View Full Version : What is your "fantasy self" item that is tripping you up?
For me, it's tiered trays. The kind you stick decor on to display. I don't have any but I so badly want one. But.... I know that I don't need it and that it will just be something else to manage. I even went as far as ordering the tray off Amazon and some decor from Etsy but had instant buyer's remorse and cancelled all the orders.
What is something you know is a "fantasy self" item that you just can't get rid of or that is a WANT instead of a NEED?
iris lilies
7-20-21, 10:58am
Oh yeah I had a couple tiered trays 20+ years ago back when we had parties. Do you mean food trays? I’m not sure what you mean by stick decor on.
About a dozen years ago I started off loading collections of “stuff” . Some of those were about the person i wanted to be, one collection was silverplate trays and serving pieces. Granted, for about 15 years we hosted many big parties in our yard, but I didn’t use those utensils nearly as much as I thought I would. So when we had a sale I priced them super cheap and all of them sold. It is hard to unload plate serving pieces, but when you price them at $7-$9 people buy them. From this collection I have one giant punch bowl left that I never use, but I have a plan to polish it for a final time, load it up with Christmas greenery (cut from our park) and sell it at the Park Conservancy sale in December.
in recent years I got rid of a small collection of dolls. I really do love them, they were cute. I do not like babies or children much, but the dolls were favorites of mine. I also got rid of my Paul Simon collection and I thought that would make a bigger dent of regret than it made. I just don’t care that stuff is gone. I recently got rid of two Victorian reproduction chairs my mom bought circa 1965. They’re pretty velvet heart back chairs. I hauled all them around the country for decades but I donated them recently and they sold to make money for a good cause. And I have no regrets.
I want to get rid of my Chinese pots I have about a dozen of them, many of them quite large. But it’s hard to find anyone who will take them let alone give money. The Chinese pottery is probably my last collection of “STUFF “to be rid of. I keep thinking there’s got to be a good home for this Chinese stuff, but I don’t know who.
Oh but this is a good topic because yes I have things that represent the person I want to be not the person I am..
The clothes I wear are very plain, cotton, shlubby, easily washable and always slightly wrinkled. I usually look like a bag lady. I have a few items of clothing that represent the person I want to be, they are colorful and flowing, sophisticated and… Yeah. Difficult to wear. Not me.
1/3 of our basement is devoted to my flower show equipment and “stuff “. I will say that that represents who I am right now because I actively use it, but I could get rid of probably half of it and still be fine.
I went to an antique store yesterday which has amazing wooden furniture that has been beautifully restored. I saw a wicker plant stand about 30"long, 8"wide and about 30" high lined with galvanized metal from the 1860's era. It is priced at $385 which is ridiculous for a plant stand but I have looked at the spot where it could sit to remind myself of the possibility. Not for $385 plus tax!!!!!
Oh yeah I had a couple tiered trays 20+ years ago back when we had parties. Do you mean food trays? I’m not sure what you mean by stick decor on.
About a dozen years ago I started off loading collections of “stuff” . Some of those were about the person
i wanted to be, one collection was silverp,ate trays and serving pieces. Granted, for about 15 years we hosted many big parties in our yard, butmI didn’t use those utensils nearly as much as I thought I would. So when we had a sale I price them super cheap and all of them sold. It is hard to unload so replayed serving pieces, but when you price them at $7-$9 people buy them. From this collection I have one giant punch bowl left that I never use, but I have a plan to polish it for a final time, loaded up with Christmas greenery, and sell it at the Conservancy sale in December.
in recent years I got rid of a small collection of dolls. I really do love them, they were cute. I do not like babies or children much, but the dolls were favorites of mine. I also got rid of my Paul Simon collection and I thought that would make a bigger dent of regret than it made. I just don’t care that stuff is gone. I recently got rid of two Victorian reproduction chairs my mom bought circa 1965. They’re very cute heart back chairs, and they’re pretty. I hauled all them around the country for decades but I donated recently them and they sold to make money for a good cause. And I have no regrets.
I want to get rid of my Chinese pots I have about a dozen of them, many of them quite large. But it’s hard to find anyone who will take them let alone give money. The Chinese pottery is probably my last collection of “STUFF “to be rid of. I keep thinking there’s got to be a good home for this stuff, but I don’t know who.
Oh but this is a good topic because yes I have things that represent the person I want to be not the person I am..
The clothes I wear are very plain, cotton, shlubby, easily washable and always slightly wrinkled. I have a few items of clothing that represent the person I want to be, they are colorful and flowing and… Yeah. Difficult to wear.
1/3 of our basement is devoted to my flower show equipment and “stuff “. I will say that that represents who I am right now because I actively use it, but I could get rid of probably half of it and still be fine.
This is what I mean. Yes, they are food tray normally but the new thing is to stick decor on them to make them display pieces.
My fantasy self is as part of a happy, functional family getting along with everyone. So my items would be sentimental ones. I went through some lottery tickets that DS gave me for Christmas but he didn't want to celebrate with me - just threw the stocking in my room and said he wasn't ready. Next are some gift cards from the stocking I will go through. It's been over 6 months and things have just gotten worse. I know we will not be celebrating.
I went to an antique store yesterday which has amazing wooden furniture that has been beautifully restored. I saw a wicker plant stand about 30"long, 8"wide and about 30" high lined with galvanized metal from the 1860's era. It is priced at $385 which is ridiculous for a plant stand but I have looked at the spot where it could sit to remind myself of the possibility. Not for $385 plus tax!!!!!
That is me with those stupid tiered tray. I have a corner on the kitchen counter that I want to put one but then I think... why??? My weakness is seasonal decor and I think that is what is behind this sudden want for one. I love love love decorating for each season and/or holiday.
iris lilies
7-20-21, 11:47am
There is something very attractive about a tiered tray, 3 graduated in size. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that they are now being used for random stuff. The repetition of trays ties the “stuff” together along with theme and color, of course.
holiday decor is a scary place to collect. I had a huge closet area, maybe 10’ x 10’, devoted to Christmas decor. For 15 years I bought Christmas decor. I had three or four Christmas trees. I got rid of it all except one very tall but skinny tree and a bunch of ornaments that I’m going to give away next November. I had planned to give it away in November 2020, but pandemic. So now that stuff sits in a bedroom u der a sust cover, waiting ro be jettisoned.
Our neighborhood has a Christmas house tour so I often used the stuff around the neighborhood, not always in my own house. They were years where I didn’t decorate at home because it was too much trouble to haul all the stuff down from the third-floor.
My new holiday decor outlook is everything will be natural cut branches or paper Decor, except for two small boxes. I can toss it, the natural stuff, all at the end of the season. I have relayed on another thread how I got rid of everything Xmas and squeezed down to ornaments that are very old or else very special.
Teacher Terry
7-20-21, 12:13pm
When the kids were little I decorated our entire 3 story house for holidays. I got rid of most of it once they grew up. I was very much into antiques for years. I donated slowly all my collections to fundraisers that had silent auctions. That felt good as it was for a good cause. The antiques I kept are things I love.
There is something very attractive about a tiered tray, 3 graduated in size. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that they are now being used for random stuff. The repetition of trays ties the “stuff” together along with theme and color, of course.
holiday decor is a scary place to collect. I had a huge closet area, maybe 10’ x 10’, devoted to Christmas decor. For 15 years I bought Christmas decor. I had three or four Christmas trees. I got rid of it all except one very tall but skinny tree and a bunch of ornaments that I’m going to give away next November. I had planned to give it away in November 2020, but pandemic. So now that stuff sits in a bedroom u der a sust cover, waiting ro be jettisoned.
Our neighborhood has a Christmas house tour so I often used the stuff around the neighborhood, not always in my own house. They were years where I didn’t decorate at home because it was too much trouble to haul all the stuff down from the third-floor.
My new holiday decor outlook is everything will be natural cut branches or paper Decor, except for two small boxes. I can toss it, the natural stuff, all at the end of the season. I have relayed on another thread how I got rid of everything Xmas and squeezed down to ornaments that are very old or else very special.
I don't have a huge collection of holiday stuff and I use all of it. I just have a lot in the sense that every season and pretty much every holiday is covered. Random pieces of decor spread out around the house to make the house look festive. The most I have is for Winter/Christmas but I love that season the most so it's not surprising that I have a lot of decor for the time period. And I don't buy a lot of new stuff. I reuse what I have every year. I will be getting rid of a musical carousel this year though as I haven't had a place to put it for a few years and even when it was displayed, we never turned it on. I got rid of some stuff last year because the decor was more childish and my boys are 17 and 20 and aren't really fascinated with an animatronic snowman anymore. Also got rid of a nativity set for the same reason I plan on getting rid of the carousel.
ApatheticNoMore
7-20-21, 12:43pm
I keep some musical instruments even though I seldom play them. It doesn't represent new spending, the most recent is probably bought a decade ago, but more who I'd like to be or maybe wanted to be long ago. I don't doubt I own some books I may never read though I do try to curate (donate :)) these from time to time, I'm less hung up on them.
I have always loved interior design and architecture so I am frequently trying to "beautify" my spaces. There are too many choices. As an example, I just bought a new bedroom rug and now I see that it doesn't quite go with the bed quilt. Or try picking a wall paint color - aargh!!
happystuff
7-20-21, 6:06pm
It used to be canning jars and all those little accessories that let you use them for things other than canning - i.e. lids and straws, lamps, hurricane lamps, soap dispensers, etc.. I ended up with soooo many that I gifted them to folks. Now I think I have just about the right amount and all the accessories for them that I want.
Oh, gosh, what a great question. I was a Renaissance woman-in-training in my young years--I acted, wrote, painted, sewed, did crafts, read, taught Sunday school, volunteered for political campaigns--you name it. In my kid-raising working mom life, all that stuff was mostly set aside. But I still fancied myself an actor, poet, painter, dressmaker, etc etc.
I wonder these days how many of those pursuits have died on the vine, and how many need watering to bloom, because I still like the thought of my "self" being a polymath. Actually, I've added horticulturalist and permaculturalist to my list of endeavors!!
So, I'll get back to you in a couple of years with my answer to this. Most of it is fantasy now, and that's totally OK. My life is pretty full as it is. Plus my brain is less able to juggle everything. I have a sewing machine tucked under my desk. My son sent me acrylic paints for my birthday. I'd like to "water" those things. The acting stuff is dead. The political stuff is dead. I'm not taking anything else on that I can see.
Oh, gosh, what a great question. I was a Renaissance woman-in-training in my young years--I acted, wrote, painted, sewed, did crafts, read, taught Sunday school, volunteered for political campaigns--you name it. In my kid-raising working mom life, all that stuff was mostly set aside. But I still fancied myself an actor, poet, painter, dressmaker, etc etc.
I wonder these days how many of those pursuits have died on the vine, and how many need watering to bloom, because I still like the thought of my "self" being a polymath. Actually, I've added horticulturalist and permaculturalist to my list of endeavors!!
So, I'll get back to you in a couple of years with my answer to this. Most of it is fantasy now, and that's totally OK. My life is pretty full as it is. Plus my brain is less able to juggle everything. I have a sewing machine tucked under my desk. My son sent me acrylic paints for my birthday. I'd like to "water" those things. The acting stuff is dead. The political stuff is dead. I'm not taking anything else on that I can see.
Reading this post after finishing a chat with my DD1, I realize that in so many ways, as Cath has suggested, I have discarded some of my life's fantasies as completed or not on my agenda any longer. Different perspective!
I'm a well-stocked multimedia non-practicing artiste. Should get back to that...
I think I solved the kitchen corner dilemma but may have created a new "clutter" issue. Husband's coffee pot kicked the bucket a few weeks ago. I had an extra one stored in our pantry. But upon further inspection, it's a 4 cup one so it's tiny. Husband has been making due with it. Recently, oldest has started drinking coffee out of the blue so 4 cups ends up not being enough anymore. I ordered a bigger coffee pot since my husband was complaining about the small one. I was just planning on storing the smaller one away again just in case. But oldest asked if he could use it for "his " coffee and just stick it on the counter next to the new bigger one. So now we will have two coffee pots on our counter. I am hoping once the bigger one comes, oldest will change his mind and use that one instead. I really really don't want two coffee pots on the counter but it will solve the issue with the weird empty spot on the counter so I am torn. We really don't have a lot on the counters as it is but for some reason this empty corner irks me.
Simplemind
7-27-21, 4:37pm
That's funny Klunick. For years I had a 4 cup and I'm pretty much a 1 cup gal. I have a friend who came over and was a constant guzzler. She kept complaining that she was going to get me a big pot. I told her I didn't want one. The ground coffee was next to the pot as was the water. Just.... add...... more...... Ta-da!! Fresh!
happystuff
7-27-21, 5:16pm
I used to have a 4 cup, but - with the average size mug these days - we usually only got 2 cups out of it. LOL.
All the lovely journals I've received or picked up thinking I would use and write my inner most thoughts, clarifying my mind. Also books like The Artist's Way thinking I would devote time to writing, when so far I have not.
I made a much better newspaper writer ---give me an assignment and I can write that up.
All the lovely journals I've received or picked up thinking I would use and write my inner most thoughts, clarifying my mind. Also books like The Artist's Way thinking I would devote time to writing, when so far I have not.
I made a much better newspaper writer ---give me an assignment and I can write that up.
I'm much better with assignments and deadlines. Undisciplined, that's me.
That's funny Klunick. For years I had a 4 cup and I'm pretty much a 1 cup gal. I have a friend who came over and was a constant guzzler. She kept complaining that she was going to get me a big pot. I told her I didn't want one. The ground coffee was next to the pot as was the water. Just.... add...... more...... Ta-da!! Fresh!
My husband drinks one cup at home and then a few more once at work so I didn't think having a smaller one would bother him. Makes plenty to fill his cup.
I used to have a 4 cup, but - with the average size mug these days - we usually only got 2 cups out of it. LOL.
Oldest complained that we only had one large mug available so he bought himself one.
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