Knick Knack Paddy Whack

I love decorating, and my style leans towards décor from flea markets and thrift stores and garage sales. I love to find stuff I can hit with a can of spray paint. I love stuff I can buy for a dollar and make it look like I paid maybe two dollars.

But this aspect of who I am leads to clutter. I have a lot of things, mostly in the garage, which I bought because they were a great bargain. Like this.

Candlelabra

It could double as a weapon if needed.

I love it. I think it was $8 at a thrift shop. It’s silver-plated and heavy. And I only take it out at Halloween, with black candles and fake cobwebs. Otherwise, it sits in the garage because I just don’t know where to put it. And yet, to quote Marie Kondo, it sparks joy and not just because it’s a candlestick. But I don’t know where to put it and I’m not doing it any justice by keeping it. For the first time, I’m really thinking about giving it away.

Then I remember this old tool caddy, which I purchased at the same thrift shop for a great price.

Caddy1

Vintage tool caddy, $4

It too sat in the garage for years, where I’d periodically look at it and think about stuff to do with it, and try something from time to time that never worked. And so it was relegated back to the garage.

Then I had a brainstorm. I was so tired of looking at the assorted modems and routers and cords, and for once the hours I wasted on Pinterest paid off. With a little measuring and help from Bob, I was able to drill some holes so now we don’t have to look at ugly-ass gadgets any more. They don’t fit perfectly, but good enough.

Caddy2

A solution a long time in the making.

I was also very close to giving this away when I finally realized its perfect purpose. It only took five or six years, I think, for me to figure it out. Maybe I’m hoping my intent to finally let the candelabra go will lead to me having a light bulb moment (did you see what I did there? candles? light bulbs?) and figure out its perfect spot.

For a while I think I was shopping for the house I wish I had, not in terms of space but function. I probably bought the candelabra when Emma was about two, which makes me an idiot because an item like that practically tells a toddler to pull it off the table to drop on her foot. Usually I was not shopping for a home with a child. This is not a sign that I didn’t love or want my kid. It had more to do with dim-witted-ness on my part, and being drawn to cute, cheap things. Maybe I was thinking that if I had to pick up a hundred CDs off the floor, I could look at some pretty knick-knacks while I did it. (This was before we wised up, bought binders and recycled all our CD and DVD cases.)

So I made the difficult decision to begin looking closely at my knick-knacks. There are lots of them in the garage, and I often think about rotating them, but it’s too much bother. We have two big shelving units in the garage, and I decided I will keep whatever I can fit on one shelf. The rest will go. Wish me luck.


11 Responses to Knick Knack Paddy Whack

  1. I love your tool caddy solution! But I understand the tricky trade off of waiting for inspiration. I wonder if maybe you thought about other things that annoyed you around the house and see if you could shop for a solutions with things you already have (in the garage or otherwise). That might help spark some ideas.

    • Glad to know there are others! I learned at an early age that if you don’t have trinkets and intricately designed furniture your dusting responsibilities nearly disappear. Thankfully I enjoy simple aesthetics.

  2. I asked for help getting something off a tall shelf because I was going to get rid of something. I was asked why and that maybe I’ll find a better spot for it later.

    sigh

  3. I had a similar lightbulb moment in my kitchen a few years ago — the gadgets and pans et al I was holding on to with a death grip were really about the meals I wanted to make rather than what I was making. That made it easier to finally get rid of them.

    That candelabra is the bomb. I can see why it’s been hard to let it go…

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