Decorating With Brain Fog

Do you ever just get tired of your stuff?

Sure, Sjogren's Syndrome. I'm ALWAYS tired of Sjogren's Syndrome, so that's not part of today's discussion. I know that I can't just switch out one disease for another....

But, as happens every spring, I'm antsy to change stuff that I can, um, change. Specifically stuff in our house.

This make John understandably nervous.

When I was working and had a bit more discretionary income, when the gotta-redecorate-the-entire-house bug hit, I could and did buy new things. Not huge things like a kitchen remodel or adding another bathroom. No. But I'd buy pillows, repaint, move furniture, pick up a few new paintings or lamps, that sort of junk.

Am I the only one that can't stand to see the same things in the exact same place in the house forever? John thinks I'm nuts, and of course I am, but that's beside the point.

These days I can't afford either the energy or expense to give the house a facelift every spring, but geez. I still want to. (It may be time to hide the credit cards, honey. Hm. Although I DO have the numbers for those babies memorized for online shopping.......)

I had to resort to a money saving strategy that once I used with the kids when they were little - probably ages five, three, and one. They were pretty lucky kids - aunts and uncles and grandparents and friends were very generous, not to mention Santa Claus and birthdays, so their toy room was jam packed.

One day, as I listened to one of them plead for a game advertised on television, I realized that this child already had this game, and didn't remember having it since it was buried beneath his other stuff.

Grr. Made me realize that we had to do something.

After the kids went to bed that night, John and I packed up probably a third of all their toys and games into a storage box and put it away in the attic. We wondered how long it would take the kids to notice that some of their things were gone. So, of course they never did notice. Honest. We were savvy enough to keep their favorite things out of the box.  BUT - three months later, I told the children that I had a big surprise for them, and had John haul down the attic box.

Joy! Pandemonium! Three happy kids! And it didn't cost us a dime!

Joy! Pandemonium! Two happy parents!

We got away with the mystery toy disappearance/reappearance cycle for two more years before our oldest caught on. Drat. But it was great while it lasted.

So last spring, I was thinking that the same psychology could probably work with my stash of decor items. Bratty Inner Child Julia was extremely close to breaking out into a wild shopping tantrum, and since she really is a doozy of a child, I thought perhaps the child/toy strategy could work as well with her. I suppose it's possible that my children came by their toy issues genetically.

Maybe.

John and I packed up all those knick knacks, paintings, pillows, lamps, candles, silk flowers, vases, and miscellaneous junk clutter articles of ambience that I liked - but could do without occasionally. We put them all in an unused bedroom in the house.

Now when I feel the need to redecorate, I go shopping in the guest bedroom. It sounds stupid, but it works. For the most part. I open the door, and say, "Oooooooo. Ahhhhhhh! I'll take this and this and this and this....."

How pathetic is that???

Brain fog at it's best.

For example, this painting used to hang in a bathroom. I stuck it over the fireplace, and honest to goodness, it seems like new.

I change out the pictures on this shelf whenever I get tired of looking at the same ancient relatives. Black frames, black and white pictures......so easy to make a zillion of them for cheap now that I have a scanner, a digital camera, and the Dollar Tree for cheapo black frames. I can move Grandma Ella and Grandpa Frank and replace them with Aunt Annie anytime I want to. So there.

I dug this geranium painting out of the guest room/decor stash last month. I think I got the silk geranium at a garage sale a zillion years ago. I am not certain.

Speaking of garage sales, there are times when I. JUST. HAVE. TO. BUY. SOMETHING. NEW. Thank God that when spring arrives, so do all the garage and estate sales. Even if the stuff for sale is used, to me it's different, thus new.

Look at this botanical/handmade paper picture that I scored this week. Still had the price tags stuck to it. Love it, especially when I can smugly say that I only paid $5.00.

There are two of these, but I didn't take pictures of both since I hung them unevenly. I'll get around to fixing them sometime........probably when my next redecorating fever hits.

Hey, John? Honey? Let's switch the family room couch out for the living room couch. What do you think?

Honey?

Honey?

You can run, but you can't hide, babe.