Friday, June 3, 2016

*Junk. Digging through America's love affair with stuff" (book)


I've been visiting thrift stores lately looking for items to furnish the River House.  I won't buy anything upholstered (bugs anyone?) but have found a couple of pieces to fill in.

Junk.  Digging through America's love affair with stuff.
Alison Stewart


At about the same time I spotted this book at the library.  Stewart follows some "junk" haulers and she goes behind the scenes at some popular TV shows that deal with things people want to sell or want to know more about.  Antiques Roadshow being the best known although there are a lot of related shows out there.  AR is the only one I've watched and I do enjoy it.  Not familiar with the others.

She also wrote the following which I found interesting.

"You have people like my folks who were born in 1929 who were taught to save. And then you have baby boomers who were taught to buy. And then also it became cheaper to buy new than to fix, and now you have the millennial... everything is on the phone and I share my cars."

I enjoyed the book a lot but maybe that's because "junking" is what I'm doing at the moment.

How about you?  Do you keep a lot of stuff that you don't use?  Do you shop thrift stores and yard sales?  Do you watch any of the TV shows related to this subject?


10 comments:

  1. I'm trying to pare down, so I no longer keep things I don't use. But I do love the thrift stores. When I had access to cable I watched some of those shows, and it's fascinating to see what people find.

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  2. I'm with Divers and Sundry. Trying to "downsize". Thanks for a bunch of sugar ants in the kitchen - the cupboards are cleared out, sorted through, lots of stuff (outdated) dumped and now tidy and done.

    I love thrift stores. No matter what I'm looking for, even some things I'm not looking for - always there. I am amazed sometimes by the hideousness of some of the knick knacks, but then if I were being honest, looking around my home might produce the same reaction to some of mine. Love that you're back here, Darla. Makes my morning special.

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  3. I have moved so many times, I think I don't have junk, but then when I start to pack again, I realize I could still pair down. I don't go thrifting much anymore. I use to go a lot to find stuff to mosaic or plates to break for mosaics. Now I enjoy going antiquing instead, though I rarely buy anything.

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  4. I like finding things that are not widely available in shops, but I don't like anything too tattered or battered.

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  5. One man's junk is another man's treasure, as they say. But I no longer go to thrift stores for those things. I have enough junk. I'll send you some of mine, if you like (grin).

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  6. Hi Darla, I adore antique shops, thrifting and fossicking...but, I am now trying very hard indeed to cull, dispose of inessentials, and generally streamline the operation. After cleaning out several homes of parents, I know what I don't want to do to my own children :) We enjoy the Antique Roadshow, and now and then Bargain Hunt, and Antiques Road trip. You do learn about things from these shows.

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  7. I just read your comment about hair spray as a fixative. YES, of course I knew about that, but hair spray has a tendency to yellow over time, so when I make art for OTHER people, I use only the best. If I'm making art for my own altered books, I don't care if the pages yellow over time.

    But thanks for pointing that out, since I'm the queen of all things free or "use what you have on hand."

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  8. Ah, I love going to thrift stores and yard sales! The thrill of the hunt. And I love stuff- I have no interest in minimalist style. And old stuff is so much fun to alter and change and repurpose. I do want my stuff to be tidier so I can use it all better, though, and I've been sorting and getting rid of because we actually ended up with three peoples stuff in our house (my mother and my in-laws). But today I go to the library book sale, where they have the stock of a bookstore that went out of business... I hope to add to the clutter immensely today!

    We watch Antiques Roadshow quite a bit, and used to watch American Pickers. My favorite, though, was 'Oddities'.

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  9. I cruise through thrift shops on occasion, not nearly like I did years ago. There is a new consignment store, that just opened, and we went to it last Saturday. I did find a Lenox bowl, that matches my Christmas set, and bought it for $3.50!!! It was part of an estate sale, so I got it really cheap......and yet they were wanting $18.00 for most of their used shoes....??????

    DH and I still wonder through antique stores, but they don't hold my interest like they used to.....it's like "OMG! we got one of those as a wedding gift.....and I still have it!" LOL!

    Too much stuff??? Oh yes, we are THERE, DH is a boarder line hoarder.....and me being a crafter. With plans for a new house.....way out on the horizon....I have ( mentally) started thinking about what will get moved and what will get moved to a yard sale...or the dump. (oh I can hear the arguments with DH now...*grin*)



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  10. I tend to downsize and purge regularly. But there are a few select items around my home that have sentimental value--only to me. Things from relatives and friends who've died. Have old memorabilia from my youth...but not much more than will fit in my "Nostalgia" box. Oh, I do have boxes of old photos, too--and some of Dagan's things from when he was little. I guess I have more than I thought--LOL! Time to do some more purging! ;)

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