I'm not there yet. Above is an in-progress photo I snapped of my combo dining room/work area earlier this week. I'm in the middle of making my home more functional than it's ever been and I've never been closer to The Organized Fantasy than I am now, but let's get real here. When you're crazy busy something has got to give. And furthermore, it's okay if everything's not perfect yet.
Sales are steady, income is going up, I'm meeting with people with interesting new business opportunities and I'm implementing strategies that are really working to improve revenue and get me where I want to go with Thrift Core. (Been working on each of my 26-Before-27 Goals behind the scenes, the list has been a big help getting here!)
My vision for Thrift Core is emerging from a jumble of thoughts the same way my dining room is becoming a streamlined work space from the mess jumble in "Stage One". I want future content to be more artistically curated with little focus on literally writing about thrifting. I've achieved a more modern, professional style for my offline and online vintage retail business. I'm producing lines of work behind the scenes: photography, art, craft, and of course, vintage related. I'm researching, writing, and plotting E-Books. I aim for book, magazine, and paid writing jobs next. (Any magazines need a writer? Literary agents need a client? Holla!)
[Stage Four: Things will be cleaned and curated, but The Batman Never Dies. Personality Remains!]
My goals are high and I will reach them, dammit! Without sacrificing my love of environmental causes, healthy living, art, creativity, and resourcefulness. And robots. I just wanted to share an honest look behind-the-scenes. This feels like the final "mess" before clean-organized-bohemia-shangri-la and where I need to be with work. But there's always a damn mess to get to those lofty goals. Some parts of my home, like my business plan, are well-oiled, scrubbed spotless and ready-to-go. Others look like shit! Dear god, I'm about to get to work on my hallway so my incredibly understanding roommate can walk through it to her bathroom without having to turn sideways to avoid the boxes. Yesterday I couldn't find my keys for 20 minutes before my once-a-week raw vegan kitchen shift and had to rush packing an order before going. If having a crap-sack house and some general disorganization is necessary to reach The Dream, so be it. Don't feel bad if things aren't exactly right yet, even your favorite blogger or writer is hiding their ugly mess somewhere. (My future ugly-hider is going to be the left side of my bedroom closet. That's where the paint buckets and painted-stained ladder will live.) You'll get there. Keep kicking ass for it. Get it!
And now I'm going to brew some good yerba matte and spearmint tea and continue getting my apartment/work space to that final frontier of awesome organization! And more work junk! Things are crazy but I am so excited and grateful to be here right now working through it.
Let's discuss: When things are going amazing business-wise, does your home cleanliness, or other personal business fall into disarray? Where do you hide your messes? (I'm so close to knowing where everything is and operating normally, cannot wait to report to you on that instead of this in-between mess! You will of course get detailed info on what's working to get me there!)
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I don't hide it. I just try to keep it tidy in boxes. I LOVE that lamp on the sideboard.
ReplyDeleteDozens of people have tried to buy it from me, guess I'm not ready to let it go yet ;) My new strategy is displaying all the merchandise I can, keep others in the pantry, and the rest in the bedroom closet. Boxes set out make me uneasy.
DeleteYou have no idea... Actually I was fortunate to have a 20 x 20 detatched garage and I moved both ebay stores into there. My neighbor threw up a middle wall for extra shelve storage and it works great. I refuse to add additional storage .It makes me work on what I have and not hoard too much merchandise. Its nice to be able to leave my work space behind when I go into the house. I lived with the ebay for at least 5 years taking over my home and yes pic 1 was a common sight .
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Lisa, your work space sounds AWESOME! I just moved all my merchandise from my boyfriend's sunroom back to my house, hence the temporary mess! Can't wait to update on how it's organized. I like the idea of limited storage to keep me in check, too. My new theory of displaying each find keeps me finding practical things OTHERS can feasibly display, too.
DeleteLisa is right-- the more storage, the more junk. True for any walk of life. My thrift finds have been very scarce lately so I don't have much of a storage problem at the moment. I'm lucky enough to have a basement.
ReplyDeleteI just picked up a bunch for stuff at a meeting, d'oh. But I think my organization woes are almost over, gotta work to get the rest of this stuff done today. :D !
DeleteI love your blog! I need help organising my work space, I live with my mum at the moment and I have all my vintage stock on my mums wardrobe and my office/filming area in my bedroom. I image above stage for is loverly :) as a freelance writer I do mainly unpaid work so I too am looking for paid work! Good luck in all your ventures
ReplyDeletehttp://hayleythrills.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/users/hayleythrills
XOXO
Thanks for sharing your story Hayley, indie biz is a challenge to get started and it's always helpful to get honest feedback from others struggling through it.
DeleteI so relate to that first photo....
ReplyDeleteAnd unfortunately, my mind resembles that room as well! My sales have been slow as I struggle to organize and realize my goals. You give me hope :) I am venturing into having my first booth at an antique mall this weekend, so perhaps that will help get things rolling.
You'll get there Tilda, it's chaos for a while at first but the vision will become clear!
DeleteGreat post, Van! My business stuff is normally left loaded in the back of the car after doing a stall, then it's transferred to the garage, in the house on the sofa, on my book shelves, and on my artist/modeling table. Because I'm using my car to transport stock, I also have the car's rear parcel shelf and rear headrests in my bedroom - nice! lol I'm just planning an Etsy shop, so things will only get more cramped! p.s. if anyone has any experience with an Etsy shop please give me a yell - I have lots of questions!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your awesome hunting/storage story. I do have Etsy tips section here that could be useful: http://www.thriftcore.com/2013/02/adventures-in-etsy-selling-some-tips.html
DeleteI love that vintage chest/dresser! lovely blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm trying to sell it off quickly but I'm enjoying using it as a mid century modern home bar/art supply holder in the meantime.
DeleteYour work space is looking amazing! My house looks like shit most of the time! I am juggling three kiddos and all of their activities along with my ebay business. We try to keep up with basic stuff- clean kitchen, bathroom, and laundry done regularly, but everything else gets pushed to the side. There just isn't time. There was a time in my life when the state of my house would've bothered me a lot more, but I wasn't running a successful business then. Now my attitude is more relaxed. I just try to prioritize and do what's most important. Dusting is way down on that list of importance :)
ReplyDeleteWe just do what we can! I just got back from a biz meeting and am gonna force myself to stop working to FINALLY put my clothes away ;) My other self-employed friends, ESPECIALLY ones with families, are struggling to always keep the place tidy/do laundry/wash dishes too. That makes me feel better...
ReplyDeleteYour place looks great! My bedroom was looking like my booth threw up earlier this week, and I finally buckled down and tidied it up. Now I can walk at night without the fear of breaking an ankle!
ReplyDeleteWhen I get super busy with selling-related things, I tend to let myself and my house go. I don't vacuum or dust like I should, my bedroom (storage place for now) gets crazy cluttered and disorganized, my hair gets dirty, and I never apply makeup. Or shower. Just kidding. I still get my weekly shower :)
Hoping to start a vintage Etsy store soon - I have a feeling my home (and me!) will look like a tornado came through when that happens.
Good for you for getting closer to your list of goals! I have a feeling you're going to be a famous writer someday, and I'll be telling everyone "I read her blog before! It's like I KNOW her!!" haha!
Haaa, my bedroom has that problem right now until I find how to organize the left side of the closet. Got storage boxes scattered in the meantime, time for tea for energy to clean the last bit of mess! It's bad because my boyfriend has to navigate the mess when he visits, too. ;) Thanks for the kind words Cathey!
DeleteHi Van! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I really appreciate your visit. I love your gallery wall and your lamp. My house seems to always need to be picked up. Just the other day a friend called and said they would be over in an hour. I made a mad dash around the house and got things tidy just in time!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I do that too. Every time I move to a new place I schedule the housewarming within a few days to shame myself into getting everything as spotless as possible.
DeleteI'm a spree cleaner. I like to work in clean areas, but I'm not habituated to putting things away immediately so things tend to fester before I go on a spree and clean my area in one energetic burst.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to let you know that I'm running an ad promo on my blog to help raise awareness for girls' education in developing nations, since today is international Day of the Girl. I'd really appreciate it if you checked it out. :)
I have the same process, looks like we both need to get into the habit of putting things away immediately to stop it. I got this to last with washing dishes but it didn't last with everything else ;)
DeleteMy house is constantly in a state of semi-disarray. Part of it is me, and part of it is due to my business. Some part of my business is in every room of the house except the bathroom. But there is a method to my madness. All my listed inventory is stored away with the location recorded for easy tracking. When things get busy, I may neglect some of my housekeeping, except for cleaning my bathroom weekly. I MUST have a clean bathroom at the very least!
ReplyDeleteLove your drive. Thanks for sharing your goals and processes with us. I wish you well, and may you accomplish all your goals. I can't wait to hear more progress updates. You always keep me motivated and on my toes to accomplish my goals :0)
I hope to have the whole day off tomorrow and to some of it deep cleaning but more of it having fun! There's a method to my madness too but I wish it was completely organized already ;)
DeleteI've been struggling with the whole my booth stuff is taking over and then there are the stacks meant to go on Amazon or eBay...sigh. The guest room is supposed to be my craft room and the guest room and the closet in there is the pantry and it's also my storage room for the booth. Ack! It drives me nuts. I spent an hour in there this evening and I got one foot of space cleared up. But I WILL persevere.
ReplyDeleteWe'll get it together! This is the unfortunate mess than comes with reselling ;p Seems like things are only completely composed when sales are slower. Maybe we must learn to embrace the mess for the benefits it brings...nah, want it gone! ;D
DeleteI've been struggling with the whole my booth stuff is taking over and then there are the stacks meant to go on Amazon or eBay...sigh. The guest room is supposed to be my craft room and the guest room and the closet in there is the pantry and it's also my storage room for the booth. Ack! It drives me nuts. I spent an hour in there this evening and I got one foot of space cleared up. But I WILL persevere.
ReplyDeleteAwesome business ideas I would say. I am impressed. Thanks a lot for such a nice tutorial.
ReplyDelete