One of the Blessings and Positives that I'm finding about going through a Great Edit and Purge Process of our Stuff is that I'm falling in Love all over again with the Favored Pieces... the 'Keepers'.
When you have been Collecting for a very long time you accumulate so much and so many Beautiful things that they can compete with each other for Visual Interest and Space.
But when you Cull the Collections you Re-Discover those Special Pieces that you will always Cherish and which will very likely be passed down within the Family or to close Friends, either because of their Beauty, their Story or the Sentiment attached.
I might be one of those rare people that rarely, if ever, keeps something solely based on Value. Sure, I've bought Investment Pieces with the sole Purpose of Re-Sale and turning a Profit at some Future point in Time... and some things proved to be a Good Investment even though that's not why I bought them... but just because something has Economic Worth won't Endear it to me necessarily.
I've had things that were worth a lot that I didn't have any Attachment to whatsoever and could easily part with... and things that only had Sentimental Value that I was very Attached to and wouldn't part with for any Price.
And when I'm making Special Purchases... you know, those ones you Save for because it's a Luxury to add it to your Collections but you're Seriously Jonesin' for it... Price isn't all that important to me either... it's simply worth what I'm willing to pay for it.
I'm very Frugal about MOST things and Love a Good Deal as much as the next person... so the majority of what I have was a Bargain and worth far more than I actually paid for it... and so if it's Time has come to 'Go'... I'll make money on it after having Enjoyed it for however long I wanted to.
And Thankfully, most of those coveted items I didn't get at a Bargain have increased in Value considerably too, so they were still a Good Investment. But... even if they weren't it would still be Okay with me because some Special things were never bought with the Intention to ever Sell or part with.
My Parents always taught me to buy the very Best that I COULD AFFORD and that if you do that you never really go wrong... they were Wise and I'm glad they Imparted that Wisdom.
If you bought what you absolutely Love and it's the Best that you could afford, then you never really fall out of Love with those particular things... and will only fall in Love all over again each time you spend Time with them.
And if you bought Quality Items in the first place, then they last... and you can always Trade Up as you go and can afford something even Better in the Future. Things that cost a lot are usually Extraordinary, Desireable and not Common. If its Common and Ordinary then everybody would have one and the most discerning wouldn't want it! And Superior Quality costs what it costs, it never goes on Sale, it doesn't have to!
I've often Traded Up, it's how I've afforded some of the Cream Of The Crop Collections that I possess.
When it came to The Serious Bling my Dear Nanna and Mom told me to Save up for the Real Deal and never Settle for synthetics or Costume Jewels. Better to own a small Diamond than a big Yag. Better to own Real Gold, Platinum or Silver than something plated or an overlay. The only Costume Jewelry to buy is that which can be had for a Song... if it was CHEAP then it was the Exception to the Rule! *LOL* And if you can get a OOAK Creation by an Artist... much better than anything mass produced... ALWAYS!
And because they Schooled me Well, I do find that when I'm going through all of the Lovelies in my Stash... and am weeding out that which I can Let Go of... there will still be plenty left that I am falling in Love with all over again and feel Blessed to Own!
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian