I keep bedding until it's worn looking. Then it gets donated to the animal shelter. Most of my bedding is purchased from the new, but vintage items on eBay. I have several sets and change them throughout the year which helps my bedroom look fresh to my eyes.

I invested in an expensive set for the guest bedroom several years ago and had custom draperies made to match. I sort of wish I hadn't done that because I would love to change the colors in that room, but can't justify spending the money.

For me, changing colors is one way to keep my house looking up-to-date, so limiting myself to an expensive non-neutral bedding set was a bad decision on my part.

That's great that you donate to an animal shelter, Fun. I have two dogs and eventually most older bedding makes it to their beds. (They're indoor, btw, hmm, in my bed, mostly)

Maybe you could add some neutral pieces to your bedding to help keep it up to date.

My new bedding just now arrived and I have no qualms. It is totally gorgeous, goes with what I have and was a great price so I'm calm.
Fyi, any curious,Garnet Hill Nicola ski lodge jacquard cover and shams and flannel sheets which I see now they are sold out of.

I know this post is somewhat about bedding, but it could be about anything. I have 8 lamps in the basement that are too good to get rid of (they are really nice!) and I might want someday. But I don't and haven't, in the past ten years.

I don't have the luxury of space to keep too many things. Maybe that's a good thing? I do tend to hang on to purses/bags, but they don't take up a lot of room.

Bumblebeez: DH went down to the basement last week and came up and told me there were 36 lamps down there so your 8 seems like nothing to me. To be fair, several were Lowe's cheapies I purchased until I could make up my mind, and a couple are old table floor lamps I really should rid myself of; however, when I redid the bonus room for my grandkids, I used a silver floor lamp with glass table I think I've had for 20 years or more. I updated it with a new rattan shade and it looks great. Extra bedding is another particular bugaboo with DH.

So, I guess the answer to your question is: I keep things waaaay too long. (I also think one of the lamps DH counted was a 50's ballerina figural lamp my DF painted yellow and white for DD when she was young)

I'd love to see your new bedding.

Dee

Well the storage space is something wonderful and I don't take it for granted but it has made me somewhat disorganized and reluctant to part with anything. I don't think being pared down is a bad thing, Natal.
I dislike those hoarding tendencies and keep wondering how I could turn the space into something profitable, outside of marijuana under grow lamps!

Dee, you made my day! 36, hahaha

Forever! LOL

Seriously, we keep stuff way longer than I should. Our old sofa and love-seat were threadbare, fabric literally shredded in spots, with the stuffing coming out by the time they heat the curb. In our defense, we refused to buy anything new until some of our home renovations were completed (no sense getting new things only to coat them with construction dust right away), that, and we didn't have the $ to buy anything decor-wise (at least until after some of the structural stuff was done).

We have new bedding that we purchased at the beginning of this year, that I will not put on the bed until DH completes some work in/off our bedroom (long time overdue!). I am so hoping the old stuff that's on the bed now can hold out until then!

wow 36 lamps? I'll take some. I a whole 2....3 if you count the one that I have in my bedroom right now that is getting returned today because it was too high. LOL I seriously need to find some lamps!

To the poster.... I don't keep things really
I throw a lot of stuff out. I don't have much storage though. If I had more I would probably keep stuff til it broke.

This bedding, btw. Garnet Hill, Nicola.
Coverlet, shams and sheets. Not the red lumbar pillow.

Here is a link that might be useful: bedding

How long? Too long? I've decided that nothing will go into storage from now on. I'm in a purging mode and made 2 trips to Goodwill today....bedding, draperies, table linens, faux Christmas stuff, shoes, sweaters, vases and other junque. For the bigger stuff I have scheduled a home pick-up with a local charity for next week.

I did a similar clean-out 3 weeks ago when we had unexpected house guests (2 days notice) and had to clean out the guest room and the basement bedroom/bathroom. I could not believe the stuff we had stashed...everywhere!
Some of it's the result of having our daughters move in/out of college and never taking OUT what they brought in. Some of it is the stuff I have inherited and my inability to get rid of it.

As I was cleaning out all the "stuff" I was wondering "what was I thinking" and like you, I just wanted a change. No more!

It depends on what you mean by things. I'm not a pack rat so many things are not kept very long.

If it's worn out, it's replaced. If it's not being used, it's donated. DH complains jokingly that I give all his things away. He may be right.

Well, since I LOVE that bedding, I definitely think you should go for it! Donate or sell the old.

...it's on sale. What is stopping you woman??? :)

I'm not one to keep alot of things stored. Furniture, etc. we keep for quite a while. We have a good many antiques and a few family pieces that I can't see ever getting rid of. We just replaced a sofa, two chairs and an ottoman in our great room. The sofa and one chair/ottoman we gave to the kids of friends of ours (they are getting married, have just bought a house). While they were almost 14 years old, they are still in really good shape, we were just tired of them (navy/crimson, etc.) and decided we could replace for not much more than reupholstering. The other chair (a stressless chair and ottoman) moved to the sunroom, which is used daily. I tend to move furniture around, swap from room to room, etc. and not get rid of much(other than upholstered pieces which as you can see, we do keep for a while).

Bedding, well it stays until I feel the need to redecorate. Our bedding never wears out as we do not use it other than to cover the bed. I donate bedding. Our church has a twice yearly rummage sale and I either donate to them ($$$ goes to missions), or to goodwill or habitat for hummanity.

tina

Cyn! haha, I bought it as soon as I saw it, and it's here already, came today. I'm glad I did too, it's gone now and it's perfect for my house.

Tina, that is what I thought some might say- keep it until it wears out. I'm ok with that for most things, and dh is that way for all things, so it seems frivolous and extravagant to replace something not worn out. Well, not to me, but to dh and I sorta go along with it. Who else has tvs, hooked up to Direct TV no less, from the seventies?

I have a lot of things that I've had for 20 or 30 years, and if they're still functional and I like them, they'll stay indefinitely. I have replaced upholstered furniture and bedding when I've tired of it or my tastes changed, but often wait until spending money seems reasonable. I hung onto a pair of sofas I was not fond of for almost 10 years because they were expensive and I couldn't justify the expenditure until they were old enough to give to the kids for their apartments.

Lamps? I have 3 that I'd like to replace with better quality that are about 12 years old, in the guest room. There is a pile of throw pillows, scatter rugs, inexpensive dishware, old electronics, outgrown decorative items, and unused gifts in my basement waiting for the tag sale we've been planning for about 6 years now.

Bedding also depends on whether I've tired of it. I used my last good quality comforter (Ralph Lauren) for about 6 years, and when I tired of it, put a simple duvet cover on it for another 3 years. I'm about due for a new cover or a new comforter, if I find the right one.
BTW I LOVE the one you just got. Why didn't I spot that one? LOL.

Some things I keep too long--I've had favorite sheets literally wear through, while I had others rarely used in the cedar chest. Why? Makes no sense.

Other things I ditch rapidly as soon as I don't need them or like them any more. I don't have high turnover and I'm a notorious cheapskate, but I'm not going to keep something that makes me feel "blah" just because I already have it. My home is my comfort, and I want it to say "ahhhh", not "blah".

hmmm, I didn't say anything about keeping something till it wears out. . .

tina

Oh you're right Tina! I'm sorry and had things confused.

As long as I still love them! Even though i'm not a trend follower, I like 'style' and so my house has to have style. I think I go by what feels right too~~if i'm feeling something has been around quite awhile, I tend to get rid of it, but it could be years! LOL

Right now I have 2 kids in college. As I know they will be setting up their apartments soon, I have been keeping more than typical.

I have a goal that in 5 years when they are both settled, that I will absolutely get rid or or donate what they don't seem to need.

But for now it is down in the basement.

I am geting better about asking them if they will ever want stuff, or if I should just donate.

Every so often I get the urge to declutter and organize. Every year I like to go through my closets and give away as much as possible. My laundry room is next on my list. When we renovated our kitchen, I did not bring back things I did not use. Same for my dining room breakfront. I like beling able to find things.
We do have real estate property in the city and we use the basement to store furniture.

Gorgeous bedding! And on sale, too. I have to say, I'm with you. I like to get things that are quality, but know that eventually I'll want a change and if I've paid too much for it, I'll feel obliged to keep it even if I know longer love it. I also love Garnet Hill. There stuff is always classic.

As for keeping things, I tend to keep things until right before they come back in style or I really really need them.

I am glad someone else asked this question. Does anyone else get bored of things long before they wear out? I never like to spend a ton on anything, especially furniture, because I get tired of it so quickly. Even furniture that I absolutely loved when I first bought it loses its appeal after a few years. I will decorate a room and then 2 or 3 years later, want to get rid of everything and redecorate it. Am I the only one with this problem?

I do get bored with things and like to change a lot so I don't spend a lot of money on bedding comforter's or pillows. I like simple cotton spreads/coverlets. Would love to have quilts if I could find some in the colors I need.

I don't keep anything I don't use. I have empty space in all my closets because I'm not a keeper of things. I have 2 sets of sheets, one blanket and one coverlet/spread for each bed, that's it.

I've learned a lot from watching Peter Walsh and don't keep things that I can't use or see.

This year I'm clearing out and donating 3/4 of the Christmas decoration items that I keep unpacking and repacking, but never find a place to display them. I know DH will be happy to have a lot less bins to put up on the shelves.

forever!!

but, i do get tired of the same look, so i have a couple of different bedding sets in the basement---??? not sure why! i tend to be a careful washer and am not 'hard' on things and clothing(except maybe jeans!) so our things for the most part don't really 'wear out' too quickly--which is why i hold onto them! i have alot of things in the basement that i'll keep until the kids get established on their own--will see what they want/need and THEN i think i'll be able to really purge!

I have a huge walk-up attic and it's too easy to keep things. I also have the junk brought back from college in random boxes of books and dish towels, or bath caddies packed with notebooks & spatulas. Lots to go through. And I don't have 36 lamps, but whenever I upgrade one of my lamps I've been putting the old one up there for the "kid's apartments". Well, turns out that my kids don't want my old lamps, so I've been ditching them little by little.

This summer I had to get a new refrigerator. I had the old one 12 years, and I bought it used then, so it was time. My stove has also been slowly dying (oven sometimes acts possessed, the burners need to be lit and have low flames), and I came across a great deal on a new Viking, so even though the stove is still hanging in, I'm replacing it before it's an emergency. I feel just a little bit wasteful, though, since the old one is still working.

I bought leather couches 10 years ago and while it would be nice to have something new and different, they are in great condition and I can't justify replacing them. They can go to one of the kids, but who knows I might have a move sometime in my future and I'd rather get new stuff then.

The bedding is lovely and will make you smile every day. Go for it!

-Celtic (who keeps stuff waaaaaay too long)