This morning greeted me with an energy that left me humming in the kitchen as I prepared breakfast. Okay so maybe I was singing loudly but it was with excitement that stemmed from yesterday's Dream Share post.
What I really want to share with you today is that dreaming isn't always about achieving your dream. It's about the path that you take while getting there. It's what shakes up your life and brings opportunities that you might not have discovered if you hadn't created a dream to reach for.
I know a few of you were mentioning about the fact that my dream house has only 2 bedroom. I appreciate your honest thoughts on the house. I later mentioned in the comments that MLS listings have to state what the house was legally designed to have. What the listing didn't mention is the fact that there is a sun room, office and a media room. At the end of the day the house is so incredible that we would make do. I found the layout to the house yesterday afternoon.
What have I done since yesterday to get me closer to my dream? I'm clearing out the clutter in my home. I want all the small bits and bobs of vintage stuff to go out to the garage. I need my mind clear in order to plan how to make this large amount of money in a time before the house sells. And if I don't make it, that's okay. There will be another house and another dream. This energy and excitement though is worth its weight in gold. You can't bottle it or sell it in a capsule form, it only comes from the pure joy of life.
Maybe to kick mine into gear I needed a goal so huge that it got me thinking in all sorts of directions that I never would have thought about. I asked Cerys this morning how to achieve my goal. She said that I need to do art. And with just one word, my mind was reeling in another direction. I asked her how much would I have to charge per art piece. She said $5,000. So I'd need to sell 200 pieces to get a million dollars. While it may sound far fetched, it's turning ideas and creating numbers out of them. Selling 200 pieces of art for $5,000 could be doable. I mean if a Kyle could trade a red paperclip for a house why couldn't I sell 200 pieces of art for $5,000. The only reason I couldn't is that I wouldn't have belief in myself. Anything is really possible in our world. Look at the guy who sold pixels for 1 million dollars.
How does this relate to thrifting?
Who is to say that I already don't have something in my possession that is worth a million dollars. Whose to say that you don't? The only thing really stopping us from that idea is thinking that we don't. Right?
This is why I want to clear out the small stuff that I know isn't worth a lot of money. I'll price it for my yard sale and flea market or store it away for Etsy at a later date. At this point I have too much inventory including mysterious items to really understand what I have.
This bird is something that I bought a year or so ago. I've asked around on Facebook and possibly here on ATG but so far I don't have an answer about what it is. It's a little primitive and made in a very old style of using charcoal as the base for the sculpture. It's somewhat in the style of Celtic, maybe from Hungary? It could be very old or it could be a trinket that someone bought on their travels recently for 10¢. The thing is that I don't know. I have countless items like this just sitting in my house or garage. In fact I have another similar piece that I searched for today and couldn't find. My goal is to uncover these mysterious items and find out what they are and if they have any value to them.
I won a free appraisal from WorthPoint a couple months ago. I didn't have the energy at that point to find something worth researching. They ask for information about the item and photos. Finally yesterday I emailed and asked if I could still send them information on an item. They enthusiastically said yes. I sent them the info this morning and am waiting to hear back.
I'll be okay if it is a modern day trinket but the feeling I have right now of it possibly being more is very exciting. This priceless feeling is going to be the fuel to get me to my goal of owning a fabulous home.
I've been going through the house and listing items that I love on eBay. I'm throwing them up for high prices (although not ridiculously high compared to their value) and will see what happens.
We opened up a new family checking account at Wells Fargo and we are finally leaving Chase (aka Wamu). We are going to open up a savings account for both children and a House Savings Fund account for our next home. I can't wait to start adding to it.
I'm going to be printing off photos of 885 Montgomery Road in Sebastopol and placing them on my dream board in my office. Even if I don't buy this house what I will achieve is a clean, organized home and a focused business model that should give me more time and hopefully less work for more money.
If you have items that might be worth money, here are some ideas of how to find out their value:
- take them to a local antique store and ask if they know about the item
- apply to be on Antiques Roadshow
- apply to be on Pawn Stars
- take your item to a local auction house. Larger auction houses often have free appraisal days.
- visit the library and search for your item in the large collection of antique reference books
- visit forums in the area of your item (pottery, marbles, books) and ask questions and include photos
- post your photo on ATG's Facebook page and ask if anyone knows what the item is.
Do you own something that you thrifted that could be worth thousands of dollars?
