Lots More Fun Stuff! Finds & Trades for January 12, 2011

What a fun day for toys!

I get off work early on Wednesdays so I always try to hit the thrift store on the way home. The first place I drove didn't have anything.  It can get pretty discouraging to scrounge around in old junk and come up empty handed. But, I started to use a philosophy to make myself feel better when I go out of my way to drive to a thrift store and can't seem to find much. I believe each store I step into has something that wants to find me. It wants me to bring it home. When I start to think that way it lessens the feeling of discouragement when I only find one small thing. It kind of makes me feel like I rescued something and it was worth the drive.

I was really thrilled with my finds at the second store. Especially the Fluppy Dogs!

I just made up my mind last Friday to start collecting these, but I didn't want them if they didn't have the bow and collar. So low and behold I find one (first one I have EVER found in eleven years of thrifting) and what do you know, it has all its pieces! Then I got the baby with its bonnet. What fun!

For a girl who hates animatronics, I sure own a lot of Teddy Ruxpins. This one came with a tape. Do you think it works? I doubt it highly. No TR's I find ever have! ;)

Check out the Smooshees haul! That was the funnest find. I was also pretty happy about the Glo Worm. I need to test him to see if he still glows.

Some of these finds will end up on my trades page. Let me know if you are interested in anything.

So, speaking of trades . . .

When I came home I had some packages waiting for me! Nice people on The My Little Pony Trading Post have kindly traded some fun things with me!

If any of my trading friends read this blog THANK YOU!!

There on the bottom of the first picture you will see some Moon Dreamer and Glo Friends DVDs! They contain the complete series of each show. I can't wait to watch them one day. I might even take screenshot stills to share. My girls really like them so far. Now I need to get my hands on all the vintage Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, and Lady Lovely Locks episodes.

So, this big all-at-once haul has really got me thinking. I need to create some sort of "system" of organization. An inbox of some sort. My goal is to have all my toys stored like this:

I have about 50% of my toys stored in baggies with labels on them inside labeled tubs. The rest are in jumbles in tubs and need to be organized. I was thinking that from now on I will put all new toys in some sort of inbox that I would ideally go through on a regular basis--bagging and tagging things as they come in, noting what's missing and all. If anyone has a process you'd like to share, please comment. I certainly need to ditch the old "throw it all in a tub" thing, even if it means I need to hold off toy buying for a month or two while I get it all organised.

What I'm NOT going to collect . . .

If you read a lot then you might have picked up a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben. In it she test drives the wisdom of the ages to see if it makes her happy. She gives lots of advice in the form of rules such as "Be Gretchen" (that is, be yourself), and "Do what ought to be done." One bit I picked up in the book that really struck me was the advice to "give something up."

This is an interesting idea. How can giving something up make you more happy? It's simple. By giving up things you kind of love you make room for the things you really love.

With that in mind, I decided to list some things that I will not collect, even though I think they are cute and fun and I find them all the time at thrift stores.

I WILL NOT COLLECT CABBAGE PATCH DOLLS

They are cute, yet sort of creepy. Even though I have a lot of good memories of these creatures of the cabbage, I decided I do not want anything but perhaps a good outfit for my My Child Doll. As time has evolved I have begun to look at them as too close to Chucky and not close enough to cuddly.

I WILL NOT COLLECT JEM

 
Just looking at Jem zooms me back about twenty years into the past. That alone is tempting. But to be honest, while I loved the show, still love the artwork and respect the line, I find the dolls odd looking . . . even unsettling. I wish they'd do something like Bratz or Monster High with them . . . you know, ditch the androgyny and ramp up the stylistic aspect.

I WILL NOT COLLECT POUND PUPPIES

Sure they are cute. Sure they are cuddly. And yes, I do want to get my hands on the poodles (I had them as a kid) but I draw the line there! The reason? There is no end. If I were to try and collect all the random permutations of Pound Puppies I would fill my entire house with them. If there were, say, twenty different and definite styles I would collect them. But as it is . . .

I WILL NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT EVERY PONY OUT THERE

Do you know how many non-USA ponies are out there? THOUSANDS! Yes, if I even attempted to get my greedy paws on every 80's pony ever produced I would lose my sanity, my family and my marriage . . . not to mention money. I love the vintage MLP line. They are gorgeous and awesome, but for now I am not setting my heart on every single one. At least I am trying . . . very hard. Pray for me.

I WILL NOT COLLECT POLLY POCKETS

I love these too, but I only had a few and so, they gotta go off my list. I just didn't love them as much as I love other 90's toys. I find them all the time though. I guess there's always trades.

I WILL NOT COLLECT TEDDY RUXPIN

 Actually, I had quite the TR collection going before I noticed Teddy was really creepy. And I mean really horror flick freaky. You don't think so? Turn him on in the dark. You will see.

I WILL NOT COLLECT ANYTHING NEWER THAN 2000

Ahh  . . . the daily temptation that is THE TOY AISLE. And when I say tempted, I am talking salivating-on-your-pushcart tempted. There are so many cute things out there. And yes, I did grab up all the new Care Bear figures that came out in the mid-2000's but that was where I stopped. Strawberry Shortcake, Littlest Pet Shop, Polly Pockets, Disney, Moxie, Bratz, Monster High, Zoobles, Zhu-Zhu . . . I mean they are all so cute it's hard not to want to start on something that you don't have to troll the internet for. But I realized two truths: 1-The feeling of holding an old toy is what I enjoy. It is something that brings back a time of my life that was simpler. This is why I collect. 2-The toy companies may never stop producing these toy lines. We may be in 2030 and still be buying Strawberry Shortcake dolls for our great grandkids. So where do you draw the line? Plus, I like the challenge of finding old stuff.

So I encourage everyone to think about what brings them the most joy and narrow things down a bit. It really does release a bit of tension on the bones. Repeat after me, "I don't have to have everything, I don't have to have everything, I do not have to have everything!"

Finds for September 21st 2010

Wow! What a great day at the thrift store!

Today I found:

A Care Bear Christmas Train
A MIP Furskin Bear (Made by the same people who did Cabbage Patch)
1983 Muppet Babies Kermit Plush
Richard Scarry's Puzzle Town Playset (only missing one piece!)
1972 Eden Beatrix Potter Mrs. Rabbit Plush with Tag
Vintage Battlestar Galactica Board Game
A Large Pound Puppy
A Smurf Plush
A Complete 1980's Classic Board Game "Pretty Pretty Princess"
A bunch of Popples Valentine Cards
Crissy's Cousin "Velvet" Doll

AND MY BEST FIND OF THE DAY!!

 

SEVEN VINTAGE KNEE-HUGGER PIXIES!!!! <---Extra exclamation points means I'm excited

I haven't mentioned before but I LOVE 1960's knee-huggers, and many 1960's kitschy toys. I grab them when I see them at thrift stores. Even though I was born in 1980, I still love the vintage look of these dolls. This set is an excellent find in particular because not only are they clown pixies, but they are very large, at least 30 inches each! As I was carrying them off in my cart people were looking at me like, "Why in the world would she buy old clowns?" Ha ha! Little do they know these things go for about $40 a piece on eBay. But I'm not going to sell them. I am going to put them with my other 1960's toys and count myself lucky!

I am also really excited to have found "Pretty Pretty Princess." My two daughters love playing board games. Here's a picture of them playing the Lady Lovely Locks game we found last week:

That is a really fun game! My oldest always seems to win though. She plays Silkymane every time.

A few of the items I found today may eventually end up on eBay or in my trades section but I haven't yet decided which.

YAY FOR THRIFTING!