In this case, it's now a pen holder!
An Etsysian wrote telling me that she has a penchant for collecting these vintage pens and pencils. And not only does she have a pen and pencil collection, but a glass frog holder to display them all! And the best part is she also said this is the smallest glass frog she's ever found. I find that a compliment! Thank you!
Other information I found interesting is that she started her message with something like, "I don't know why but I love to collect..." I have so many collections also that I think it's best for me to explore why I start "some" of them because it's a mystery to me too! I think some of my collections are beyond enjoyable, overly nostalgic, obviously overwhelming and many are in the "over" achiever range.
For me as a recovering hoarder, I think many of my collections are some how linked to my past and this one I'm not sure how yet, but I do have a more than three glass frogs somewhere in my hoard and I have the metal kind too. I've always liked them for some reason that is beyond me.
The only connection to my past that I can think of is with my Grandmother who took ikebana lessons, however, it's such a vague memory and I don't remember ever seeing these glass or metal plant holders while growing up or visiting them.
She also mentioned that she likes very small miniature items and this one is the smallest one she's found so far! I too used to collect miniature items, most of my miniature doll house collection is listed on HoarderRehab, here and my love for them is still apparent, for example my pencil sharpener collection. My favorite one is a miniature milk carton. Also I used to collect miniature charms with my favorites being the moveable ones, which I will be listing in the near future.
As a child not only did I have a shell collection, but I also have/had a miniature shell collection. I probably have more miniature related collections, but at the moment, trying to remember them is causing me a lot of stress. Last month ended and continues with insomnia and this month I feel overwhelmed by many things, several of them stemming from what I call, "drama trauma."
Anyways...
Saying Good-bye: For some reason, this "mysterious" collection of not knowing why I have so many of these glass and metal frogs is a good reminder of how sometimes trying to dehoard too quickly might actually be the cause of ending up with more things!
What I Learned:
1. As a recovering hoarder passing up a bargain is very difficult and I think that is one of the reasons as to why I ended up with so many "mysteriious" collections of unknown origins on top of my other collections. It's still hard to pass up a bargain, but I can say, I am passing them by more frequently.
Sometimes passing a bargain feels like it's killing me and I can mull over it for days, but just like changing other habits about my hoarding ways, I hope with practice the feelings won't last so long and will become easier for me to recover from them.
2. I will admit when I had a lot of stress between working as a inner city teacher without books, with mostly a Spanish reading class and speaking very little Spanish myself, remodeling a house and in the middle of it all navigating through a long messy divorce, retail therapy was a dream in disguise!
I think I've mentioned this on another post, but during that time, I think it lasted at least three years one of the things that got me through one of the most stressful times of my life was having something on my doorstep just for me when I came home from work and even on the weekends. I'd even double up on Saturdays for Sunday!
I hate to do the math, but that's a whole lot of retail therapy! That's like 1,000 things retail therapy! And that doesn't count all the thrifting I did back then either! Yikes! Although in my defense, I can remember that thrifting was a lot less expensive back then. However I can't even talk about how much I used to spend on my students and classroom!
3. Well, that was a hit in the head back to reality. I hope... I know I need better ways to deal with my stress and all I can say, are
Thank you Etsyian for sending me your back story with so many "clues" for me to help my HoarderRehab!
Thank you Etsy for everything, especially for starting me on this journey and for connecting me to more kind people than I ever imagined!
Thank you US, China, UK, Poland, Romania, Russia, Canada, France, United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh for your visits and supporting my HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things!
Click on the shop names to visit hoard listed daily: VintageToGoEtsy, HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things!
Related Stories:
1. HoarderRehab Meltdown: Since I feel as though one might be coming again! yikes! and I'd rather not relive that again, so I need to seek out and try other alternatives!
2. Retail Therapy, Part 1: Although that was fun, I think I'm ready to try other alternatives to stay focused on my dream of a Minimalist organic home with a music art room, rather than unused hoarded storage!
3. Washi Tape Retail Therapy, Part 2: I do feel like buying some washi tape and have some projects in mind for them! However, collecting too much nostalgia from the past and now collecting supplies for the near future art projects without acting on them is keeping my dehoarding at a stand still! We'll see what happens!
4. Destiny as Infinity: Other coping reminders and questions to remind myself to stay focused on my HoarderRehab!
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