Surveying a room full of second-hand items, my eyes would search for the unusual but practical items, like trade books, wooden frames or decorative boxes.
I feel an equal dose of excitement when I chance upon items left behind, whether accidentally, or on purpose. I have found matchless earrings, bracelets, pendants, and a ring. They are hardly ever worn, but they are kept along with my regular accessories.
From a tired-looking bungalow whose owners left a ton of junk before my family moved in, my mother and I sorted through so many old items. From the pile, I’ve kept a deep hunter green jewelry box, a postcard of a Picasso repro, and a hard-bound book on a collection of paintings.
Finding a purpose for things that other people had thrown away seems to have become a natural reaction for me, like at the time I spent my scholarship year in Georgia in 1994 where I found, at the dorm basement, of all things, a small, 2 cubic-foot brown dorm fridge and an electric water-heating jug, which turned out to be working! I also brought back to my dorm room discarded hangers and microwaveable food containers.
Of course I generally prefer buying brand new things (though I avoid paying at full retail!), but the quest for second-hand items still brings me to scavenging in thrift shops for a stylish top, a bag, or curtains on occasion. I still appreciate close to half of the items handed down to my by mother, mother-in-law, or a friend who’s moving out. But there is always something alluring about an object with a past.
Some songwriter wrote “Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.”
