Featured Hoarder or storer?

Me too!

And again, at the risk of insulting someone, may I suggest that the arch-topped Welsh hutch is switched to where the painting and low bookcase are. It's so pretty I would like to see it first thing when I open the door to the room. Then I would put the low bookcase directly under that window and the taller bookcase under the painting, to the right of the window.

If the bed fits under the triple window, I would try it there, and free up that inside wall (with the door) to line up my storage bookcases and those rickety looking shelves. As a guest bedroom, I wouldn't worry if people had to kinda squeeze into bed.

Also, as a side note to anyone with an over crowded guest bedroom. On your bookshelves, place the heavy, and heavy looking objects toward the bottom shelves and reserve the higher shelves for lighter or more unbreakable items, like linens. The concept being, that to relax your visitor, you don't want to make it seem like some heavy object is looming over their head while they sleep.

 

Well, the missis was gobsmacked when she came back from Wales, 'Who did this? Who helped you? What did it cost?' because in the last 20 years I have never done anything remotely like tidying stuff up. Moving it around a bit, maybe, turning it over to look underneath, occasionally. Flat disbelief!

For my next project I may have a go at the first room I showed, but I'll catch my breath first.

 

Actually, that all sounds pretty reasonable.

 

Okay, if you do try that arrangement, I might add another note. I would attempt, on the storage wall/line up wall, to put the widest pieces, regardless of height, closer to the window. That is the pieces that sick out from the wall the most, to be closest to the window, like you have it now. hopefully, that narrow bookcase seen in the front of the room can be moved there as well to give the arch-top display some elbow room and allow it to be the hero of the room. Also, if you need to tightly pack in this room, the two shorter bookcases might fit well under the double window, between the hero and the case with painting combo.

You know, having one hero piece like this which is highlighted when you first walk into a room can forgive a multitude of cluttery sins, in most guests minds.

 

Would LOVE to see a front shot of that china cabinet and the blue & white china,also that lovely pitcher. Gaudy Dutch???? Also that bubble glass picture on the wall.....so many goodies to look at


OH MY! Do I see a replica of an old castle??? Looks like a haunted house ?

 

Do I see a replica of an old castle??? Looks like a haunted house ?

The old castle is a huge Swiss Chalet form musical clock. It's rougher and less valuable than it sounds but I'll do a picture tomorrow. The picture facing the door is reverse painted on glass.

The china thingy is 70's repro filled with modernish plates, no big deal at all.

 

Great job, Af!

 

I am storing my hoard ....... Hold on to your hats!

Spare bedroom is chock full of paintings. There is a some furniture way in the back under there somewhere. I will point out that there are two aisles, only one of which is currently blocked.








Basement ...... there is an impenetrable jumble of stacked furniture down there but most everything else is fairly accessable.










Guess I have reached my photo limit for this post

 

This is my immediate catch-all room where things go first before listing, to the store, or sent to storage. I do have some of my personal furniture buried in here. This is also where I do most of my photographing and packaging. There is some open space that is not shown.




This is the garage. It is about 15 ft. tall and I have floor to ceiling shelves in a couple areas. There is an aisle down the center that leads to steps down to the basement. A second aisle that leads to steps up to the kitchen is clogged with a few things but can be cleared pretty quickly if needed. First pic is an overall view from above.


These pics don't include my 10' x 20' storage unit that is full .....

 

gosh veryb, when I saw the stools set upside down in the 5th and 6th photo, my imeadiate reaction was "don't they allow garage sales where you live?" What are you storing them for? Because with as much space to store stuff as you have in the house, and with off site storage, a two weekend sale of the lesser stuff (like those stools) might pay for a years storage on the better stuff. I look at it as, space is money and a pair of $20 stools might not be earning their keep.

Each corner of space in your storage has to be justified by what it holds, what it earns. You have a 10x20 storage locker, so you should have some idea what your square footage at home is "worth". If you have a home business it's easy to overlook the value of your home as office, warehouse, factory/processing center.

Earlier someone in this thread had talked about plastic boxes that were color coded for different sales. The shop, the flea market, the garage sale. Items that didn't sell in the shop, went to the flea market, didn't sell in the flea market went to the garage sale, didn't sell in the garage sale got donated, but there was never any donations. That idea works for smalls, but it can work for furniture, and decor items too. Instead of an 18" x 24" box, you have a 10' x 10' space designated for shop, market or sale. When it doesn't sell in the shop, it gets moved down the road to the flea market.

In the garage I would have a "goes in the garage sale" section and when it got built up enough, I'd hold the sale, or pack it up and do a flea market.

I'd also set up a front space in the garage as a pop-up shop to display items for sale on Craigslist. With this much garage sale items and this much space, it seems like a waste of money (and laziness) to have a storage locker too. Do you really need that much stuff in your furniture collection that you can't see or get at?

To friends who have asked me to help sort out their hoard, I have often suggested: if it is buried or hasn't been seen in 6 months, sell it and take the money to upgrade and buy a fantastic piece (one you wouldn't normally lavish that kind of money on) and use it as a hero of your collection. The corollary to that are items you purchase as sleepers, which should go into the back bowels of the basement, and of course have a rotation, albeit much slower time wise, like perhaps every three years or five years those items are pulled out of dreamland and put up for sale to make way for the latest sleepers.

Gosh, I wish I had your amount of space.

And I just have to add a note on one of my pet peeves. I don't like to see wall art or paintings on the floor! Hang them on the wall even if it's only two inches up from the molding or put them in a box with cardboard spacers. The frame should never touch the flooring. shame, shame, shame.

 

I've been spending the last few days traveling and staying with different relatives all of whom have very tidy homes inside and out. I'd be a lot more worried about myself had it not been for this thread. Knowing that I'm not alone in my mass of stuff has given me great comfort so hats off to you all!

AF your room looks wonderful and Brad your place is a joy to my eyes. As for decorating suggestions....I'm barren when it comes to decorating ideas so hearing some is always interesting. I don't know that I have the energy to try decorating but we'll have to replace flooring soon so everything is going to get shifted so who knows.

 

Cool pics Brad I wish I had a basement and a large attic. I just LOVE all the hoard pics posted here,I do plan on a large metal storage unit with lots of metal shelves to hold all my china,pottery,porcelain,etc.

Similiar to this

PS
My barn has a hutch,buffet and a wet sink/bar,piano,kidney shaped antique dsek,chairs,dressers,and lots of wood,tile,etc for building. In all honestly, I have not seen half of it in about 7 years. Another dream I have is to oneday add an addition to my house and then I can add some of the furnishings

 

"With this much garage sale items and this much space, it seems like a waste of money (and laziness) to have a storage locker too. Do you really need that much stuff in your furniture collection that you can't see or get at?"

Lil........What does not sell today will certainly sell tomorrow. I had a couple of stools like brads and I reupholstered them in a heavy black & white owl pattern and put them to use. Sellers like a myriad items to please different tastes. I think Brads hoard is stored nicely but thats JMHO As for a waste of money and lazness????

 

Thanks for saying that! It is how my suggestions are intended. I see a photo of a room here and a decorating solution comes to mind. It might not be suitable to the person who posted the photo, but I hope, by way of example, it gets other folks thinking about how to make their spaces work better for their purposes.

 

You are not telling me anything I don't know. I actually have made a lot of progress in cutting this hoard. I sent a lot of stuff to auction before moving here. I am down from two storage units to one. I am only home 2-3 days a week so don't have all that much time to go through things. I have tried craigslist with zero results and, in a town of 250 people in the middle of nowhere, a garage sale would be unproductive. I am busy using my time for things that actually make me some money.

I know there are things that are not worth continuing to store. The stools belong to a set. The bar/table that matches them is buried in the storage unit. If I could get them together, I can sell them in my store. Some things could be sent to auction but it takes time to organize it all. Other items are my inventory for my business waiting to be worked on and I will get to many of them. I have stopped buying things that need work other than quick fixes.

As for the paintings, when you have hundreds of them, you can only hang so many. I do have many hung on the walls. The big boxes in the spare bedroom are full of paintings with cardboard or other padding between each. Those leaning against walls are mostly in transition. Either I have just bought them, they are waiting to go to the store, or they have just come back from the store without selling. Paintings are one thing that I can't seem to quit buying, though I have become more discerning.

While I take your words as constructive criticism, you can't know my circumstances. It is easy from the outside looking in to say that I need to do this or that but the reality of making it happen is not so easy. I am sure that many would look at my hoard and say, Oh my God! but there is some organization and purpose to most of it. Besides, I can still see the floor, get through it if I want to, and it is not hurting anyone else.

 

Right, and what does not sell today is taking up valuable space that is worth something, especially if you are paying rent on a 10x20 storage locker.

I gotta call em as I see em.

 

That makes sense, sorry for chiding you.

I commend your passion.

It never is, I have waded through many similar hoards, and yours looks very manageable. If I might ask, have you looked into flea markets? I used to do them, and it's kinda like a garage sale, but more people. The only problem is they do take up a lot of time, but have created a great flush of cash to pay for the time I used to open up more storage space.

 

Taking up valuable storage? Most sellers DO have a lot of stuff. If you get rid of what is supposedly taking up valueable space,I don't get it?

I would LOVE to see your stuff/collection,etc. to see how you maintain your items Maybe I can get some pionters

PS

I personally do not LIKE yard/garage,flea sales, been there,done that. Too many snotty nosed kids running amuck and the parents turn a blind eye. Don't like breakage or theft either

 

Not that I really care, but to be a little forward, I gotta say that a set of very bad stools, separated, does not make them seem that much more valuable. I mean, I don't even want to know how they were separated or why you have to pay storage fees for half of the set and not the other. The question remains to you as a business man. How much are you paying in storage fees for that set and how much do you expect to sell it for and how much jockying around are you doing with this set and if you were to measure the square footage this set takes up in storage compared to the cost, per square foot, of that storage, are you trying to tell me you expect to turn a profit?

Again, I couldn't care less if you make a profit as long as you are happy.