I store it in my older son's room.

For things like your bent frog poster and puzzle, I'd toss them. If the item would appeal to someone else (perhaps that MoP inlay?), I'd donate it to a charity thrift shop. I've promised myself that I won't hang on to anything I don't like, and closet space is too valuable to waste on clutter.

I've painted, stained and used Rub n' Buff on lots of frames in order to reuse them in a new house or even just another room. If you'd like to use the frames now, but haven't found the "perfect" art work to go in them, you could order inexpensive prints online to enjoy in the meantime. Your photo collage idea sounds nice, too.

I say keep what you like, get rid of the rest. Take to a consignment store.

I store my "haven't decided yet what to do with" art stacked under my love seat in my living room! Fun to pull it out and switch things around.

Last year I finally donated the majority to a charity event that benefits the local food bank. The few that remain were painted by a family member and hung on the wall at one time, but now have a permanent home in the back of the office closet.

Ugh...funny you should post this, I'm in the same pickle with a bunch of artwork I pulled from the basement and is now sitting on my kitchen table. That little voice inside is saying, "you know this CR@P is ugly and dated. You'll never use it, get rid of it!" So I'm thinking I'll load them all up in the car and drop them off at Salvation Army in the morning.

I was just offered the opportunity to have whatever I wanted out of a warehouse where decorators had stored the items they "stage" model homes with. I took down ALL my wall art, put it in the attic & hung ALL new things.

I'm going to close my eyes and donate it all to a church charity next fall. :0)

At the moment, I have some stacked behind the door in our bathroom, in the guest room closet and the laundry room closet. I've just taken one to DH's office and hung it there. But, that one was a really nice one I just didn't have room for anymore. I need to bite the bullet and get rid of more of them. I hate the clutter. If I like the picture but not the frame, I have no problem painting, staining or antiquing it . . . or buying a new frame, if that's my only option.
Lynn

If I don't think I'll re-use the frame, I take it to my town's 'recycling center', where it's usually grabbed before I even get it all the way out of my car! Fun to know you made someone's day.

have a gar./yard sale put them out.. or take pics. of them list on CL..

I tally the amount of money wasted on unwanted art (and other tchotchkes) and suffer some pangs of guilt for a while, wishing the money had remained in our account, and then try to pawn it off on an unsuspecting family member or take it to a local thrift shop or Goodwill.

I guess the back of the closet is a popular place for unloved art! :-)

I feel like such a hypocrite; over the years I've encouraged DH is get rid of the stuff he just stores and never uses...and here I am w/my own items.

I think I'll take a pic of the puzzle (if the pieces aren't glued down, can't remember) and Freecycle it--it's a close-up of a bunch of bell peppers and would be fun for someone else to put together. It's a very vibrant piece and would be great in the right house--not mine :-)

I'll see if my young DS would like the frog poster, otherwise I'll see if anyone on Freecycle would like it.

I'll probably put Harper's and the mother-of-pearl inlay back into the closet for now.

DH has some framed art that I don't like, but he does, and was very hurt when I didn't hang them. So, to appease him, I put those in our water closet. I figure, we're the only ones that go in there, and I wanted to hang them somewhere since he likes them (they just don't go with the rest of the house).

If he didn't like them anymore, they would be gone.

Sometimes I hang them anyway if I am doing a "Lots of Stuff" installation, or if I am stacking art against the wall, (which I do a lot on mantles, on bookcases, etc.) I will put the stuff I don't like as much toward the back as filler. particularly if I like part of the piece, or the frame.

I yard sale them or throw them away if overwhelmed with stuff.

Well mines not in the back of the closet, but they are stored in boxes and other containers in our basement storage area. I will slowly be going through all the stored items and then I'll have to decide what to do.
As for something my Mom gave me. I'd keep it forever and find a place to hang it. My Mom's southwest decor is decorating our laundry room. It doesn't fit in with any other room in our home so I thought it would best in room that I spend more time than I'd like to in doing something that's not too appealing surrounded by memories of my Mom whom I was very close to and lost to a sudden heart attach almost fifteen years ago. So Melanie, I'm glad you'll be keeping the framed Harper's cover. Something that special should be cherished for the love behind it.

Success! I think my sister-in-law will take the mother-of-pearl/black lacquer inlay when she buys her home in the next couple years :-) Unsuspecting family members LOL!

Becky, you are lucky to have been so close to your mother :-) I do not have a great relationship w/my mom, but I know she really liked the Harper's print and thought it was special. It's one of the nicest things she's ever given me, and maybe one day I'll find a place for it besides the back wall of my closet ;-) If nothing else, it reminds me of my bedroom when I lived at home and I still remember how excited she was when I opened it for my birthday.

The pepper puzzle has been disassembled and is in the donation bag along w/a photo I took of the assembled puzzle. BTW my mom also gave me this puzzle but I can't keep everything she gives to me LOL!

I might have to look at the thrift store one of these days, maybe someone got rid of some framed art that I would love.

Melanie

For motivation when it come to decluttering and getting 'stuff' out of the house not just out of the room and into the attic or closet, visit the *Organizing the Home Forum* here at GW. It helps one to see things in a refreshing light. If you donate the item(s) to a charity thrift store you know the item will be enjoying a new life somewhere else.

dilly dally--thanks for reminding me about that forum! I do have clutter issues, and it seems like sometimes it's easier to donate things than other times. I will spend some time over there b/c right now I'm in a de-cluttering mood but am having a hard time donating stuff.

Part of my problem is that I quit my job in October to stay home w/the kids, and now that we only have one income we are on a restricted budget. It's harder for me to let go of things I don't use b/c I might use them later and they won't be as easy to replace for budget reasons. Of course, that's not what's going on w/the Harper's pic but it's happening w/other stuff.

Off to the Salvation Army thrift store. Except for my DH's 'art' from before we married. I don't care for it, he won't let it go, so it's all in the garage in boxes. Sigh.

melle_sacto, that's why I suggested the consignment store idea. I love taking stuff there, others buy it, I get a check. If I feel it's not worth bringing back home at the end of its run there--it becomes a donation that I can claim on my taxes. Look for one in your area.

Freecycle, Craig's List or, if I really like it but don't have anywhere in the house to put it. I hang it in the garage. Our walls out there are finished and painted. Someone told me a few years ago that our garage was probably the only one around with a large Degas print hanging over the washer and dryer. :-)

Interesting post. I recently took apart a signed print that had been in a closet for many, many years. Both print and matt were faded and the frame dated. Hubby got very upset, just "in case" he wanted to hang it. Where does a faded print with a dated, ugly peach matt and dated frame go? Back in the closet till hubby forgets, again, about it. The frame I spray painted and I'm working on to reuse. Two steps forward, one step back. Grrrrr!!

"I store it in my older son's room."

sweeby - That's so funny because I also keep ours in my sons closet!

Alright, why is my entire post showing up italicized, when I only italicized the quote?

Thanks for telling me the story behind it Melanie. And yes, I was very blessed to have a wonderful relationship with my Mom. She was the closest person to me in the seven years we lived in the same town before she passed. It wasn't always perfect, but we did have loads of fun together. Here's one of my favorite photos of her and me together. The colors faded, but the feeling is still there.

We have a painting that hung in the family farmhouse for years that is really ugly to me. The frame is bad, the picture itself is not in good shape and so many times I have wanted to chuck it out the door. But it was given to my DH by his Uncle who never married and divided the household goods among the nephews and nieces.

The artist name is Ernst. There is actually a well known painter by this name but we don't know if its the same one or not. Just recently learned of him. Anyway, the painting is large and sits behind the bookcases in my DHs office. Even if its by the well known Ernst, I don't like the painting and would never hang it. Its a landscape.

justgot, that is a precious photo; just look at both your faces !!! the era is there too, wall phone, macrame planter. I have pics like that from the early 70's but none that have the spirit captured in yours.

If I were you, I would have it reprinted in black and white ; some of my pics are getting very red/orangey also.

Justgot - Love that phot! You are so lucky to have a photo of the two of you that captures what you shared. You can see it when you look at your faces. My sweet Mom was my best friend and I'll miss her always. I have photos, but none like yours.

Thank you mitchdesj and joanie38. I'm really blessed to have this photo. I have tons, but this is just the best. It does truly capture our relationship.
I do wish the kitchen would have been neater looking. My Mom never had a messy house, unlike me of late, but my guess is we had company and things just got pushed aside while we gathered to talk in our family favorite spot around my Mom's kitchen table.
Mitchdesj I just cropped and changed it to black and white and really like it. I do hope someday to find the negative so I can have a copy in true color too.

I purchased a furnished house, and part of the fun has been to dig through the rafter storage of all of those "ugly" pictures they apparently didn't like. I think I took about 60% of those out of the attic and replaced them with the ones I didn't like that were hanging. :) It's like treasure! Fun fun fun

Becky,
Your cherished picture brought a tear to my eye. The look of adoration on your mother's face is priceless. It makes me realize why my kids chastise me so much for not letting them take pictures of me.
Dee

Art is created to be seen, if I've got a piece that looks a little worse for wear, I will get it re-framed. Especially something with sentimental value, you shouldn't destroy good memories.

Here is a link that might be useful: framed poster

justgot, it must be really nice in B&W !! I just noticed that tall glass bottle of pop you are holding.

You've inspired me to start looking through my piles of old photos, it's on my
to do list.