Sure it’s Sunday, but how about a little bonus behind-the-scenes tale of hunting down clothespins for the Pinterest Challenge light fixture that we have in the works? Other considered titles:
- “The Petersik Clothespin Tour of Richmond”
- “Wow, I’m a really patient husband.”
- “Sorry environment, we vow to plant three trees to make up for all that driving”
Okay, so here’s the deal. When we first started our clothespin light fixture (first mentioned here), we snagged four bags of clothespins at Ben Franklin just to get us started. We knew we’d need more, but we didn’t want to go crazy buying them until we decided on a pattern and had a better sense of how many we’d need. Oh, and Ben Franklin only had four bags at the time too. Minor detail.
Once we started clothespinning away, we realized we’d definitely need more. LOTS more. So just as Clara went down for a nap, Sherry sent me out on a quick errand to get more packs (8-ish was my instruction). Neither of us knew my “quick” errand would turn into a 2 hour, 54-mile trek around the Richmond suburbs.
Since we had already started using the four packs that we bought at Ben Franklin, I needed to get more packs of the exact same sized clothespins to add to our collection (which sadly meant places like Target and the dollar store were out due to only carrying pins that were too large or too small). So I decided to hit up the same Ben Franklin from before [Marker “B” above] hoping they had been restocked. They hadn’t. Zero clothespins secured.
I only knew of two other Ben Franklin stores in our area, so I stopped by a nearby Bed Bath & Beyond (“we don’t sell clothespins”) and Michael’s that shared a shopping center [Marker C]. Michael’s carried another brand of clothespins that came in large, small, and mini sizes. Wouldn’t you know we needed the medium size (since those fit perfectly into our wire light fixture frame and would look consistent next to the pins from the four bags that we already had).
Sidenote: And yes, my wife has me labeled as “Husband – John” in her phone. Like she knows so many other Johns that she would get confused withouth the whole “husband” part.
But back to my hunt. Thanks to failing at my first few stops, I realized that I needed to expand my errand circle to the next Ben Franklin [Marker D]. Score, they had three packs of mediums in stock. Maybe they never stock more than 3 or 4 at a time? But that would mean going to the only other known Ben Franklin store [Marker G] wouldn’t get me up to my goal of 8 packs. Crap. Time to break out the big guns: JoAnn Fabrics [Marker E] and Hobby Lobby [Marker F].
Though they were both far out of town, they’re both really big and located off a nearby highway with a high speed limit and low traffic volume. So basically, the need for speed* tricked me into what I would later find out was a bad decision.
*If you’re rolling your eyes because this sounds like a typical testosterone-fueled poor decision, allow me to remind you the decision was also swayed by the possibility of finding CLOTHESPINS at a JOANN FABRIC or a HOBBY LOBBY. I was deserving of a masculine moment, okay?
Anyway, you’ve probably guessed where this was going. Sherry actually did some calling around and they both said they had clothespins, they just didn’t give her specifics on size or brand, so I had to check those things out myself. Spoiler alert: both JoAnn and Hobby Lobby failed me (once again, only large, small, and mini sizes). At least the Burger King I stopped at in at between them didn’t let me down (it had been over an hour of clothespin hunting and clearly I was growing weak). So with almost all hope lost – and visions of a half-filled clothespin chandelier creeping into my mind – I trudged my way to my last Ben Franklin [Marker G] where Sherry had also called ahead for me (but couldn’t get any assurance that they had the specific brand and size that we needed).
Here’s where I should’ve been ecstatic: they had them. But here’s also where I felt like an idiot: they had nine packs. NINE. Yep, had I gone here in the first place (a mere 8 miles from home, no less) I would’ve found all of my clothespins in one spot. No two hours wasted. No getting tired of cashiers joking “you must have lots of laundry to do!” No Burger King-induced stomach ache.
Oh well. Shoulda, woulda, coulda right? Even by calling ahead and identifying places to avoid (Target, the dollar store, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc) it was still was a pretty exhaustive tour of my fair city. The bright side is that the chandelier is shaping up to be really cool. Sherry and I have been experimenting with a lot of different clothespin patterns and we can’t wait to finalize things, hang it up, write a picture-riffic tutorial, and share the results on Tuesday morning (and hear what all of you guys tackled if you opted into the whole Pinterest Challenge thing too).
The only bummer? We have four leftover packs of unopened clothespins to return to Ben Franklin, my new home away from home. Yup, there was a mild to moderate over-calculation. So we really only needed four more packs in the first place (as opposed to the eight that I bought home). In the words of the always eloquent Homer Simpson: d’oh.
Jen says
You know, the other side of “Husband – John” is that she has to keep her husbands filed. ;)
Seriously, though, I did the same thing … it got me my phone back once when someone could tell who in my contacts to call to return it.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- it’s true. Good thing he didn’t see Husband- Oscar and Husband- Mike. Haha.
xo,
s
Janet @ ordinarymom says
Yeah. I totally get the husband label in the iPhone. It is something I was thinking of doing as well so that if anyone needed to use my Phone to make an emergency call on behalf of me, they would know who to dial. Esp. where my husband has a girl’s name (don’t tell him I said that). Wanna guess? LOL!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm… Lindsay? Any other guesses?
xo,
s
Jane says
I used think that was goood idea to add “husband” as prefix to mu hubby’s name just so if it gets lost somebody could use it to call..but then I thought what if it falls in the wrong hands?! Somebody could do a lot with just knowing which number to call..ya know..So now I removed the “husband” part :)
angel p says
definitely true! I was at a party once and a girl passed out and had to be taken to the hospital. Luckily in her phone she had labeled her brother as “brother bob” or whatever his name was. If it had not been for the brother label I would not have known who in her contact list was family to call and send to the hospital. BTW, my own phone also says “Hubby” and then my husband’s name just for the same reason. :O)
LauraC says
“Like she knows so many other Johns that she would get confused withouth the whole “husband” part.” – hahaha. Literally lol. All these comments are cracking me up. Oh, did I just say, “cracking?” Soooo dating myself! :-)
Janet @ ordinarymom says
Lindsay was SO close! Wow. It’s Laurie. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, love it!
xo,
s
Sarah M. says
Here’s a good tip for anyone who happens to be perusing the comments – program your significant other’s number in your phone with ICE: In Case of Emergency. Law enforcement is trained to look for ICE in cell phones first. You can program the same number with your husband’s name, and then just make a duplicate contact listed as “ICE_name of spouse.” Or you can give a little shout-out to Vanilla Ice and just call it “ICE ICE Rob” like I do for my hubby. hahaha!
Theresa says
YAY- a Sunday post :) I was checking just in case… my lucky day ha ha!
Good luck with the clothespins & can’t wait to see the finished product!
shannon says
So here I am, taking a smartphone break from my project, and I think, “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a stealth weekend YHL post?” And there was! I feel your pain. While I haven’t driven around for 2 hours gathering supplies, I have been the victim of more-steps-to-this-project-than-I-ever-imagined-when-I-committed to-it-by-taking-the-doors-off-my-cupboards. But it all be worth it in the end, right? RIGHT?
YoungHouseLove says
Right! It’s really looking awesome. So worth all that driving (by not me) for sure. Haha.
xo,
s
Chrissie says
Haha I was hoping the same thing. It’s Monday here in Australia-land, and I’m spending my lunch break indoors due to drenching rain and no umbrella (mine got broken in the last bout of drenching rain). I came here in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, there’d be something new, and ta-dah! There was!
So John, while I’m sure it will be small comfort, your epic journey has served to entertain me on an otherwise boring afternoon! ;-)
Beth says
I found some at Target yesterday.
Also, I was in a goofy Ben Franklin’s Crafts commercial when I was in 4th or 5th grade.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, you’re famous!
xo,
s
Devon @ Green House, Good Life says
I was going to suggest Target, too — I got mine there when I did my take on your Mod Podged clothespins at Christmas.
And on the phone issue — since we trade phones sometimes, my husband is just “Other Phone” (as am I in his phone).
alg says
ROTFL!!!!!!!
You DO deserve “husband of the year” for that one — Dan gets the cold sweats just talking about a trip to the fabric store. (His mom had a slight Yarn Barn addiction back in the day…)
kristen says
i probably shouldn’t mention this now, but the dollar store across from cloverleaf mall had these yesterday morning when i was in there…
but what kind of road trip story would it be if you went there first and they had them in stock? that would make for a boring blog – so i’m glad for the long version! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, poor John. The good news is we got super huge packs for $1.99 each, and they fit the squares in our wire fencing perfectly, so it’s totally going to be worth it. At least to me. Not sure how John’s gonna feel. Haha. Just kidding, he’s already pretty excited about how it’s all shaping up.
xo,
s
heather s. says
Yep – Dollar Stores have them around here!
MichelleLG says
“husband john” reminds me of the theme song from The Jetsons where everyone is named (“his boy Elroy…daughter Judy…Jane, his wife”) :o)
lcg says
hahaha…maybe CALLING the stores ahead of time would be an option next time Can’t wait to see the finished product!
YoungHouseLove says
I actually called a few of them while John was out driving around but all of them said “yup, we have clothespins” over the phone (but it was hard to get them to definitively confirm that they had the right size and brand that we needed to keep it looking consistent)!
xo,
s
Amanda says
I should change my phone to “Boyfriend – Brian” … you know, just in case I forget. Hehe. ACTUALLY really funny story, back when we first started dating, his name in my phone was something completely different because our relationship was a secret (We worked together) and I would often leave my phone out on my desk so I never wanted someone to see when he texted/called me. Sneaky, sneaky. I changed it pretty quickly though (about 2 months) as I was wanting to see his REAL name come up. Now that you know that story …. uuhh?
Though the commenter above’s example of having the phone returned to is smart! Where I work, people always lose their phones so we’re always calling “home” “dad” “mum” numbers to try to get it back to them before the battery dies. I’m some times nervous to call “mum” or “dad” in case it’s one of those really awkward “I haven’t talking to my daughter/son in 5 years” situations … ehk!
Ashleigh says
I love SURPRISE posts! I’m with the first poster (Jen). My first thought went immediately to Sherry having multiple husbands…not multiple Johns/Jons. :-) Can’t wait to see the chandelier. I did not get into this round of the pinterest challenge, but we will soon.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yup it’s good that John doesn’t know about all the other husbands labeled as such in my phone! Haha.
xo
s
Macon says
I scored some pretty cheap clothespins yesterday at our commissary on the military base here, I’ve got the setup that I need for my shade just need a light kit… My husband and I have spent the last two days putting up new lights, I don’t think he’s going to be keen to my idea of another light project… We shall see before the end of the challenge…
Alisa says
I labeled my husband in my phone too! Just because I watch way too much CSI/Law and Order and I wanted them to know who to call if they found my body dead on the side of the road. Morbid enough?
Jessica says
If it’s any consolation for being morbid, I have the same thought after watching many, many crime shows like that. :)
Also, I don’t use the “husband” label, but I would hope that someone would look at my favorites list and see him first and my mom and sister next. And since I don’t have pictures of them, I have an “I <3 my hubby" graphic for him and an "I <3 my sister" graphic for her, so maybe that would help also. :)
Desiree says
Love this! I was thinking of changing my hubby’s name in my phone for this reason!
Rachel says
I have my husband labeled in my phone as “husband” too. (And my parents as Mom and Dad.) Its more of a in-case-of-emergency thing. If something happens to me someone will know the first person to call.
Bailey says
What an adventure!! I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I also label my husband in my phone as Dan-Husband. That way, if there is an emergency, they know who to call. Otherwise, they’d probably call my mom or dad first and not the hubs. People think it’s funny I do that too. :)
Karen says
LOL… sounds like my luck.
Wal-Mart always has tons of clothespins, tho.
Jus Sayin’ :)
Can’t wait to see this chandelier.
Karla says
This is going to look so great guys! Can’t wait to see it! :)
Why didn’t you try a Wal-mart or Target? Maybe you needed a special size? Good luck with it!
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah- it was hard to find the right size, so Ben Franklin seemed to have those hard-to-find medium ones.
xo,
s
BrassyDel says
Maybe next time John can call ahead instead of running all over town… but that wouldn’t make a very good story, would it?
For any other YHL-ers wanting to mimic your project though, I’ve also seen clothespins at Target, Walmart (laundry or home storage sections), and even the dollar stores. (We don’t have any Ben Franklins out here.)
Kelly says
Bless your heart. I’ve been there–driving all over town to find one item that is only about six seconds away from where I started. And I can think of two Ben Franklins that you drove right by–one at Broad/Pump (pretty darn close to that Hobby Lobby at marker F) and one at the corner of Patterson/Parham, still a bit closer to home for you! :)
YoungHouseLove says
I learned about that after my trip (actually, when making that map graphic above). Darn it, right? That’s what I get for not having a smart phone to look them up on the go!
-John
Aimee says
Totally understand the hunt, it seems to happen to me all the time. A quick errand turned mission. I have been in need of clothespins for several bridal shower games and have always found that at the dollar store or walmart.
Stephanie Handy says
I do feel the pain. This is the sort of thing that’s driven me to obsessively calling places after one or two fails.
Of course, I also just spent the last hour and a half trying to figure out why my sewing machine stopped working properly after changing the broken needle (it would sew my test scraps fine but refuse to sew my actual project – which is for the Pinterest challenge, btw). Then it occurred to me the needle might be crooked. 5 second fix after an hour and a half of yelling obscenities at the machine. =)
YoungHouseLove says
Whew, so glad you figured it out! That would totally drive me madddd!
xo,
s
Elisa says
Haha, I feel for ya! I took a pinterest-fueled errands run this morning and am now taking a Ren and Stimpy break after working on ‘the’ project. This is super awesome/fun/dorky knowing we’re all in this together!
Jennifer Darling says
I hate to tell you this, but they also have clothespins at Home Depot and probably at Lowes too. I don’t know how close either of these are to you, but it might be something to keep in mind if ever you’re doing another clothespin project :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah- it was hard to find the right size, so Ben Franklin seemed to have those hard-to-find medium ones!
xo,
s
Jennifer Darling says
p.s., I can’t wait to see your project!!!!!!
Julia Bernal says
Awww, that was so sweet of you to go to all of those places. I can’t wait to see how your final project comes out. Good luck guys!
katalina says
so happy a post on the weekend…what a husband. really.
where did you get the wire frame for the light/ I have seen articles where they have converted funky patterned trash cans into light pendants.
will this clothes pin go into the cutest laundry room ever? then you can do a clothespin inspires tie back curtain!
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, it’s for the laundry room and we got the wire as metal fencing from Lowe’s! More details on Tuesday!
xo,
s
Echo says
Did you check Walmart? That’s where I buy mine. :X
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah- it was hard to find the right size, so Ben Franklin seemed to have those hard-to-find medium ones!!
xo,
s
jules says
I seriously thought the “need for speed” sentence was foreshadowing a speeding ticket….. Glad I was wrong! Can’t wait to see your Pinterest Challenge project finished. I just need to put a couple of coats of poly on mine :)
Jen H says
Not to rub salt in the old wound (especially since you got your sodium requirements for the month in one visit to Burger King) BUT…they are usually more than happy to look to see if they have your desired merchandise in stock if you call ahead (think old school version of ikea’s nifty website function). Just saying… Don’t let all of this back seat commenting sway you from future Sunday posts!
j says
Okay, um, John? There’s this new-fangled technology called telephones. You can use them to call around to half a dozen stores and see who has clothespins in stock BEFORE heading out, thus saving yourself 2 hours of driving. :) I’m glad Mission: Clothespin was eventually a success.
YoungHouseLove says
I actually called a few of them while John was out driving around but all of them said “yup, we have clothespins” over the phone (but it was hard to get them to definitively confirm that they had the right size and brand that we needed to keep it looking consistent)!
xo,
s
Cheri says
lol, probably has “Husband-John” in case of an emergency and if someone finds her phone they know who to call first!
Can’t wait to see the new light fixture!
Leslie C says
I was totally going to say that I’ve seen them at the dollar store too! I also have my Hubby listed as Clay-Husband, I did it for emergency purposes so that if there was every an accident or I just happen to be laying dead on the side of the road, they would know who to call. Morbid much? haha
Can’t wait to see how the fixture comes out!!
Jen says
My husband totally has me listed as AaJen(wife) in his cell phone. The “Aa” so I’m the first contact that comes up, and (wife) in case he is in an accident and left unconscious and someone thinks to check his phone for a contact person. I don’t have him labeled as “husband”, but I do have my Mom & Dad listed as “Mommy” and “Daddy”. :)
Penny says
@Jen, wow good idea with the “A”. I have my daughter listed with emergency as her last name, but she’s way down in my contacts. I also have a separate listing as “emergency” with her name, but I like to make things easy if someone is frantically trying to find someone to call, so I’ve done what you suggested and put A/ in front of her first name.Thanks!
Hayley says
I’ve used clothespins for several different projects, and I always find that Goodwill is a great place to get them! They often bag up clothespins in huge batches for just $1!
Lauren says
This post pretty much works as a summary of my entire life, haha. Glad you will ALWAYS have enough clothespins and know where to get whatever size you will ever need now!
Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove says
That’s so annoying! At least you ended up finding them. We have a habit of going out with a list and forgetting one item – not realizing it until we’re back at home.
Can’t wait to see the final product! The clothespin chandelier seems very interesting. I love that you’ll be hanging it in the laundry room!
Emily says
Weekend bonus post = the stuff dreams are made of.
I love the subtext of the text messages: I kept reading “Good Luck” = Don’t come home without them!!
Also, +5 cool points for $herdog if you change “husband” to “baby daddy.” Much more hood.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I should change it to J-Fizzle. That’s my new name for him. Doesn’t $herdog and J-Fizzle have a nice ring to it?
xo,
s
Tania says
After all that driving around, John deserves at least a J-Sizzle moniker. J-Fizzle just sounds like a bust.
YoungHouseLove says
I actually vote for J-Money. I mean, c’mon – Sherry gets a dollar sign (which she totally stole from Ke$ha by the way – or at least that’s the rumor I’m spreading). Or maybe I could try to steal J-Woww from that Jersey Shore girl…
-John
liz says
I love the “Husband – John” label too. Mine is in my phone as ICE (in case of emergency). My girlfriend labeled her husband’s contact info as “First Husband”. She has a pretty sick sense of humor :)
Allyn says
Oh, the clothespin debacle was a facepalm moment I’m sure. Like when we worked on wedding invite designs for at least a month full of arguing and emails with my mom, only to realize that the first design could be slightly tweaked to be exactly what we wanted.
Oi.
rosita designs says
don’t be mad, but they sell clothespins at target. 50 pack for $2.99. not sure if there’s one near you, but it prolly isn’t 54 miles away ;)
excited to see the final product
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah it was just hard to find the right size. Thankfully our packs were $1.99 (for a pack of 40) when we finally found them all!
xo,
s
Meagan says
Y’all definitely sound like you have had a similar pinterest challenge experience to me. I started out with 200 coffee filters (huge underestimate)…ran out and bought 400 — surely 600 would be enough. false. So just went and bought 200 more…fingers crossed this is be enough – I will give you the final tally with my picture. haha my pinterest challenge project is turning out to be much more involved then I had anticipated.
YoungHouseLove says
OH man – can’t wait to see what you’re up to!
xo,
s
MC says
I used to work at Michael’s and whenever someone called asking after an item we ALWAYS went to find it in the store before we said “yes we have it”. If the customer was in the store and we didn’t have an item in stock we would call around to the other stores to see who had it. I am surprised no one offered to help you out John! Maybe it’s just us crazy Canadians who will go out of our way to make a sale!
YoungHouseLove says
The few folks on the phone were very nice and put me on hold to walk to the aisle to confirm they had clothespins, but they weren’t very specific about if they had medium sized ones in the brand we needed to fit our wire frame, so it was very sweet of them but still necessitated some legwork on my poor husband’s part. Good thing that Burger King stop kept him going. Haha.
xo,
s
m @ random musings says
I totally get the husband label – I just started a project with a new coworker who shares the same name as my bf, and I now have to be verrry careful when sending texts. The autosearch + 3 letters is not enough!
Larissa says
Give that Husband-John a raise!
My phone says Husband No. 1.
A joke but also in case of an emergency.
Lisa says
Funny! Glad you found what you needed. I was actually at Ben Franklin (marker B) yesterday also. And they had this cool kids project set up in the front of the store where Richard got to color a sheet of paper and it went inside a mug. It was free and you could even shop while your child was coloring. Nice…
YoungHouseLove says
Oh that sounds fun Lisa! I bet Richard loved that!
xo,
s
Tempest says
Not weird at all. My husband is “Scott-Husband” in my phone. It’s in case of emergency, responders would know who to call first. :)
Jen says
In NZ we are encouraged to list a mobile phone contact under ICE (in case of emergency) as that is the first thing our emergency services will look for – so mine phone has “ICE husband”; “ICE lil bro”; and “ICE mum & Dad”
pz2 says
what is ben franklin – we do not have them in NJ
YoungHouseLove says
It’s like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby.
xo,
s
Myrna says
John, you weren’t afraid to cross the river were you? That’s something that afflicts many who live South of the James. It also applies in reverse, only it is more serious for the other side.
Glad you finally made it.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, nah that doesn’t scare me.
-John
Lyndsay says
For some reason I feel like I have to give my 2 cents on this, haha. I’ve always read/been told that you shouldn’t label people by relationship in your phone for the reason of it “falling into the wrong hands” (as someone previously mentioned). For example, someone could have your husband’s phone, see “the wife” or however you are labeled and text you “hey what’s our pin number?” (I don’t know if anyone would fall for that or not but you never know.) “They” say that you should make a contact called “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) and put the phone number of whomever you’d want contacted if you were hurt or something. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I stick to it. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Amanda says
It seems like if someone was going to go to those lengths to get your PIN, they could just look through your text messages and figure out pretty reliably which one is your spouse anyway. I mean, my spouse is always within the first 4 or 5 text messages (mine sorts by most recent; not sure what other phones do) and it’s pretty clear from the messages that we’re married. Not that we sext or whatever, but… *laugh* I mean, I definitely see the point people are making there, but I wonder how often this actually happens that people have to be actively vigilant about it.
Lindsay says
I have a number labeled “Call in case of emergency” and it is my parents phone number. Some phones even have that as a built in contact!!!
em says
I was just going to say that- hospitals and ERs look for ICE- so I have my husband’s number listed as ICE and I am ICE in his phone. And I guess it’s a bonus that the people who do nefarious things with your spouse’s name (as mentioned in other comments) still don’t know it! Looking forward to seeing the light fixture.
Erinn says
Just an FYI- While it is convenient to have John with the husband label, it is actually not a safe idea. If a decent person finds your phone, yes, they can call the right person and get it returned to you. If the wrong kind of person finds it, they can text you and ask questions while pretending to be your spouse. They had a blurb on it on the news a while back.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- thanks for the tip! Never thought about that! I think if John started asking me about my social security number or passwords or something I might think twice. I hope so! But I’ll definitely think about changing it just in case.
xo,
s