Someone with clutter issues should probably never, ever go to flea markets. Especially if said person also loves a bargain. Now I’m wondering if anyone’s ever studied that, to see if there’s a correlation between bargain hunting and clutter. I’m sure there’s a connection.

Many Sunday mornings I get up, fix my coffee and go back to bed to watch Flea Market Flip on HGTV. Drinking coffee in bed, staying in my pajamas and watching tv simultaneously are definite guilty pleasures. Part of the fun of the show is seeing the cool items the teams create from their flea market finds, which they then go on to sell at another flea market. The show often films at Elephant’s Trunk Country Flea Market, which happens to be less than a half hour from where I live. I’d been wanting to visit for a while, since reading about it in Country Living, and hearing a few friends rave about it.

And so I decided to go yesterday even though visiting a flea market seemed to fly in the face of everything I want to accomplish. But I had a strategy. We needed a lamp to replace the one our cat knocked off the table, and I’d been looking but didn’t see anything I loved, or I’d see lamps I loved but not enough to pay the sticker prices. So I went in search of a lamp. For a while I’d also been wanting a bust statue, so I looked for one of those too. I’ve given away enough knick-knacks to justify buying one thing that I really wanted.

Two lamps for $20, plus whatever I spend on spray paint.

I resisted the dollar tables and the endless tables of knick-knacks. And the artwork, and rolls of fabric, and rugs. I even skipped sampling from the row of food trucks, which looked very appealing.

I walked in at 9:43, and walked out fifty-nine minutes later with only the items I planned to buy. I could have stayed and browsed some more, but the sun was hot and I didn’t see the purpose of browsing without buying. Whenever I go to a flea market or thrift store, I always see so much potential and there’s always a little voice in my head whispering That can be spray painted! But I stuck to my plan.

Emma named her Athena.

The lamps were sold as a pair, which was fine because I always feel like our living spaces are too dark so we can use two, and I haggled a little which I never thought I’d be able to do. The current big issue relates to paint color. I was thinking about a matte gold but I love the idea of fun colors, so I’m going to sleep on it for a few days. Breaking up the pair, and using one in the living room and one in the office is another possibility.

When I have a definite need for something I’m going to try the flea market again. It’s not going to work for everything, but I loved seeing unique things. And the lamps appealed to my crafty side, which is just a bonus.

P.S. My ‘no clutter zone’ signs are working, so far.