Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Truthful Tuesday: Some ramblings

I've got some random thoughts on a Tuesday, and figured this was as good a place as any to work through them... Join me, won't you?
So recently, Amanda posted about being more true to herself and living the life she really is meant to live. (I think it was that post linked... maybe it wasn't. Whatever, she did, trust me.) And it got me thinking about all kinds of stuff. It's no secret I'm a borderline hoarder. I love my stuff. I mean, I don't need to keep random stacks of newspapers or anything creepy like that... but I have a LOT of shoes, boots, horse boots, belts, saddle pads... I could go on. You get the idea. And I started thinking this is maybe a little bit generational? I'm a little older than a lot of the people I spend time with these days. Since I'm an old spinster most of my age group is home tending to their kids, going to soccer practice, etc. So the people who have free time when I do, tend to be a little younger. Also, most of them are horse friends, and so I guess our free time is really just barn time. Whatever. Anyway, there's definitely a difference in how we feel about "stuff". And that had gotten me feeling kind of extra. And a little like maybe I should rethink my ways. Like having all this stuff is a negative.
Oddly enough though, Amanda's talk about being true to who she is (despite the fact that she was talking more about living closer to a minimalist lifestyle, while clearly, I am not) got me thinking differently. It's okay to be me. To enjoy my stuff. I mean, I wouldn't be me if my shoes didn't match my outfit, right?
Any excuse to drop these boots on the blog, I will use.
Which leads into the next topic. Despite my love of stuff and shopping, I also hate clutter. (I'm definitely feeling angsty about the clutter in my house right now. Goal is to declutter and have it straightened up and super neat by end of winter.) I've been going through the house and purging what doesn't fit, I don't use, etc. Wonderful feeling! I send some things to ThredUp, but really, they've gotten SO cheap about what they give you back, that I don't think I will anymore. I'd rather just donate. But that's for human stuff.

Once it warms up a little, I plan to go through the horse stuff and weed that out some. And I'm not sure completely what I want to do there. I was sending things to Used Horse Stuff, but the bags they send are pretty small, and I'm not sure they're doing that well as they take forever to send a bag lately. I tried shipping to them on my own dime, and it was ridiculously expensive. And I haven't gotten any money from them in a long while. So probably not the way to go anymore. Should I just do a for sale tab here on the blog? Or a Facebook album? I would only be able to ship on Saturdays, would that annoy people and potentially make it less likely to sell? What do you all do with horse stuff you're not using anymore? Mostly it will be saddle pads I think. I don't really use them much, mostly just baby pads for us. And Shiny has her special pads. So I'll have a bunch of those to unload. Probably some schooling bridles. I'm not sure what else. Maybe some horse boots. Anyway, suggestions welcome!

What about you guys? Stuff or no stuff? Anything you've struggled with about yourself that you're finally accepting? Or changing?

33 comments:

  1. I've sold some tack on ebay recently and had good luck with it. I tend to keep things I don't need or use but having vet bills has incentivized me to sell!

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    1. Yeah, exactly! I'd like to get a little $$$ back on items that weren't really used much (or at all) to help cover replacements, vet bills, etc.
      I could do ebay, was just trying to stay more informal I guess.

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  2. I HATE having to deal with selling things online so I usually just give any excess horse stuff I know I'll never use again to my BM for her lesson horses.

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    1. SAME! But I'd like to get some money back on some of this stuff I think. I have given a lot away in the past too.

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  3. Depending on what you have for sale I might be interested! Right now I'm in need of a lunging cavesson and a bridle or at least some new reins, maybe horse jumping boots.

    I used to really hang onto stuff as a kid because I never had much to begin with, then when I had the prospect of a cross country move I started doing Apartment Therapies January Cure. It has really helped and after years of doing it I definitely view bringing stuff into my home and life differently.

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    1. I'm not even sure yet! It's too cold out there to go through right now (most of it's in the corn crib not the barn) but as soon as I get a nice weekend, I'll start compiling a list/taking photos.
      Yeah moving definitely makes you want less stuff. But I don't see any moves in my future so it's accumulated.

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  4. I hate trying to sell horse stuff. The consignment place near me prices things low to sell and then takes a rediculous percentage. But I've been trying to sell some really nice blankets on Facebook that's awful, too. I'm convinced horse people only shop in the middle of the night. They message me at like 1 am, then I never hear from them again.

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    1. Ha! I'm totally guilty of late night shopping. I lose my willpower after 10 I guess. But I always respond!

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  5. I want saddle padsand interested in any bridles you have that aren't elephant sized.

    Saying that I need to purge my horse stuff (AND MY CLOSET AS WELL, we tend to donate to goodwill if we can)....

    I have like 2 show coats i don't use, a bunch of breeches and shirts that either dont fit me or aren't my cup of tea and more. MAYBE you doing it will kick me in the ass to do it :) HA! And if I bought something and the seller told me they couldnt ship till Saturday I would be fine with that. Not every buyer will want it yesterday :)

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    1. Believe it or not, the only horse I had with a big head was Jasper. Everyone else wore regular full sized. I think Remus might be cob sized though? I don't think I have any extra of those, that's Shiny's size. Lots of saddle pads though! I'll reach out when I get them figured out, but I'm waiting for a nice weekend!

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    2. looking for a hunter type bridle for Remus at his hunter barn :) They are horrified by his odd bridle there :) HA....He is cob sized but also fits horse sized (big jowls take up a lot of space) ha....warm weather weekend sounds great!! maybe you will get one before may ;)

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  6. Ugh selling stuff is so annoying. I have a whole pile of things I need to sell. Facebook group sales seems to have have a lot of ebb and flow. So you may list something and get nothing then list again a month later and everyone wants it. I keep wanting to try ebay but haven't found the time (and now I won't until after tax season). I think you probably have a fair amount of stuff blog people would be interested in or even just facebook friends.
    My biggest thing I want to rid of are my childhood collection of breyer horses. I had them at my parents but took them home to try to sell. I've sold quite a few but there are a lot left and I have nowhere to store them.
    I also have size 84 and 87 blankets from Maestro and Stampede that I'm holding onto for future horse purchase so that's taking up space as well.
    I'm on the hunt for a horse size bridle (for every day so can be nontraditional for a hunter) and open front boots for Ernie. He might actually have large legs and need a bigger size in some styles.

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    1. If your Breyers are in good shape, let me know - my mom collects them and is ALWAYS looking!

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    2. Hey, this post might have been useful! Lol! Hopefully Holly's mom will take some of your breyers!
      I'm the same with blankets. I usually hang on to them, because I know there will be more horses.
      I'll reach out next time we have a nice weekend and I can go through stuff. Let you know what I have!

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    3. Holly - They all have boxes still and are in great shape. They were taken out of boxes and displayed but then put back in to be stored. I sent you a facebook friend request and can send you my list.

      Stacie - Sometimes it's just overwhelming to have so much stuff. Also just reminds me how in limbo my future horse life is which gives me anxiety. Maybe you should have an open house after tax season, various bloggers can appear and shop your extras and maybe bring some of our own along. :)

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  7. I love stuff too, but hate clutter. Kinda tricky keeping it all straight sometimes. I really seem to go through phases where I downsize and organize, then build back up. For example, last summer I had 0 english saddle pads and now I have 6 and I don't have a horse I can ride. lol

    Selling used tack online is a bit of a pain. Especially when local people don't show up to get the stuff and you rearranged your day for them. I tend to just throw out really old stuff and sell the nicer brand stuff if it is still trendy. I have a pile of nicer stuff I need to sell and I just don't want to bother!

    Sounds like you might have some luck listing stuff on your site though!

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    1. I do that too! I get rid of everything, and then buy half of it all over again. But new and different of course.
      Yeah, I think I'll avoid pick ups and just ship whatever.

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  8. I sell on FB groups and eBay mostly. If it's something cheap that isn't worth the cost of shipping, I just donate it if it's in good enough shape. But then I have some things I'm not using but won't sell (bits anyone) because they'd cost more to replace than they do to store right now.

    Then again, I also own 120 pairs of shoes so I'm not really one to talk here... and anyone wanna buy a saddle? Hah.

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    1. We should make a blogger Facebook page to just trade and sell amongst ourselves. We could probably work all of this out and avoid creepy strangers.
      I never sell bits either! They're worth having always. You never know what you'll need and they won't ever not be safe to use. Like leather will eventually weaken, but steel sure doesn't.

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  9. Last year we did a blog hop that was a tack sale - people listed their individual stuff and sold it via PayPal from their own pages. I'd be happy to kick one off again if that seems like it would work.

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    1. Oh! I forgot about that! That's a great idea. Mind if we wait for Spring cleaning? Like April or May maybe?

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    2. Yes we should do a tack sale blog hop again! YES PLEASE :)

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  10. I could use some saddle pads... Nay Nay can use saddle pads that are thicker than baby pads but doesn't actually need thicker half pads. I feel weird using barn pads on him though I doubt my trainer would care and they'll do the laundry... Still, so many are pony sized and I need larger ones.

    I need a 46" double elastic girth. My 50" single elastic is too big and I'm sure my 48" single elastic would be fine, but I want double elastic...

    I have blankets to sell too. All of Batty's 80-82" blankets, most are washed and in individual bags. Nothing fancy but there you go. I'm just not motivated. I do have saddles too, but... Ugh.

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    1. I'll for sure reach out when I get the saddle pads accounted for! Shiny wears a 46" so I don't have any extra of those I don't think. But you never know what I'll dig up!
      I'm kinda thinking we should do a private tack sale page on FB just for us bloggers to buy/sell/trade. We would avoid the strangers and share our stuff!

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  11. I think as long as people live the way that makes them happiest, whatever that may look like, then that's great. For some people that's 3 shirts and for others that's 4 closets lol.

    But um, I'd be interested in seeing a sales list. Just... like... for reference...

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    1. Yes! That's exactly what I got from your post. Life's too short to try to be someone else, or to be feel badly about who you are.
      Lol, I'll reach out when I get things organized. I'm working in the house first. Barn will be next nice weekend we get.

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  12. Selling stuff is a pain. Which is why I gave all of my blankets away with my horse. I just don't have the space to store a ton of blankets. I got rid of a lot of miscellaneous items after I sold Dexter, but I have a lot more stuff that I'd like to get rid of that people either message about and never reply once I answer their questions, or no one inquires at all.

    I use to use ebay a lot more often, but it's a pain to list stuff on there that won't sell for a good amount of money. Plus all the fees. I take some stuff to our consignment room at the tack store where I work, but our foot traffic is so hit and miss that so far nothing I have taken in there actually sells.

    I have a lot of monogrammed baby pads I'd like to sell that I no longer use, but since they're monogrammed, I'm probably going to have them forever. I also have a few western items, some breeches and one stable sheet that I'd like to get rid of. As far as things I need to buy? Not much at this point. I wouldn't mind picking up a few bits, a show coat and maybe a show shirt though.

    Please think of me if you create a Facebook group :)

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    1. I feel you on the monogrammed stuff. I have some that just say Kristen and some that are initials. I need to find a Kristen who wants a good deal on some saddle pads, lol.

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    2. I totally get it. I went on a spree 6 to 7 years ago where I ordered about 8 monogrammed baby pads. I don’t use them and frankly I don’t like them, but other than a couple I got lucky and sold, I can’t seem to give the rest away.

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  13. Is there a tack store near you that takes consignment items? I’ve done that with stuff over the years. I like to price myself stuff cheap to get it to sell instead of sitting forever and then at least I get a bit of credit to buy new stuff.

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    1. I wish there was! There's not even a tack store near me. Closest one is an hour away and they don't do consignment.

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  14. The Tack Hack sends free consignment kits and the owner (Lauren) is one of the nicest human beings I know. I would use her in a heartbeat to sell stuff, because I find listing it and selling it myself to be super annoying. I have a whole bag of still in great condition but kind of out of style stuff that I am donating to the Rider's Closet (https://www.equusfoundation.org/riderscloset/riderscloset.php). Also- GOOD FOR YOU! You be true to you and don't let anyone tell you you have too much stuff! Yes, my breeches collection grows almost daily and I have no shame.

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    1. Yeah, they seem to have the same model as Used Horse Stuff. I'm not sure my stuff is as trendy as they want though. It's a good option to keep in mind anyway!
      Nothing wrong with extra breeches! Longer time between laundry days!

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