2023: Review and Resolution

 

There is so much to be said about 2023! Let's get started:

EXCELLENT STUFF:

ART FESTIVALS, MARKETS, AND OTHER SUMMER EVENTS:  I've written a whole post on this called "The Escape Plan". It was wonderful, fun, exhausting, lucrative and kept me busy all summer. I got rid of a lot of art and made way more money than I could have imagined.

EBAY: I also wrote about eBay on the "The Escape Plan" post. If you need to get rid of "stuff", eBay is the place to go! It's a very steep learning curve, but once you survive it, it's very easy. If you enjoy thrifting, using this venue to resell can make you a lot of money.

ART: Doing art has always been life-affirming. It's great entertainment. I spent all year decorating envelopes, painting rocks, painting canvases, painting watercolors, painting frames, and painting signs. I had two commissions this year: one an acrylic canvas and the second a watercolor wedding portrait. Currently I'm painting sand dollars!

PEN PALLING: I have a great group of pen pals. It's been fun decorating envelopes for them. I appreciate their friendship and conversation.

FRAGRANCE FREE PEOPLE: I appreciate anyone I come into contact with who doesn't stink.

HEALTH CARE: For most of the year I avoided doctors and that always serves me well. At the end of the year I found a new health care practitioner. She seems wonderful, new, eager, open-minded. However, I've only had one appointment and I know they usually fail by the third appointment. For now this is a win and I'm hopeful.

FREE STUFF: I'm still getting free stuff at the local Christian thrift store, just not as much as they've cracked down. They are now taking time to clean and fix things rather than throw them in the free pile. Darn it all. Still, I've gleaned some excellent things throughout the year and years before. Christmas cards, for one.

CHRISTMAS CARDS: The free store is always putting Christmas cards in the free pile. Prior to Christmas I had about 300. This year I gather them up and sent them to three different senior care centers! I figured there are lots of people in these assisted living places who don't have family or friends and might like a cheerful Christmas card. It makes me feel good to imagine they might be giving someone Christmas joy.

HO HUM, IN THE MIDDLE, NOT GOOD/NOT BAD OR BOTH STUFF:

POST OFFICE: Selling on eBay and pen palling means I am subjected to the postal abuse too often. A lot of the time the postal workers are wonderful and helpful. Other times my letters never arrive and no one seems to know what has happened to them. Really? Tracking is useless. If the package or item disappears, even enroute, there doesn't seem to be anything they can do! It's just gone! Very irritating.

HEALTH DIAGNOSIS: I was finally diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. This isn't a surprise as MCAS has been linked to both MCS and Hashimoto's along with allergies and food sensitivities. It all goes together, unfortunately. It seems to be the answer to all my symptoms that every doctor in the last twenty years didn't seem to understand or had no answers. Ah ha! This should probably go under "Bad Stuff", but it's is good to finally have a diagnosis so I know what it is, but it sucks to have it. I've started a low-histamine diet and attempting a very expensive prescription. We'll see. 

NEW HOME SEARCH: What a hassle, but hopeful!

BAD STUFF:

VEHICLES: Oh the horror! Trying to buy a vehicle when one is chemically sensitive is a nightmare. I did find a non-smelly salesperson who I really like. He seems to have a keen sense of smell until he desperately wants to sell me a car that has already been detailed with stink then all of a sudden he claims he's had a cold so forgive his zero sense of smell. Totally untrustworthy for a buck. On top of that, used vans are rare...there are few and far between. If I want to order a new van (which I don't), I'd have to order it and it takes a year to get! Wow! On top of THAT (!) my old van is now so old it's leaking! What a hassle. My old van has been the best vehicle I've ever owned, but I waited too long to sell it. On top of THAT (!!), my adorable Scion IQ is so old and the model is no longer made so finding parts is a challenge. Damn. She may need to be sold as well.

DEATH: Old friends are dying! I tend to stalk my old friends as a way to catch up and stay in the loop. One hadn't posted anything for a while which is very odd. She died! So discombobulating. I went to tell another mutual friend we had and she has just been diagnosed with cancer and has been given two months to live. It's freaking me out. It's making me sell stuff and clean out my house much faster!

2024 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS: Stay alive...MOVE! It's going to be a great year!

The Escape Plan

 

Another year come and gone! As I review my 2022 New Year's Resolution in preparation to write my review of 2023, I pondered the goal of "plan escape". Did I succeed? Did I plan my escape?

I have planned my escape for eighteen years. Between bad neighbors with barking dogs, smelly laundry, inconsiderate rudeness, and houses that are just too close, the lack of basic community amenities like competent health care, organic food, decent phone service or postal service, and an overabundance of wet, damp and mold that I'm sure has contributed to some of my health issues, I have longed to escape, Rathole, my hell hole. I have dreamed of a place that is chemically sensitive aware, dry, warm, inexpensive with real health care and organic food. My state is one of the more expensive places to live although I didn't realize this until I started looking around.

I stayed where I am for so long for many reasons. First, was to gain equity in the house and property so it would end up a good investment and not a waste of money. Second, wait until I was retired. Third, save money. Fourth, find courage. Fifth, it's just difficult and usually unsafe to move. The past attempts have taught me that. In addition, over the years the world has intervened: economic recessions and depressions and then the pandemic. But is there a perfect place for me? Is it even possible to find a safe home?

I've decided to take a risk and venture forth! 2024 will be my year to move! How to proceed and take steps forward?

So 2023, I started planning and taking action. First, by trying to sell things. I went through all my closets and brought storage into the light. Good god, I have a lot art projects hidden away from view! Art has been my entertainment in seclusion. It keeps me sane and cognitively occupied. For years I was unable to attend festivals or markets since in-person selling was deemed too toxic. What do I do with all this boxed art and other unnecessary possessions I've hoarded over a lifetime?

My friends kept telling me to attempt Etsy. So I did. What a waste of money! First, they require you pay for every listing which sounds cheap until it starts adding up. Second, then if one wants things to actually sell, one must pay to market your items. After four months, I sold nothing. Now, I recognized at the time maybe my art is just ugly so I found the whole Etsy experience to be discouraging if not self-esteem damaging.

Then I decided I needed to sell my art history library, my expensive collection of coffee table and scholarly books, with the goal when it's gone I can move. Everyone said try eBay. I've always been leery of online anything. In fact I've never purchased anything from eBay or Etsy in my life, but I dove in head first. I got the feel for it with Etsy. Would eBay be more difficult or easier?

The eBay learning curve was hellishly steep! Trying to figure out how to work the shipping with all its rules and requirements was daunting. The scams and possible problems made the my probation stressful. After too many learning glitches, I figured it all out!  Once I had all the items listed which is the time consuming part, all I do now is wait for something to sell, pack it and ship it. Done! eBay does all the finances and deposits money into my bank account! How wonderful is that? Some people make up to $6,000 a month reselling things! I'm just selling my personal junk, but every dollar counts.

Things started selling immediately!! I didn't realize a lot of those art history books were limited edition collector publications going for $75, $100, and $200!! Others were just plain and old but still sold for $10, $25, $45...better than nothing! So far I've sold about 75 books. 

Along with listing 150 art history books, I listed personal possessions. Some of these possessions I've had all my life. Selling personal items that were sentimental was a little more difficult, but at the same time freeing. I kept thinking how wonderful part of my history was getting a new owner and start a new history. I sold my Girl Scout necklace, all my Partridge Family memorabilia, old records, dolls, jewelry, clothes, purses, travel mementos, collections and even free things I would find at yard sales and thrift stores. It amazes me what people buy and how much they are willing to pay for shipping! It's been really fun, cleansing, and surprisingly lucrative!

My next step was to sell the art stored in boxes in the back of closets. Etsy didn't work so well, but maybe I can do one summer art show and sell for cheap just to unload? I felt pretty intimidated due to my Etsy experience, but I ventured forth courageously and signed up for a local artist tour. I was hoping to get rid of my 200 painted rocks and 30 glass mosaics. I harassed two friends as helpers. One would be my assistant should a smelly buyer approach and the other would be in the booth next to me to serve as a partition from other vendors who might be selling smelly products. My booth was outside so plenty of fresh air and cleansing breeze. I sold way more than I ever thought I would, but I admit I priced things really low. More importantly, I survived! 

Realizing I could survive selling at art tours, markets and festivals, I started signing up for every weekend selling opportunity all summer long. My rules were it had to be outside, I had to have space around my booth. Often these booths are packed in like sardines and too close for comfort. Sometimes this required I purchase two booth fees and situate my canopy in the middle. The booth fee had to be relatively low so I would at least recoup its cost. I also requested I not be placed next to stink: scented soaps, incense, air fresheners, candles, essential oils. Most event planners ignored me, some attempted to accommodate me although since they didn't understand didn't succeed, and one was perfect, placing me on the corner outside away from others with a non-smelly vendor selling t-shirts right next to me.

I found I had a closet full of frames and another full of unused canvases. My goal was to unload anything I could. I started building inventory using anything I had. I ripped up sketchbook sketches and framed them. I starting doing watercolor paintings to use the frames, painting the frames, and painting the canvases. I even sold many of the watercolor sketches I've used to illustrate this blog! I used my collection of hoarded gift bags, tissue paper and recycled bubble wrap to wrap sold items.

Wow! It was fun, exhausting, lucrative, and productive. I watched happily as my boxes emptied and after each weekend my van became less packed. I lost about 15 lbs and got a lot of exercise hauling boxes, a canopy, tables and cement blocks. I met a lot of people. I even received a few commissions but I limited those as my goal was to rid myself of art I already had rather than create more art. Still, I used the canvases for the commissions. I encountered very few perfume wearers and when I did, stepped upwind to make sure the breeze carried the stench away. Several people asked me if I would teach classes and I had to decline. I can't be in an enclosed, inside room with stinkers.

Next I am attempting Facebook Marketplace for items I can't or don't want to ship for fear of breakage or furniture that is just too big.

2023 was a great year for escape planning and action! I also had my tarot cards read and they said I'm in the planning and thinking stage, taking steps preparing for action. Yep! Next year the cards say I am moving. I cried when I heard that!