Among what seemed like a very strange mix of careers, the test indicated that I would make a very fine Curator.
Though I believe the test meant that to be a Museum Curator, I do believe that old test did nail down my life's work!
Though the National Gallery of Art doesn't sign my paychecks, I look around me here and yes, I have become a Curator.
A curator of stuff.
My stuff....
my hubs stuff....
my kids' stuff.....
(Not a picture of our actual stuff.)
Not only do we all collect stuff(or did), but I started collecting MORE stuff to sell.
I got bit by the beanie baby craze over 10 yrs. ago.....and I started collecting extras to sell or trade. The beanie buying branched out into 'collectibles' buying too.
Then I started buying old out of production toys since with 3 kids under the age of 5, I found myself in toy stores quite a bit, so 'in the day' I was one of those rare grownups who knew waaaay too much about Power Rangers, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Pokemon.
The buying to resell worked out pretty well....between my 'geiger counter hands'(I had an uncanny nack of being able to feel that a particular toy would be worth selling, just by the vibrations it gave off when I held it)and having kids who could tip me off to what was or would be a 'hot' toy(since nobody knows these things like a kid does), I could buy low and sell high.
Yes, I was the Charles Schwab of the toy market.....a day trader of toys when I wasn't toting kids to practices, breaking up fights or sorting laundry.
And where has this brought me to today?
Well, I still have boxes of toys to dispose of.
Seems I was much better at buying the toys than selling them off in a timely manner, what with all my other jobs as a mom that took precedence.
And now with shipping costs having more than doubled since I began this hobby, it's not worth my time to try to sell some of this stuff anymore.
So not only do I have stuff like regular people that they need to get rid of having grown out of the need for it, I have all this toy stuff to let go of.
Plus I have hubs stuff......and the kids' stuff like I mentioned before.
But.....
I am making some headway in reducing the piles of stuff here.
But it's slow going.....
And sometimes I look around and get so impatient with myself and the stuff.
Because I don't want to be a Curator!
I don't want a house filled with Stuff!!
I don't want to spend my days dusting tchatchkes(that's nicknacks to some of you).
I don't want to spend my days changing decor according to the seasons from the stash of boxes piled in a closet marked summer, winter, spring or fall.
I don't want to spend my days worrying about the color scheme of a room or having to search for months or years to find just the right 'thing' that is missing to make this room feel like home.
I want to feel at peace and serene and not have all this stuff surrounding me.
I want to get rid of all the visual clutter and have just a few special things or furniture pieces accenting each room.
I want to be able to open my front door at any time to anyone and not be embarrassed at the mess because of all the stuff.
I want to be able to enjoy family and friends in my home and be able to have people in because it's empty of stuff and there is plenty of room for them.
So tell me.....are you are Curator?
Is your home filled with objects and you are the caretaker of stuff?
Do you enjoy being a Curator of things?
Or do you want to change like me?
It's never too late(or too early)to start!
Start small with something easy.
How about letting go of some old collection you have shoved in an attic, garage or closet?
If it sits untouched or unappreciated, why hang onto it?
Anything you bought and hang onto because it's going to appreciate in value and be worth a bazillion dollars?.....it's NOT!.....well unless you have gold, money or real estate shoved in a closet.
Let it go!
Here is a cute video I found on YouTube that humorously talks about the difference between a Collection and Clutter.
Have a look and then get busy making the changes in your life that you want to see!
If this inspires you, leave a comment and tell us all about it....
FYI--I do think Marc should NOT ditch that Dark Shadows record album....
Sluggy
Hi, my name is Annie, and I'm a...curator.
ReplyDeleteI have been working hard at reducing "stuff" in the actual living spaces of our home. On a rotating basis I go through drawers, cabinets and closets a room at a time and cull some things out each time to sell, donate or give away.
I don't collect anything just for the sake of collecting, but I used to buy a lot of garage sale items to resell on eBay or in flea markets. That "hobby" has gone be the wayside for a number of reason, but I still have a lot of "merchandise" to get rid of.
Also, I have a fairly large stash of craft supplies, cookbooks and novels. I'm trying to reduce in all those areas, as well as general household items, clothing, shoes, kitchenware, etc. I'm also striving not to bring in to the house as much as I'm taking out.
We have tons (literally?) of stuff in our garage and basement, mostly Shane's tools, building supplies, camping equipment, more building supplies, etc. I would like for a lot of this to go, but I realize that much of it will save us a lot of money as we work on home projects. So I try not to let it bother me as much.
As long as I'm making progress on the clutter in the house and make sure our yard doesn't look cluttered, that's all that matters at the moment.
I haven't watched the video yet. I will try to do that tomorrow when I have a little quiet time to myself.
Yep, and I don't want to be one either! I go through periodically and get rid of things but it seems to build back up rather quickly!! I can barely get into my pantry right now because it is filled to the door with things.
ReplyDeleteDang. Your career guidance counselor nailed my future too... I'm a curator...
ReplyDeleteI'm soooooo tired of being a curator, and you know from reading some of my posts that I was totally looking forward to a house full of nothing. I still am, but it's going to take some work - the hubs just can't.let.go of so much of his. I've already told him I have no intention of cleaning it anymore (or just thinking about cleaning it). So if he wants a clean house and he wants stuff - he gets to take the curator role :) We'll see how long that lasts. LOL!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, and I have a big collection of beanie babies and boyd's plush up on ebay right now - can't get a 99-cent bid on retired things that were "worth" so much not that many years ago. Never again.
I had a dream last night that I was in Heaven and they had me dejunking drawers. That would be Heaven and they said that I could get rid of anything that I wanted and there would be no consequences. True story!
ReplyDeleteIf I had my way, we would have NOTHING!!! I hate stuff. The problem is Den won't get rid of anything so that is a huge fight here. I'm often reminded that it's his stuff and house so I should leave it alone. When I had my own place it was neat as a pin. I miss that!
AnnieJ--We all need to get together and have the mother of all garage sales with all our eBay merchandise! Who needs Meg Whitman anyway, right??lol
ReplyDeleteSheila--It's just so hard to start decluttering sometimes, isn't it? My problem is that I tackle a project I can't finish in a few hours or in one day and then things sit unfinished until they start blending into the scenery and then your space is even more cluttering with everything drug out into the room. Gosh, I hate that!lol
McVal--I think there are so many of us....and I bet that most of the curators in the world are women too.
Pretty--The problem with making hubs deal with it is that men have a higher tolerance for clutter so us women usually end up breaking down and dealing with it because we can't stand it any more!!lol
And I feel your pain on the boyds and beanies...geez What WERE we thinking then!!??!!??lolol
SonyaAnn--Ok lady, stop thinking like it's HIS house....you are married so it's half yours now! So take back your half and clear it out. How about some tape down each room like in those old sit-coms, and he can keep his half a pigsty cluttered mess and you can still have some bare spaces.
I do think you need to get yourself certified as a professional organizer or something...seriously! Look into it. There is a great need for those services so why not have people PAY YOU to throw stuff out!lol And you have very good people skills too and that is what would make you a successful PO. People will have to like you to let you into their spaces and let you throw their stuff out and organize what's left.
And you could get your thrills pitching other people's stuff out and then you wouldn't feel the need as much to pitch out Den's stuff.lol
I am with you. I have always hated clutter. Simple and casual is the way I go. Hence I try to keep drawers, closets and rooms clutter free. It keeps me stress free!
ReplyDelete