Tuesday, June 4, 2013

You Can't Take It With You






It's Shameless Commerce Tuesday, and today, instead of featuring an item from my primary Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations, I've decided to promote my newly-opened (but far from fully-stocked) vintage Etsy shop, Aunt Pheba's Vintage.

Turning 60 has made me come to grips with my own mortality --- but in a good way.

Over the past year, I've watched my brother and sister-in-law struggle under the weighty responsibility of being executors of estates which included eight decades of accumulated STUFF.  While my uncle and my brother's father-in-law might not have been candidates for the TV show, Hoarders, they had (like so many of that generation who grew up during the Great Depression) found it difficult to throw anything away -- or give it away for that matter!  With all of my kids in different time zones now, I do not want any of them to have to use their entire accumulated vacation leave to clean out a house full of STUFF when I'm gone.

So, I've resolved that during the decade of my 60s, I'm going to DOWNSIZE and SIMPLIFY. (Except for my fabric stash.  I'm not ready to part with that yet -- except for my scraps.   I can sew in assisted living or a nursing home when I'm WAY old.  Although goodness knows I have amassed a FABLE: Fabric Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy.)

My youngest kids are apartment dwellers, and the older ones are small house dwellers with modern, not vintage, tastes.  The sad fact is, none of them really wants my grandma's china, or my crystal, or my mother's linens. So these things need to find new homes.

With that in mind, I opened my second Etsy shop on June 1, 2013.  Although I call it Aunt Pheba's Vintage, it is actually named after my paternal grandmother, Pheba Lois (Canfield) Larson, pictured in the photo above on the far, far right.  Her husband, my Grandpa Larson, is holding their son Llewellyn, in the center of the photo. Llewellyn died of heart disease the summer after he finished third grade.  This photo was taken in 1921.  My dad was born in 1924.

Although Pheba (pronounced FEE-bee, just like Phoebe) was known to me as Grandma Larson, she was known to most of the rest of the family as Aunt Pheba. She loved pretty things, and, as the only granddaughter, I have had many of her things stored in boxes for too many years.  We've also accumulated some rather kitschy interesting vintage items along the way that need to find new homes.  So, over the next few weeks, I hope to fill the virtual shelves of my new shop with some of those buried treasures -- with a little kitsch thrown in.

TTFN
LeAnn







14 comments:

  1. I love the old sewing machine in your new shop :)
    My parents have started getting rid of a few more things lately too. They've moved twice since my childhood home and are finding things they just don't need to keep. It's just so hard to part with heirlooms though!

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    1. Thanks, Edi!
      I know the shelves are a little bare right now, but I'll add more. It IS hard to part with things we've hung onto for so long. So I started with the "easy" stuff--less personal attachment.

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  2. I think you're doing the smart thing by opening an Etsy shop. Everything you don't need anymore will find a loving new home! I love vintage, so I'm off to check it out. :-)

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    1. Thanks, Paige. The virtual shelves are pretty empty right now.

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  3. Great post, LeAnn! And congrats on your new shop :)
    My family moved so often, there's not much stuff left. I'm hanging on to the few things passed down from my maternal grandmother!

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    1. Thank you, Duni! I will hang on to some of the things that are nearest and dearest to my heart.

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  4. I LOVE that photo!!!!

    congrats on the new shop and the new mission to downsize. my mom was executor or my aunt's will and it IS a lot of work going through someone else's life, on top of the already emotional stuff.

    love the singer machine!

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    1. Thank you, Pamela!

      My cousin has found many huge group photos from the 1910s and 1920s -- as well as studio family photos. What a treasure! What I don't have (I think my brother might have it) is my grandparents' wedding photo. I'd love to have that to share in the About section of my new shop.

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  5. Hehe - downsize except fabric! Love it.

    I was curious about your new shop's name. Thanks for the story!

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  6. Congrats on opening your new shop, I wish you much success! I love the story about the shop name.

    You have me thinking LeAnn, it may be time to start downsizing too.
    Valerie
    Everyday Inspired

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    1. Thanks, Valerie! It's hard letting go, but I think it is time.

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  7. Wow! Congratulations on opening your new shop! This will be a great way to clear the clutter. I just can't believe that you are going to part with that vintage sewing machine! That would be a tough one for me to get rid of.

    I am with you 100%. You can barely move in my parent's home because of all the stuff they have accumulated. It probably is a depression ear thing because my Step-Dad who is 87, was in WWII so he lived through the depression and can not part with anything.

    I tend to go in the opposite direction (except for craft and sewing supplies) and prefer to keep the bare minimum around. If I don't use it, I don't need it!

    Best of luck on your new shop!

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  8. Pertaining to my comment above:

    I wanted to say depression ERA thing, not depression EAR thing! How funny!

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