Thursday, February 27, 2014

Clutter & Treasure


Hanging neatly on a rack at the back of the shop were six, no seven, dainty little vintage baby dresses. There was smocking. Lace. Ribbon. Hand-stitching.
The biro sprawl on the tags attached told me they were only a few dollars each. And despite my pledge to stop buying so much stuff… I knew that I was completely unable to resist.
While it's true that pregnancy plays horrible tricks on the hormones - prepare, prepare, prepare, of course baby needs one more little blanket, another pair of hand-knitted booties, a sweet little velvet dress that won't fit her for a year, it's also true that my inability to resist the allure of the thrift shop is sliding into dangerous territory.
I've banned myself from them until everything has found a home and I've de-cluttered, which is tricky seeing as I can't actually go to my house at the moment because of the smoke, and I'm surrounded by gorgeous op-shops whispering about their hidden treasures.
It used to be the kids kept me out of op-shops, as my Sprocket had a tendency to climb shelves and quickly become bored - now it's entirely possible to tell them they can choose one small thing, and they'll behave beautifully. (Mostly.)
Op-shops have come a long way in recent years. Most have eftpos. A lot have websites. Facebook pages. Loyalty cards. The Salvation Army even have a magazine called 'Salvonistas' with very funky photos. My Dad swears by the Brotherhood of St Lawrence, who now put all their books online, and deliver for free… often the next day. Talk about temptation! (Literally sacks of books arrive on the doorstep on a regular basis.)
Which all makes it even harder to walk on by.
But I can do it. Seriously. As long as I don't take that initial step through the front door.
Let's just take it one day at a time.
But what if there are little vintage dresses, just waiting for me?
Deep breath. One day at a time. I can do this.

Can you resist the allure of the op-shop? Any tips? Any good finds recently?

3 comments:

  1. Just discovered the Brotherhood secondhand books online ourselves. However we have also made several trips to take stuff to the lovely Brotherhood shop behing the peppercorns, by the bluestone church in High st Westgarth - now we have found that is such a pleasant experience. Jean

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've managed to avoid ordering myself... but I have given my parents a list of books I'm looking for! There's a big bag of books at the front door I need to take to an op-shop and I'm hoping to finally get it from door to car today. Wish me luck! The brotherhood shop in Westgarth sounds beautifully situated. I'll try very hard to avoid checking it out!

    ReplyDelete