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The subject of estate sales and collecting other peoples' stuff came up recently on mybloggers and I chose not to take up space in the comments section of the greaser's blog, so I'm throwing in my two cents here.
Except for baseball cards in elementary school, I've never been a hoarder or collector. I do have small containers of screws and small salvaged parts of hardware that I do keep for when I need them, but most often, when I need wood screws, for example, I don't have the right size. So even keeping those sorts of things is beginning to make less sense than it once did.
I have American Psychologist journals from the time when I was a member of the APA, but those are now so outdated that they have very little value aside from their possible significance as historical texts.
I have a CD collection--probably 100+ discs, but we rarely listen to them. If I have the stereo fired up three times a year, that's a lot. I usually stream youtubes or public radio over headphones, which is what I'm doing now, so I have little use for the CD collection.
I also have a collection of stuffed sheep. It became known that I was rather "sheepish" at some point long ago and people began giving me sheep for almost any occasion. They serve little purpose other than to collect dust, but I remember the story behind many of them, so I keep them.
Not much other junk lying around. Not much junk to get rid of.
When I go to yard sales I usually look for stuff I really need. I usually get the "big score" every year. A few years ago it was the desk chair I'm still sitting on. Got it for two bucks. This year was one of those plastic wheelbarrow substitutes. I had looked at one in the store and it was $40 on sale. Turns out the hub cap on one side is either missing, or fell off in the yard, but either way, if I don't find it I'll have to come up with a substitute, but even so, I got the thing for six dollars and it's a deal even with a small repair job.
So, the point.
Remember the saying that most of us were taught--"save for a rainy day"; well, is it raining yet? In other words, when is it time to face the downhill side of the run through life and start doing things differently?
That includes spending money or not buying things.
Some people will think the next comment is really sleazy, but I can remember thinking after my mother had a stroke or two at 70-something, that maybe it wasn't a good idea to spend too much on Christmas gifts. I had a similar thought about my AA sponsor when he was in his late 70s and would go to the dentist. I'm only 60 (almost) and I don't intend to spend money on root canals and crowns like I did in my 20s. Just pull'em, I don't need them for long enough to justify the expense.
So, as for buying stuff at estate sales: well, maybe I would if it's something I need, make that, something functional and not too expensive. I may buy a quality dulcimer when I get better at playing it, and Donna wants another flute for Christmas, but that's its own issue. How many flutes does a novice need? She says they can only be played for a short time before they "wet out", but she doesn't need to play for any length of time, so what's the big deal.
Anyway, when you get down to it, it's personal choice. I wouldn't mind spending any spare cash traveling in the RV but some people would probably prefer filling their house with stuff. Yup, guess it's that simple.... LOL I could probably delete this now that I figured it out, but I won't. Instead, I'll add some fall color.....
It's been cloudy for days and days, and wet on and off, but I shot a few videos anyway. We're getting some fall color this year, but it would look much better under sunshine. Some of the videos that will come up if you watch the first one are also "travel" LOL flicks, but here's one that shows the local roads and a pumpkin farm....
We ended up with a four dollar pumpkin. They also have gourds which may be suitable for drying and gourd art like we did at 4C Camp for Adults. The owner said they have butternut squash for awhile, so we'll probably stop by there again soon.
