgotten...the day we stop learning is the day we die. There are several ways to apply this, but all are true.

 

[dcooney4]

Best wishes to Ryder on recovering from his surgery.

Thank you!

 

[keodi]

I’ve clearly done even more retail therapy than I thought (and I knew it was a lot)! Last week I received a gift with a thank you card for shopping with them from a well known department store! View attachment 4935514In my defence losing 34pounds has meant I needed quite a lot of new clothes!

congratulations! I'm so happy for you and your huge accomplishments!

So far so good. He had to have spinal surgery yesterday. He injured his back but we don’t even know how and things got worse rapidly . So yesterday he had an MRI and then went right in to surgery. Now they will keep him for a few days . So any good thoughts or prayers are appreciated.
That is a photo I took just before I realized he was not looking to cheerful.
View attachment 4935532

Aww such a cute face! i'm wishing him well, and a speedy recovery!

Congrats on getting some grail scarves! Well, I bought 17 scarves/shawls and sold 7. Not great, but that's about average for me each year.
I also have advice from @papertiger, @More bags, and others right next to my wishlist! This thread does help me a lot.

You did a great job culling actually!
@ElainePG , I'm wishing you a speedy recovery!

 

[Katinahat]

Adding a 4th December bag - still very practical. Kate Spade nylon/leather crossbody tote for walking the dog with my mother-in-law and DDs.

View attachment 4935824

1. Mulberry new Alexa Icon
2. Coach Signature Central Zip Tote
3. Mulberry Tessie Hobo
4. Kate Spade Daily Small
Satchel

Just one to add to meet challenge.

Added one more bag to make the 5 challenge for this month. I had to walk to an appointment near the centre of the city in which I live this afternoon. I was going to take my new Alexa but thought I’d branch out and carry a different bag for this challenge! Mulberry Mini Cara seemed the perfect option for the 5.5km walk each way. Big enough for essentials, small enough to carry easily and wears as a backpack so very practical. I love the Steel Blue colour and quilting on this bag. The leather is thick but really soft and feels so good!



1. Mulberry new Alexa Icon
2. Coach Signature Central Zip Tote
3. Mulberry Tessie Hobo
4. Kate Spade Daily Small
Satchel
5. Mulberry mini Cara

 

[Purses & Perfumes]

@ElainePG, wishing you a speedy recovery.