Confession: collections

When I was about 8-years-old, I wanted a dog, bad. My parents wouldn't let us get one, so I found ways to substitute - I read books about dogs, made homemade treats for my friends' dogs, and finally, I collected dog figurines - about five shelves full to be exact. I may have been on my way to becoming a candidate for this show.

When I was 11, I finally got a real dog.  And as most kids do with their collections, I grew bored of my dog statue menagerie and it soon moved from a prominent spot in my bedroom to a box in my parents' attic.

Since then, the only thing I've collected are vintage aprons, of which I have about 10, most of which were sent to me by friends and family who know I love these frilly things.

I'm confessing my collection because I want to know, what do you collect? Did you have any strange collections when you were a youngster? Traumatized by any porcelain doll collections of your grandmothers'?

I also wanted to share my thoughts on five things that are FREE and perfectly non-hoarderish to collect:

1. Restaurant matchbooks - free, fabulous little souvenirs to remind you of the great places you've eaten. Plus, when placed in a bowl they provide a classy air freshener for your bathroom. We keep ours in this seashell on our bathroom counter.

2. Seashells - bringing a little ocean into your house always brightens things up and seashells can also be used in so many cute ways! Like as a hurricane filler here, also in our bathroom.

3. Memories - I took a class in college called Life Histories/Narratives for which I had to write a biography about my mom. Though I'd already heard plenty of stories about her, it was really special to chat about her life uninterrupted. Take time to sit down with grandparents and other older family members and record their stories from small to big, down on paper or with a video camera. Years from now, the collection of those memories will be something generations of your family can enjoy.

How cute is my mom?

4. Compliments - I can't say enough about how a compliment can brighten someone's day. Be liberal in your giving of compliments and hang on to your favorites! You can write down compliments that really impact you in a journal or, like me, save a email folder for "Yays!" I have one in my work and one in my personal account. I stash nice emails there to remind myself how good things can be when I'm having a bad day.

Image from here.

5. Coupons - OK, I don't mean you should go to the extreme of this other show, but clipping those totally free coupons and collecting them someplace non-crazy like this cute antique coupon box that I use can save you big bucks. You know, so you can collect all those things that aren't totally free.

Coming out of the closet

I have a confession to make: I am a clothes-a-holic.

Although you wouldn't know it from home office uniform of sweats, I have a closet brimming with clothes. Not expensive clothes mind you, because in addition with my love of clothes, I have a love of bargain hunting (thanks Mom). Put me to work in a sale room or at a Marshall's or T.J. Maxx and I'll come out with more cute tops, pants, and dresses than you can shake your first at. But because bargain hunting means I can get more bang for my buck, I often end up with more clothes than I need, and even some items that attracted my eye initially, but end up sadly abandoned in my closet as my favorites get to tool around town.

Since we're off to a new year, I decided to put this bad habit to an end ... at least while I'm working from home and cute work outfits are rendered entirely unnecessary. To get going on this goal, I developed a plan that I began to carry out this weekend. Here it is:

First, I cleaned out my closet of anything I haven't worn in over a year and anything that's unrepairable (I have a habit of keeping my favorite things even when they're holey and I don't wear them).

Then, I took all the empty hangers and tucked them away, out of view. My rule now is, that I can't put any more hangers up - meaning if something new is coming in, something old has to go out. This way, each time I'm tempted to buy something, I have to weigh it against the other items in my closet -- Is it really something I need? Do I like it enough to get rid of something else? If the answer is yes, I must donate to Goodwill one piece of clothing to open up a hanger for the new item (same rule goes for folded items though it's more fun with the hangers - like musical chairs).

I'm so excited and already got started by getting rid of a preteen-looking cropped black blazer that's been in my closet for years, and replacing it with a grown-up lacy (yet also cropped) black Lauren Conrad (yes I love it) jacket I found on sale at Kohl's for a very bargain-licous $14.

What do you think of my plan? Do you have your open tips for keeping your closet in check?

P.S. Who has a closet neat enough to perform as a headboard? I mean who!? Jealous. Image from here.