Heather Lucier Stanley

The last trunk load of stuff (for now) for the consignment store and Goodwill

I know I’m at the Next-To-New consignment store too frequently when the volunteers start saying to newer volunteers about me, the consignor, “She knows what she’s doing [with pricing].” Then suggesting, “You should volunteer. We have a lot of fun!”

Late last week I made my last trip to the consignment store for a long time! I keep saying that and then, I keep finding household items that I want to sell. I also take another bag to Goodwill every time I go to the consignment store because some items cannot be resold at the consignment store, but the items are still useful.

Really, what else could I possibly sell? People who have been in our house know that we do not own a lot of knickknacks, if any right now, and the kitchen is incredibly organized. I am still impressed by having cleaned out the pantry of rarely used kitchen appliances and pots and pans overflow.

It will be interesting what I find next!

Redecorating never gets old. I seem to redecorate every year. I love the feeling of a redecorated room for its renewed energy.

Rearranging furniture and wall art brings a different perspective to the pieces because they are viewed from different angles and natural light reflects off of them in a new way.

Whereas I may forget about the pieces if they are in one location, once I change their locations, I gain additional interest in the them. There is a WOW factor that makes its way into my life: as in WOW, I love this piece!

My latest three projects have been (1) to rearrange the furniture in the front room after having sold the liquor cabinet, (2) to make the guest room more inviting, and (3) to redecorate the fireplace mantel.

I only had to buy a simpler bed frame for the guest room because we sold the canopy bed frame that had been in that room for years. Most of the items that I used for my latest three redecorating projects had been in other rooms and I simply moved them around.

For many years, I have had the same three items on the fireplace mantel. I bought them at Pier 1 Imports and they continued to impress me because they were the perfect arrangement of 3: the right heights and shapes to complement one another, etc. Yet, I knew the energy on the fireplace mantel had stagnated.

Finally I found some other things to renew the energy on the mantel. I did not need to buy anything new. I simply moved things around.

We sold the metal canopy queen bed frame this past weekend. I still loved it, however, it dominated our small guest room and I finally accepted selling it.

After it sold, we bought a simple bed frame with wheels and starting brainstorming on how it would work best in the room. We figured out we could accommodate a nightstand with the new furniture arrangement and smaller overall bed frame footprint. Fortunately, we already had a spare nightstand which I had listed to sell on Craig’s List, but I decided to not sell it. Thank goodness the canopy bed frame sold first! The table lamp and floral arrangement came from the entrance hall.

What a big difference in the room!

After selling the canopy bed frame, Alan and I have been staying in the guest room instead of upstairs in our bedroom. With a few small changes, the guest room is more inviting. It seems more spacious and the bed linens and mattress are so comfy, like a pampering hotel. Alan said, “It might be time for us to get some new sheets for our bedroom.” Most definitely.

Before selling the liquor cabinet

The lawnmower, weed wacker and leaf blower sold first. A lawn service mows our yard and that is why we no longer need these items. I doubt Alan will ever mow the yard again: he does not enjoy the task! In his words, “I’d rather be running.”

Such a perfect pair: neither of us acquiesce to completing routine household chores and both of us love to run. His personality type is: ESFP, so I married myself, almost.

A few days ago, a man who lives in Avery Ranch came by during his lunch break to buy the liquor cabinet. I had just returned from a run and had to shower and book it to Spanish class. But I love introducing myself to new people, so after stretching, I said my hellos!

The man and his wife love to entertain and the man thought the bar was in excellent condition and would be a complement to their home entertaining. Win-win!

When we move closer to downtown Austin, our living space is going to be reduced significantly. I find this refreshing. I feel that desiring and possessing fewer material things is freedom: again, personality type and the pseudoBohemian emerging. But I dare not give away my Hudson jeans yet.

In suburbia, I have felt the city girl fighting to come out: smaller living space downtown and grander opportunity for daily adventure and humor. Downtown people watching is stimulating; afterall, Keep Austin Weird is a motto for our city.

Earlier this week, I chose to list on Craig’s List: a matching bedroom nightstand and dresser, a queen size canopy bed frame, and a liquor cabinet. At Alan’s request, I listed a lawnmower, a weed wacker and a blower.

Moving is not easy, but it can be easier with proper preparation and getting rid of things we no longer need. I do not keep actual items for sentimental reasons, but I do take a digital snapshot of the item for my digital memory book! The world of digital is beautiful.

Joey

Alan and I spent many hours this weekend looking for a house in Rosedale, East Austin and South Austin. We are enjoying the process of looking: the thrill of finding something that meets most of our needs. We realize that perfection is not a part of the equation, but almost perfect is. What would be the almost perfect house for us?

01. A fenced in yard for our dogs or an easy way to fence in the yard, and a convenient option for a dog door.
02. A well-constructed foundation and frame that we could improve gradually with new flooring, lighting, etc.
03. Location: A short bike ride or walk to some restaurants and coffee shops that we enjoy.
04. A convenient drive to Rogue Running.
05. 3 bedrooms, but willing to give up one bedroom for the location.
06. 2 bathrooms, but willing to give up one bathroom for the location.
07. Enough land to build a 2 car garage or at least a carport.
08. Feeling safe walking in the neighborhood at night.
09. A house that can accommodate most of the furniture that we use most often: king size bed, sectional sofa, etc. Thus, wider (square) rooms may work out better than longer (rectangular) ones.
10. One story.
11. Low maintenance yard or can be converted into a low maintenance yard easily.
12. A functional, but small kitchen that does not take up more living space than necessary.
13. Approximately 1000 – 1400 square feet.
14. A purchase price slightly less than for what we sell our current residence so that we can pay cash for our new place!

Our clean pantry

I have a huge box of pasta dinners and other miscellaneous pantry food items that will be appreciated. It’s just a short drive for me to ensure my pantry cleaning effort is beneficial to others!

Sometimes a good part of my day is spent discussing such topics as personality type!

Earlier this week, a friend asked me: So what is your personality type? Hmmm….

I knew the answer. ENFP.

Years ago when I was in public accounting, I had to take the Myers-Briggs personality test. I also took Myers-Briggs for another manager at another company. Since then, I revisit it almost every year.

It is a great way to understand yourself – self-awareness – and others in your life! Are you compatible? Why do you like to see some people more than others? How can one event with one person be fun and a similar event with another person be not-so-fun?

So much of life success revolves around how the different personality types interact with one another. No one personality type is better than another. It is just what it says it is…a personality type: a difference in how different people engage in the world around them.

Understanding which relationships are healthy for you and which ones are not – based on personality type (among other things!) – makes for more consistently fulfilling interactions with others!