A Large Decluttering Fail

Chronicling my adventures restoring and updating a quirky old Philadelphia rowhouse

A Large Decluttering Fail

I was all ready to write something boring about getting rid of stuff after a few triumphant rounds to Philly AIDS Thrift and assembling shelves in my basement. I mean, remember my parents’ basement? Not like this you don’t.

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And I did a decent job clearing out mine.

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More organizing will be needed. I put all the miscellaneous hardware and tools from 3 years of remodeling into one box of horrors. Then there’s another box of things I’ve been too lazy to file! Luckily I have filing cabinets, and these really great tobacco cans with really great labels. You know I put the maroon one where it shows on purpose.

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And Saturday I loaded up some fluorescent lighting my dad gave me from his hoard and that mini-fridge that kept my beer cold through the remodel and went to the ReStore. I didn’t think that stuff was a good fit for Philly AIDS Thrift. They priced the fridge at $20, or $5 less than I paid for it. I guess that’s fair.

But while I was there I decided to poke around. I’m not looking to buy any more stuff ever again, but you never know. And among a whole lot of mediocre furniture, gasp. This would be great for someone to have. But not me because I don’t need dining room furniture.

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I should check the price though. I mean they must have someone here who knows enough about furniture to price this. And I choked.

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So I started pacing. The idea of not getting this bargain was stressing me out. Should I start buying furniture to resell at a profit? I called my dad but he was not on board. But there was an extra 10% off on big furniture that day and I had shrink wrap at home and it’s not that far and then this happened.

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Yes, I went to the ReStore to divest myself of a refrigerator and some odd building materials and when I got home I had 2 dining room sets.

The good news is, my roommate didn’t want to kill me. My parents don’t want to kill me. The 2 Couchsurfers who were staying with us while this was happening thought it was a good idea. The room does look a whole lot airier now. (And the table doesn’t look skimpy in real life.)

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Does anyone know anything about Vejle Stole & Møbelfabrik Furniture? I found maybe the same table online at over 20 times the price I paid for the set so it looks like I was not an idiot for doing this. Plus this table gets super long with leaves that stow inside it while they’re not in use. And with a little less of Nana’s stuff in the room there’s room for her nice plant stand down from my bedroom. Now can I keep house plants alive?

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And the down side. My parents’ basement again.

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But there’s something you can do to help. Buy our stuff! Yep, the table is already on Craigslist. And yeah, again, I’m happy about this.

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  1. Chris harris says:

    Yes, that’s a nice dining room set.

  2. Jen says:

    I was thinking no don’t do it! But it looks very nice there!! It wasn’t a bad purchase at all.

    • Yeah I was so torn. I have a basement full of chairs now but I want 4-6 extras anyway… even though there’s not room to store them.

      • Jen says:

        I have 4 big dining room chairs in my living room. I don’t have any place to keep them but they are so sturdy and we always end up using them when people come over. So, I don’t want to get rid of them either. Maybe someday I will clean out enough that there will be room for them.

  3. Barbara H. says:

    Oh my word, I followed your link to maybe the same table and couldn’t believe my eyes. On top of that, the table and chairs look really good in your space. Congratulations.

  4. francetaste says:

    The dining set is a big improvement. Well done!
    Keep in mind: Ikea extendable table + 6 chairs: $543. Yours is undoubtedly far better quality, not to mention prettier.

    • Well I was never considering IKEA as I had warmed up to my grandmother’s table. I might have replaced the chairs at some point. But it’s funny because I said that I didn’t want her table because it was too big and the drop leaves don’t make sense for a table I use every day and the legs are in all the wrong places, then I brought it over and said I liked it, and now that I have something else everything I said at the beginning was right.

      • francetaste says:

        No, but Ikea gives you an idea of what cheap furniture is going for. So your find was a real bargain.

        • Yeah – I joke that I have a Kittinger sofa because I can’t afford IKEA. And when I first saw that sofa on Craigslist I also wondered if I was crazy to put something from Colonial Williamsburg into an informal room that I’ll be using every day, but I think now I have the balance I wanted.

  5. Looks good to me; and if you hadn’t bought it you would be wondering why not in a week

  6. mary says:

    Oh thank God. It was a nail-biter for a second in there, but I am SO glad you came home with that set. This is coming from someone who is on a quest to get rid of everything I own and live like a monk, that’s how special I think this set is.

  7. wow it looks fantastic! and fun and retro. love it. great upcycle! and ass nails made me LOL

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