Last of Retail Therapy as Easy Stress Release: HR Inspiration or Desperation, Story #13, Part 3

Last of the Retail Therapy as Easy Stress Release:  HR Inspiration or Desperation, Story #13, Part 3

As I have written in the title, it's now only EASY stress relief, not as "happy" now as the euphoria has seemed to have faded away from Retail Therapy, part 1 and part 2.  I wonder how that happens!

I've learned some valuable lessons from this current retail therapy from my Meltdown and HoarderRehab Menu of Disaster.  So taking many steps backwards will help me to move forward in a more positive less repetitive manner as I learn to dehoard and stop my hoarding cycles.

Aya from wafunoiro is very gracious, patient and kind and answered all my questions concerning these textiles, since I am now allergic to many fabrics, except, cotton, silk and some wools.  On top of those allergies, I can no longer use fabric that has been stored in mothballs or any kind of vintage insecticides, have a musty smell, any old smells or mold smells.  One whiff and I'll have a miserable allergic reaction!

Anyone with these same health issues can safely buy from Aya at wafunoiro and I love her prices!

I used to quilt and love to make yoyo's for relaxation, but it seems I've ended up hoarding more fabric than quilting!  I have several to many textile projects from the late 90s started and here I am adding to my hoard, instead of using it!  I'm not sure what to say about myself over this!

These will make some interesting yoyo patterns

This Japanese wool textile is so beautiful to me I couldn't pass it up!  Aya gave me a break for buying in the amount I did.  I need to work on my weakness for buying in bulk!

As a hoarder, the worst part is I have no idea what I will do with this beautiful fabric, but as a quilter I can use this, if I can one day get to my sewing machine!  I do remember that when I quilt or sew clothes I need a whole lot of space!  First things, first!

My favorite is the silk daruma that I bought for the Japanese New Year.  Usually one buys a paper mache daruma and you make a wish and color in one of his eyes and when your wish comes true you color in the other eye.  This year I have so many wishes, I bought some silk that has a lot of daruma!

As a matter of fact, I remember now, this is how it all began... I was looking for some darumas!  Well, that thoroughly and quickly spiraled out of control!

 Here is a photo of a traditional Daruma doll from wiki.  Yep, I used to collect these, but I gave them away!   I still have one somewhere and when I find it I can color in it's other eye now!

Although all of my stress and sadness from my Meltdown has dissipated and the stress has gone, the sadness lurks in my shadows, like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off at any moment, which will in turn cause more hoarding damage?  Does this mean I haven't bought enough yet?

I bought these eraser matches in the matchbook to go with my candy cigarette boxes for the curio box that will hold my broken childhood dreams.  Remember those awful tasting white cigarette candies or bubble gume that were a pasty white with a bright pink end.  My grandfather smoked cigarettes and when he bought a pack for himself would buy the candy ones for us.

Interesting enough, I couldn't just buy one thing!  I had to buy the clam charms too because the other nostalgic item I was looking for was the clam shell water flowers!  Remember those?  Real clam shells with paper around it and they would bloom in a glass of water?  Silly me, bought the clam charms because I can't find the water blooming clam shells!  Also, I'd like to learn how to make these zakka type clam charms made from real clam shells!

Thank you Miki, my new friend from Spain! If you love 80s kawaii, check out Sweet Vintage Goods.  I f you love zakka and/or handmade Japanese crafts, check out HandMade LifeStyle and also, vintage goods from around the world at her The Vintage Universe!

I don't even use my cell phone, so I have no idea why I bought the bear charm, except it's so cute!

What does this tell me?  Too much and more than I can chew... it means,  I haven't taken responsibility for my holiday family angst.  How do I take responsibility for it?  I don't really know yet.  I know forgiving it and them is part of it, which I've done, but there's more to it... I just don't know what it is yet.

Here is another example where I couldn't just buy what I needed!  I just needed the "Insult Cards".  I think they are so funny and classic and so much nicer and have more wit than the "yo mama" jokes kids tell these days.  I found them for $10, but for a few bucks more, it included this set of 17 dime store toys! 

They now reside in my treasure chest and I have a classic paper treasure chest in my hoard somewhere too!  I hope I don't have to fill it up with dime story toys too!

At least some of the hoarder menu disaster pointed me in some directions, like packaging for my etsy thank you gifts to etsy buyers.  I want to put the "Insult Cards" as part of my packaging because I think they are so funny, but maybe etsy buyers won't think they are as funny as I do!  oopsy!  Do you like them?

via (M.) I + T

I think I over bought for my etsy "thank you" packaging, but it was so fun!  I guess I'll face the reality and damage when it all gets here and I sort through it and put a package together.  I will definitely write and post about it because it's one of my favorite things to do!

I found the loteria mexicana game at the swap meet, but I couldn't just buy one! nor could I just buy one version of it!  I found the more modern ones first and the vintage ones second, but the one I was looking for comes in a box with chicken markers!

I definitely can see my issue with shopping and just buying what I need.  In the photo below, we went to Micheal's for some glow in the dark cord and that was it!  Oh my!  Three of those items I bought because they were on sale!  The other three--- the flower power appliques remind me of my childhood patches for my clothes and since I've been mending I bought them?  Hmm... sound suspicious to me.

The kraft paper cards with envelopes I bought to make sample cards and to use the last one as a pattern.  The pink light weight cord is a mystery or if I have to guess I thought I'd try it on the packaging, since every time I go to Micheal's, I also look for red waxed cord, but they only have black.

I just put my HoarderRehab Meltdown Retail Shopping Spree/Therapy on the table for hoard pic!  And I had to open up both table leaves!  Yikes!

This is everything I've bought from my Meltdown to cover the cost of my HoarderRehab Menu of Disaster!

Before I panic and start to get stressed and start the viscious hoard cycle all over again, let me stop and think about it.  What story do these tell?  What ephiphanies are in them?

Hoarder Desperation: 

1.  Wow!  Did I really buy all that?  It looks like too much!  And where will I put it all?  It also looks like I went over my menu of disaster budget, but I'll to recalculate after I catch my breath!

2.  And even weirder is my perception!  I thought it was all going to fit on the square table until I started to bring it all out for the pictures!  I was in shock when I opened the first leaf and by the second one I was in such disbelief I went to get mr. oz, as a witness!  It still shocks me to look at the new hoard!  What was I thinking?  Now I know, I wasn't thinking at all!

3.  I truely went back to my old ways of being pie in the high sky, instead of grounded.  I didn't ask myself my important questions from "destiny as infnity", like is this bringing me closer or further away from my goals?   Nor did I think of my heros!  Is this how Ghandi would have managed his stress?  Is this what Eleanor Roosevelt did when she became stressed out over family issues?  How did they manage their stress?

4.  Even worse, just when I thought this was all, mr. oz just informed me that four more medium sized packages arrived!  I can't even remember what more I bought!  Cut me off now!  That's just the silliest most hilarious DUMB thing I've heard all day!  I can't believe myself!  At least it makes me laugh!

Hoarder Inspiration: 
1.  It makes me laugh now, but I wasn't laughing last weekend.  I've had some time think about it.

2.  I have really disoriented hoard perception!  What seems like a manageable amount to me is really NOT!  It's more than I can chew or handle and it's a menace towards my goal of a Minimal Organic home with a music art room!  None of the stuff I bought is even organic!  I guess this may sound like desperation, but this realization is a real gem to me!

I can see how I got myself into this mess in the first place!  I think 50 items are going to fit in a certain box, but really only 10 will fit!  It's a relief to know now...sigh, better late than never!

3.  Ashley from the Tooth Locket story has really really really helped me!  I can see now, how "one" is enough and two is too many!  I could have bought the "Insult cards" for $10 and had the one thing I wanted for "thank you" packaging, instead of the 17 other things that came along with it, even if it was a bargain!

Also, I think I bought the dime store toys not only because it was a super deal but because of the graphics on the header cards.

4.  Bargains, discounts and sales may be a dream for some, but for this hoarder it's a nightmare!  Which reminds me, I've already posted something about it.  Let me go find it!  Dang, it was my first epiphany!  I think I need to read my own posts more regularly!  It's here, A Sale, A Bargain, A Deal:  A hoarder's dream until it becomes a nightmare!  HoarderRehab Epiphany #1.

I'm shaking my head to myself, I guess I should print it out and read it before I head out the door to buy something and keep it with me, as a steady reminder!  I'll need to read it before I buy anything, PERIOD!

It should be interesting to see what I do with all that stuff now!

5.  The picture of the table of my newly acquired hoard is like a more organized view of what my hoarded, "soon to be" music art room would look like under a microscope!

6.  I'm a little nervous now about how "out of control" I can get about holiday family angst with a straw that breaks the camel's back!  I do know now that I am going to take responsibility for it, instead of passing the buck, literally and figuratively buy spending and buying stuff as stress release!  I think it's going to be worth learning!

I'm not sure how to do that, but I'm going to start with this book I found on Chrisy's blog, Artdecadence called, "The Daring Female's Guide to Ecstatic Living" by Natasha Kogan.  Now I usually wouldn't read a book with a title like that one, but when I was reading how to become financially independent I read countless books and came to the conclusion that the ones with the worst titles were the most informative for me.

So not only should I NOT judge a book by it's cover, but not judge it by it's title either.

Wish me luck at the library and maybe they'll have other books too!

Thank you mr. oz for being so patient in more ways than one and for taking pics without saying a word!  I'm definitely not used to getting that kind of support.  Thank you for being my #1 supporter!

Thank you US, UK, Poland and France for your visits today, it certainly helped motivate me to stop procrastinating and get this posted!

I'm going to go have some quiet time now...