Monday, February 9, 2015

Ephemera vs. Hoarding???


Being a multi-generational crafter I tend to save things.  One never knows when something will be needed and if so then I will have it.  While learning to be organized and label things I learned the wonderful word ephemera.
e·phem·er·a
əˈfem(ə)rə/
noun
  1. things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time.
    • items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity.

 I really like that word.  It encompasses so much.  I labeled one of my bins and would put things into it.  As you can see here...the lid was not fitting smoothly any longer.  I ask, "When does saving ephemera become hoarding?"


It was time to sort through all that stuff and see what really was inside my ephemera bin.  Wow!  This will be so much fun...just like a treasure hunt.  Remember all those years of sending kids on a real treasure hunt and they went door to door to ask for some odd or random item?  Yes, I was always able to supply at least a few things on their lists.


Oops when did my ephemera bin duplicate itself?  And they both are over-flowing.  Okay then I better get busy and sort through it all.  Maybe I will realize some of this stuff is ready for the trash. After all if I haven't used it by now I probably won't need it ever.  And my crafting does change course through the years.


Many hours later my table is a mess.  Now there is ephemera all over and I don't seem to be making any progress.  Is this the "it has to get worse before it can get better" phase?  Maybe a chocolate break will help me focus.


Okay now I have had my fill of chocolate it doesn't look any better from this side view either.  I better just keep at it.  Sort...purge...edit...trash...save...organize...  Determined not to be a hoarder I will get serious about this saving business.


I am happy to report I filled the recycle bin and still have a huge bag to donate.  My table is almost clear of ephemera.  I have one empty bin and one filled back up but now it is sorted and much more manageable.


Filling these two waste bins makes Mr. C very happy.  I have filled both of them two weeks in a row. Yet...I still have more stuff and more ephemera and more treasures.  Well, I certainly cannot dispose of everything.  A crafter must have some supplies.
I am very happy to report that we are having rain.  Warm Pineapple Express rain which means the snow is only at the very highest elevations.  Unfortunately the 8" of snow that fell on one of the ski resorts allowed them to open but only for a very short time as the storm winds were too dangerous. Balance.  All things need balance...even in Mother Nature.
Valentine Hearts are all around us this month.  I am enjoying the many creative ways all of you are honoring Valentine and Hearts and Love in your projects and works of art.  Creative Hearts Bliss...

23 comments:

  1. Hi Sherry. I know exactly how you feel about the ephemera in our rooms. We all call it something different but I think at the end it all boils down to hoarding. I know I hoard and my room needs alot of purging, but I tell my husband I feel sometimes like I am going to run out of something and that is why I can't let it go. I have been pretty good and taking some of the things to the scrap store to sell. That has motivated to keep getting rid of more and with the credit buy some of the things I normally would not buy, like dies that are super expensive. Enjoy the little rain you have been having and hope more is on its way. We have had rain all day today on and off. Crafty hugs, Ana

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  2. Looks like you had a great purge!

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  3. EPHEMERA. I need a bin marker with that word too!

    Hugs,
    Kelley~

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  4. Good for you! I'm afraid to start going through my craft things, but I know that I must. I can't find what I'm looking for and I know I am purchasing items that are hidden somewhere in a closet, just waiting for a burst of creativity!

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  5. Good for you! I am beginning to think that some of this stuff that I am hoar, saving can just as easily be dtored at the thrift shop! Amazing what you can easily get there. Happy hearts for you!

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  6. How fun to sort through bins of ephemera!! I have several I need to go through, too!! And I prefer to label it ephemera, too and not hoarding (which I fear it really is!!) I'm glad you are getting needed rain!! Have a great evening :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

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  7. Maybe I do need help afterall...am I a collector, a creator, or a sloppy hoarder?!!! Oh boy...k

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  8. It looked like Christmas to me!!! WOW! Fun to see what we forgot isn't it!!

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  9. HAHAHAHAHA - the Ephemera Table seems to be multiplying! Good job on the purging. Now you can gather more ephemera - I'm guilty, too. I think we ALL are! XOXOXO

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  10. Oh, what fun to see that you have saved some of the same kinds of things I like to save - those little round Laughing Cow boxes must be good for something, right?
    Glad you're getting rain!
    Thank you so very much for my sweet surprise Valentine ATC!
    xoxo Jane

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  11. I can sooo relate-I still can not part with most of my mess yet-hugs good for you to be able to

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  12. My name is Debbie and I am a hoarder.....may as well admit it!
    Good for you, for going through it all and having a good clear out. Every time I do this I seem to dispose of something I want back! LOL....wish I lived next door, I would dig through those bins after you were asleep!
    xo,
    Deb

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  13. Oh I admire your efforts! There really is a fine line with hoarding- afraid I've crossed it. But when you love paper, images, and little bits of things (and use it often in creative work), it just has to be. But still, you'll have far better access and sense of what you have to use now. So well done.

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  14. Oh boy Sherry I can relate to this. Mr. C and Mr. P. sound very similar, as Mr. P. loves when I donate or throw out stuff. But I see the creative possibilities in everything and that makes it hard for him to understand as he is not creative. Perhaps that's the opposites in us attracting each other? I know I need to sort and purge things too, but it can wait until I am in the mood to tackle it.

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  15. Hi Sherry, WOW can I relate to this post. I remember when I first learned the word and meaning thinking what a nice way to say hoarding, clutter etc. LOL But like you, we need the stuff to create with and one never knows when we will need it. Bits and bobs and other stuff to design. I have bins and drawers and totes full. LOL
    I just went through lots of my stuff recently and it feels so good to have things straight. I have to do this ever so often or it gets crazy.
    Have a wonderful evening and Happy Creating with ephemera!!
    Hugs, CM

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  16. Love this post!! I have a hoarding oops "ephemera" problem too! I swear every time I get up the courage to discard some of it, it is needed the very next week!! I'm so proud of how brave you are!! I'm also wondering if I could look through your trash??? I think I saw some stuff I might need ;)
    xxD

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  17. Dear Sherry, so well done, and I mean it...as I have so much difficulty in throwing art stuff out, so I admire you did it.
    My husbond is also very happy, when I fill the waste binns, here-lol- I hope you have a big good rest to create with, even having done this big days work !!
    Hugs from Dorthe

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  18. I have my bin labeled "Stuff" things I don't know what to do with lol! you did a great job!

    Carol

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  19. I have 2 ephemera containers, then one called baubles, and another called odds'n'sods.......hmmmm they seem to be growing..........Good going, Sherry.

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  20. I have many of those bins, ephemera for my paper, lace, stamps, rick rack, playing cards, cookie cutters, buttons...need I go on? We're all guilty, but we are also recycling. ;)

    You did a great job. I cleaned my craft space last week and then posted about it while it was neat, but it won't stay that way.

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  21. Congratulations Sherry, you did so well with your early Spring cleaning. I had to laugh when further down your post your tub had duplicated itself - lol. I think we crafters are all guilty of 'hoarding', but it's so cleansing mentally when we get to sort and dispose of some of it. Hope you have a lovely weekend x

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  22. I am glad to see you throw some of your craft paper supplies away also.
    I did the same thing the last 2 weeks. I put it in the trash then took it out and said to myself, you really are a hoarder so I put it back in the trash LOL. I still have 2 chest of drawers full LOL

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  23. I have been about 2 weeks ahead of you doing all this. Yes loads went in the bins. Yes loads more in the charity shop bags and just a little back into my stash but do I feel better for it. No! I feel bereft. I want it all back. I liked my messy hoarded space not this having to trudge across an empty room for 5 miles to get to an equally empty desk. hugs Mrs A.

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