Goodwill Hunting

See what I did there?  :)

I'm not going to talk about movies in this post, which may surprise you.  I'm going to talk about hunting through the dusty, jumbled shelves of our local Goodwill store, hoping to stumble upon some hidden treasures--a favorite pastime of mine.

The other day, I went there strictly for the purpose of dropping off stuff that we don't want and don't need.  I've been on a bit of a kick lately, going through every room in the house, weeding through the clutter and getting everything in order--largely inspired by the fact that all of our kids, their spouses, and their little ones are coming here for Christmas, but also partly inspired by the fact that my husband and I are empty-nesters (with our youngest son just starting his senior year of college), and yet you'd hardly know it by the amount of stuff there is in this house.

So when I went to unload my packages, boxes, and bags of junk stuff that someone else might want or need, I was going to leave the store without a backward glance.  I was NOT going to quickly peruse the home goods section, thinking I might happen upon some stray bit of transferware (which is pretty much my Kryptonite).

But then I decided, "Well, as long as I'm here, I should just take a quick look..." So I strolled to the back of the store and was so excited by what I found that I ran back to the front to get myself a shopping cart, pronto!  They had a whole bunch of English Staffordshire transferware dishes, in black on cream, priced at 99 cents apiece.  They were old ones, too--I could tell by the very slight crazing of the finish and the imprint on the back.  I have lots of blue transferware, and some pink; I also have some Christmas-themed pink and green pieces.  But my collection is filled with mostly new pieces, picked up here and there at TJ Maxx or secondhand stores.  And I don't have any black ones yet.  And gee, black accents look great in my newly renovated kitchen...

Well, I proceeded to load up that cart with 2 dinner plates (because they didn't have 4), 4 dessert plates, 4 cups and saucers, and a shallow bowl.  I also thought about getting the matching sugar bowl and creamer, although they were a bit pricier at $2.99 apiece.  But then I stopped in my tracks. 

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

I'm trying to PARE DOWN what we own, I reminded myself, NOT ADD MORE STUFF!  I already have all the dishes I need, and then some!

But the thought of leaving all those treasures behind was so tough...

Well, I made a compromise: I put almost all of the dishes back; but I did buy the little 99-cent bowl, having convinced myself that there are plenty of useful purposes for it.  It would make an excellent dipping bowl, for Italian bread and olive oil, for instance.  Or it could be used as a small vegetable bowl.  Or I could just look at it every now and then, which is pretty inexpensive entertainment when you consider what I paid for it.

So, what do you think?  Does this make you want to get out there and do some Goodwill hunting of your own?  If so, may the odds be ever in your favor! 

(Okay, now I better go, before I resort to using anymore movie references...)