While J and I were on vacation, as we always do, we had time to devote to long deep conversations about our lives. One of the things we both agreed on is, it really is time to declutter, from every nook and cranny. Time to unload all the junk- from our home, our bodies, our day to day existence, from our future. Time to make better choices going forward, time to give every action real thought and not just cave to the old impulses. To simplify our immediate world.
When we got home, we decided to open up a second Etsy shop, one devoted to just vintage items. I had sold a few vintage pieces in my regular shop, but didn't list much because I didn't want to have that overshadow my pottery. So, I separated everything into a new shop. We have been digging through the basement, finding things that serve no purpose, have no meaning, in our current life together. Some of the items are things from our pre-together days, some of them are from high school! A lot of items are just things we bought at auctions or flea markets for some fleeting moment of joy, but now we stare at these things and say: You know, I really hate that vase after all. Or, why did we buy that? Those are the things that have no reason to take up the space around us. Things that serve no purpose in our lives, don't need to be in our lives. Simple as that. We've been having fun opening up all those dusty boxes, crowded into the dark corners, and wow hey look at this! I forgot we even had this! It's cool, but, what do we need to keep it for?
If it's been boxed up in a closet or down in the basement for all these years, why do we have it? Maybe these things are better off with someone else, who will enjoy them and use them, give them a proper warm welcome into their home. We donate to Goodwill quite frequently, but we have some items that have a bit of value, and we decided why not try to sell them? So it's been a new adventure, and so far it's going well. I have a dining room table filled with things ready to be photographed and listed. And J has tasked me to list a lot of his sports memorabilia on eBay, and frankly that's selling like crazy. He says I'm pricing things way too low. I said I know, but we decided the reason we are doing this is to make certain we end up with more space, not necessarily more money. Yesterday I sold something from my high school days (early 1980's) for $35. J told me to ask $50 for it. I sold it within hours of listing it, and he said that proved I should have asked more. I told him, hey, that's a box gone from the basement and $35 we didn't have the day before. And it was for something meaningless to me now, from 30 years ago, that I'm sure my parents probably paid for anyhow. He finally said yes, you are right. I say a lower sell price or starting bid, is almost a guaranteed sale. And that means, the item is as good as gone from our home. That is our goal, after all.
My other Etsy shop is doing well, in fact I've been getting so many emails for custom orders that I had to say no more for awhile, until I can get caught up with the requests I've received. The custom orders are great, but being creative is even better. I love to look at other shops on Etsy, but I'm oh so careful that I don't copy anyone else's work. Sometimes I come up with an idea and think this has to be unique, only to find someone else is already making it. But that's okay too. Heck, I even took the time to make something for myself because dang, I deserve it! I won't get rich at $5 a crack, but what's most important to me is that I'm enjoying it. It's been a long time since I was able to say, I am enjoying my life, I am enjoying my days, I am enjoying being alive! I am feeling like I have a purpose, and I haven't felt that in awhile. I've even found pleasure in driving the back country roads into town, to go to the post office, to have a real reason to get out of the house and into the world but not be sucked into it against my will. The windows down, the radio on, the sun on my face. Simple.
MISS GEE
If you look back at your posts you were feeling low just over a month ago. That is the nice thing about blogging, we can see that we are getting better and becoming well.
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