I wonder if people who sell their Lovelies full time for a living started out like me? They just began filling their lives and Homes with beautiful things they collected and amassed over time... until... they were at critical mass... saturation point!!!!! You simply cannot have the DNA for collecting and junquing or creating Art and simply stop cold when your life and abode becomes full of it... trust me, I've tried... and failed numerous times. At some point editing becomes a necessity, which means selling, trading up or giving away some of your Art and Found Treasures. My Family and Friends have inherited much of my Estate from me way prior to death... they had to, or I'd of become buried alive in it! *wink* Even though I'm a self-professed 'maximalist' there is a part of me that wants to be more of a 'minimalist', or at the very least clear out and rotate possessions on a regular basis when I hit critical mass and saturation point every so often and my life and Home feel too cluttered with beautiful objects. It's not that I'm any less attached to any of it, so I do seek to ensure it goes to a good Home or worthy cause, but with the exception of the most beloved or sentimental pieces, it has a lifespan in my care before it must move on.
We've tried other tactics, The Man bought me a bigger Home and Property just over a decade ago in hopes that would help... it didn't... more rooms and space to fill just meant... well... more stuff! *le sigh* More antiques, vintage found treasures, architectural salvage, collections and Art... so it just meant that critical mass and saturation point took a wee bit longer to hit than at the smaller property and I could just have more artistic freedom to decorate and create my vignettes and Art on a lovely big old Historic property. So yes, I've done what I see so many others with this particular DNA do... I rented some space for a time and sold off portions of my beautiful hoard... I began selling or trading some of my Art for cash or services I needed in exchange... I was philanthropic with portions that I knew worthy causes could auction off to benefit the less fortunate and fund their Ministries. I have yet to fully understand why I am so attached to and drawn to my lovely stuff and the particular things that fascinate me?!
I'm really not much of a retailer though, I loved the foofing and display of my wares, but the bookkeeping was a chore and frankly I had a tendency to want to reinvest the profits in my passions and that would eventually mean just better stuff to have to resell at some later date. *smiles* I'm also not the most prolific Artist and so knocking out product to make a living at it just seemed more like selling my Soul than feeding it and I refused to compromise on the quality or Purpose my Art needed to have for my standards. Our giving of cash and Treasures got to a point where we were told that we were 'way above the average' in giving and that could flag tax audits... who knew you could give too much... or that there could be a liability to giving where you'd have to justify it because it appeared too generous to be legit!?!?!?! I found that rather sad really because it's not as if we were at the level of giving of say a Bill Gates... I thought we were probably 'average' in our charity... though I suppose being way above average in giving is a pleasant revelation for anyone to be told.
So... my last and most recent attempt to bring less Treasure Home with me has been sort of a reverse form of Retail Therapy. I go to look, to enjoy, to savor that which I love and excites me or makes my Heart skip a beat... with no intentions of acquiring it or lusting after it... and I've surprised myself by doing very well! *look of disbelief on my own face... LOL* But I must say my Friends, that it is easier said than done... restraint and discernment on what to walk away from takes practice for those of us with the DNA to gather, salvage and save... so it's still a work in progress... Dawn... The Bohemian