That's what friends are for...

I attribute my pack rat behavior to two of the most wonderful women that blessed my life.  The first is my mother.  She saved EVERYTHING!  She was known to iron wrapping paper, save pie boxes, reuse ribbons, remelt candles and had more Imperial margarine containers than the manufacturers themselves.  Nothing was ever thrown out because "you just never know when you need it".  That school of thought was unfortunate to unsuspecting refrigerator raiders in her home.  She always answered "yes" to the question: "Is this still good?"  As the raider was wolfing down whatever leftover they may have found, Mom would think back aloud to figure out just what day she had it for dinner herself.  She usually determined the meal was eaten at least a week in the past. 

Another woman that I was fortunate to love, was a dear flea marketing friend.  Her home had impressive stacks of thrift store finds that reached from floor to ceiling, with just narrow paths to walk through.  She was generous with her treasures,  although often times others did not recognize their beauty as she did.  My fondest memory of The Bear Lady features her gifting me the ugliest owl lamp I had ever seen.  Her huge smile and encouraging confirmation of how perfect it would be in my living room convinced me to take it.  I must confess, it was not long before I dropped the creepy thing off at a resale shop.  Time passed, and one day The Bear Lady came into work excited to show me the riches she found for me that day.  "You will never believe this!" she enthusiastically exclaimed as she opened the hatch of her van which was bursting with her newly found prized possessions.   "It is a perfect match to the lamp I gave you!"

As you can see, after being mentored by these amazing women, I was destined to be the lover of all things used and cast aside.  When they left this earth, they bestowed upon me the super power to attract and accumulate any item needing love within a hundred mile radius.  I am also pretty sure they pulled strings up in Heaven to create craigslist.

I am now an "empty nester" with a basement full from years of hunting and gathering.  Although I had good intentions at the time, my hunting trophies were set carefully in the basement with the empty promise that I would come visit and help them regain their luster of days past.  My hubby thinks it is time to pitch everything...I need to prove him wrong.  With my mad creative skills, (aka Pinterest and Google), I vow to make use of all the garbage lurking in the basement. (Along with anything else I will inevitably collect as days go by.) Since I know I am not the only hoarder out there desperately trying to show others just exactly why they need 17 chairs without seats, I thought I would share my projects to empower my fellow collectors to rescue their junk from dark, damp basements everywhere. 

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.

-C.S. Lewis