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.
Erin says
John I loved this post!! Cheering you on your journey, I was laughing at your “masculine moment”, groaning when you got to the Ben Franklin with NINE bags…Man, what a trip! Just all around loved it!!
Michelle M. says
Next time check out the Dollar Tree or Dollar General… they usually have so many random crafty things it’s worth a try!
Grazielle says
Glad John finally found the clothespin you needed! I was surprised to hear he doesn’t have a smartphone. I recently started reading your blog and have been super inspired to finally complete projects around my own house. You guys are great!!
I also have to commend you on being sooo patient with people who don’t read the entire blog entry and then leave comments/ask questions that are clearly stated in the entry. You tend to reiterate your points and not let it bother you. I think many people, myself included, would be kind of annoyed at those type of comments. Wtg!
Liz says
My Pinterest challenge began with great enthusiasm this weekend and ended in cursing, laughing, and now laughing again at this post. I guess this is why it’s called the challenge.
Joanne F says
Grocery stores carry clothes pins in the laundry aisle. Some of us actually use them for laundry, not crafts. Saves energy.
YoungHouseLove says
Agreed! We air dry our cloth diapers a lot- but we just lay them out on a sunny extra-wide windowsill that we have in the living room. We actually checked our local Kroger (where we go grocery shopping) about a week ago while we were there and they didn’t have any!
xo,
s
Jenn says
Just reading this stressed me out.
Minus BK and plus Chipotle and it could have been me. Been there.
Iomay says
Sherry,
My sister once sent me information saying it was “good” to title your family as “husband”, “wife”, “sister”, etc. that way if you’re ever injured (car accident, yadda yadda) they can easily identify who to call.
It depends on which way you want to look at it. I feel safer knowing it’s there like that but I can also see the theft side too. Though I’d also question my husband if he was asking me personal info that he should know.. that and the fact that he’d actually text me….!!!
Enjoyed the update though.. and cannot wait for the reveal!
Janna says
On top of labeling my husband on my phone, I also have my mom labeled as ICOE (in case of emergency). It was Oprah’s idea! And don’t put ICOE for your hubby since you are most likely in the car with him!
MJB says
Keep the extra clothespins, make a second chandelier, sell it on Craigslist, recoup gas $ and clothespin $….
Or maybe it’s just easier to do the return?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- might just be easier to return those while we’re out running around one of these days. Thankfully we can return them to any Ben Franklin so it hopefully won’t be too bad!
xo,
s
Amy @ this DIY life says
Must have been the day for things like this! I drove all over town (while not as big as Richmond) looking for a wooden plaque, for what else but a Pinterest challenge project. I never did find what I wanted…good thing I have two other projects already done for it :)
My husband is also labeled that way in my phone. Not because I have multiple husbands (seriously, who could handle more than one?!!?) but for emergencies. I actually have most of my family labeled so if first responders can’t get my husband, they can try another family member. I understand the thing about texting, but knowing that most of our texts are pretty superficial, I would question if someone disguised as him would start asking personal information. For me the possible benefit outweighs the risk.
Maria Bingham says
Thanks for the fun post. I was laughing so hard the cat ran out of the room! I go looking for your posts and love that you share life moments with us with such ease and humor. Can’t wait to see all the challenge projects.
-Maria
Donita says
I could wait until the reveal tomorrow, but I can’t. ;-P Are you painting it? I am envisioning it glossy white, against those yellow green walls. I really need to make this for my laundry room. What a great idea. LOVE PINTEREST!!!
YoungHouseLove says
I’m not telling! Haha. We looooove how it came out though! is it Tuesday yet?
xo,
s
Donita says
Oh man, I can’t stand the anticipation. LOL let it be Tuesday already. PLEASE!!! I bet it is to cute. I can just envision it. ;-D
Connie says
I’m jealous you still have Ben Franklins! They went out of business in Kansas City many years ago (late 70’s or early 80’s, I think), so I thought they had everywhere else, too. You say they are like Michael’s/Hobby Lobby now? Back in the day, they were like small-town EVERYTHING stores, kind of of predecessor to Target or WalMart, I guess!
BTW-LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fireplace/kitchen & the laundry room. What a fun color!
Mary @ stylefyles says
At least you followed a very methodical and practical path. Given my sense of direction, I probably would have been going back and forth across town in a completely impractical manner. Then again, I suppose my random path would’ve landed me at marker G sooner.
You guys should store the extra clothespins 4EVA. It’s a bit ridiculous how hard it is to find them. And I’ve had the same problems, too. It can happen to anyone! ;)
Stacy says
Ben Franklin’s are everywhere. There’s one near Hobby Lobby (Pump Rd), down the road from Regency Mall(Patterson Ave) & another on Mechanicsville Tnpk near Lee-Davis High School.
Kelly says
If this kind of thing happens to John and Sherry, it makes me feel a lot better about how often it happens to us!
LIsa in IL says
ICE – In Case of Emergency is what emergency workers are trained to scroll through a phone looking for when they come upon an emergency. One can have ICE 1, ICE 2, ICE 3 & on and on without giving the relationship information.
Erika says
SO! You guys are the ones buying all the clothespins around here????? I want to do the same type of thing for our laundry area and I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with. Oh, but wait, I will….for the stores around here to order more pins!!!!!!!
;o)
YoungHouseLove says
Guilty as charged. Or, G.A.C. for all your Cougar Town fans.
-John
RVA Born and Raised says
John-
Not sure if any of the 181 posts before mine may have mentioned this, but there is a Ben Franklin (last I checked) at the intersection of Parham Rd. and Patterson Ave., and a Burger King right across the street. Maybe this will help in the future. Cheers to you for returning home triumphant.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks! Good to know for future clothespin runs.
-John
Maggie Rose says
I think it’s funny how many comments you’ve had about how you should have called first. Guess people don’t read the whole post! One Christmas I sent my poor boyfriend ALL over Seattle looking for a particular kind of cotton dishtowel to embroider for gifts after finding out the ones I’d ordered online were a weird texture and kept bunching up. I think he hit up about three fabric/craft stores as well as Target, BB&B, etc. He finally did find some but I owed him big time!
Shana says
Y’all, seriously? Your DIY clothespin laundry room light fixture was such an emergency that you drove all over creation instead of waiting a couple of days and combining it with another errand? There’s impatience, then there’s willful waste, and giving lip service to planting trees isn’t going to make up for it. Be “green” or don’t, but don’t pretend to be, then just do whatever you want, whenever you want. We all share this planet, and if everyone gets a bee in their bonnet about CLOTHESPINS or similar tiny things and decides it’s worth a 54-mile trek…well. Hey, that’s what we have now! Y’all can do better. There didn’t need to be a “bonus” weekend post.
YoungHouseLove says
We cloth diaper, are a one car family (one small car at that), we compost (and even shared a tutorial so others can), buy Energy Star appliances, use CFLs, buy furniture from craiglist/thrift stores & donate old stuff to the ReStore, and use no-VOC paint & SafeCoat sealer… so we definitely work hard to be green! But we also run a blog where we issued a challenge “due” this Tuesday and we intended to deliver – which meant hunting down the right sized clothespins (after doing our best to call ahead & drive a nice clean route in a circle instead of going back and forth)! We definitely didn’t set out to drive all over town, but the good news is that we work from home – so many days we don’t even drive a mile. And we definitely intend to plant those three trees – we just added them to our mile long to-do list!
xo,
s
Megan M. says
Seriously Shana? So rude. The Petersiks are one of the best examples of being green (and they share all the info for thousands of people like me who are still learning). They’re also a great example of being genuine and kind. You could take a page out of their book. They obviously didn’t plan to drive all over and do plan to plant trees. Who uses cloth diapers and has one car and does all the other things they list above to “pretend” to be green? They are obviously committed. And they certainly weren’t pretending to be nice when they responded to your rude attacking comment. Go John and Sherry for being the better people!
Gillian Hurst says
I love that at Michael’s here in NYC the clothespins are called, “Woodies.” And they are in a Children’s craft aisle…
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- nice. Very Toy Story reminiscent… among other things!
xo.
s
Pam Hiar says
I have been working on a project that would be perfect for the challenge. I found a picture of an VERY expensive item online and decided to do my own.
I’d love to show it off when it’s done.
I have tried for several months to get an invite to pinterest after reading about it in a social networking class. Problem is I can’t seem to get one. Can anyone help me with that?
YoungHouseLove says
Ask for one on our Facebook page – folks are usually really nice about sharing instant invites!
xo,
s
Kitty says
Here’s me wishing I had settled for a clothespin project rather than the one I picked for the challenge. Though if I had, there might have been some minor scuffling at location “D” between me and John. Fortunately for him (ok, me), I picked a project that kept me at home, cussing about my missing zipper foot instead.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man a sewing project! I feel for ya! Haha. So excited to see it though!
xo,
s
Emily @ NewlyWife says
Count me in on the Pinterest Challenge induced mad driving hunt! We had about two hours clocked in on store hunts trying to find a lampshade big enough for the chandelier drum shade we ended up having to make. Then, just trying to find the materials onces we decided to make our own… Yipes. At least I’m really glad with the results and some of our extra buys can be returned. Too bad time and gas can’t be returned… All in the name of DIY fun, right?
Nora says
Burger King totally makes the trip worth it right? I’ve been known to bribe my BF with food to get him to make insane shopping trips with me. Ikea is so easy because he loves the food there!
Melissa says
Suggestion for your extra clothespins: they make the best / most economical bag clips ever. You can get about 50 clothespins for the price of 1 “chip clip”. And bonus – they look super cute in a glass container. Plus it saves you a trip back to the store to return your extras!
YoungHouseLove says
Cute tip!
xo,
s
Mary says
Just at Lowe’s on west broad tonight and had to laugh when I walked past a bin full of clothespins. Ah well at least you found them eventually :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh mannn. I wonder if they were the right size. The crazy thing is that we figured all clothespins were the same size going into this- little did we know their springs can be wider, the wood part can be slightly longer or shorter, etc. So weird!
xo,
s
Stephanie says
Glad you found them! Things are always in the last place you look. Mainly because you stop looking once you find them.
threadbndr says
I see lots of people upthread have mentioned the ICE thing. I have my son labled “(initials) cell & my ICE”. I should probably add my sis as a secondary contact since I work nearer to her. Maybe “(hometown) ICE” and “(worktown ICE”?
I miss Ben Franklins. They disappeared from the midwest about 20 years ago – just as Hobby Lobby moved in.
Heather says
My husband is David Husband in my phone. Back when we were just friends, I was Heather Chicago in his phone (to differentiate from Heather New York, etc.) and was for the longest time, but now that we’re married I’ve graduated to Heather Bride.
Erica says
Oh my gosh! I was just driving by a store that used to be a craft store my grandma took me too. I was thrilled to go there as an 8 year old! I couldn’t remember the name of it. BEN FRANKLIN!!! Then I saw your texts. We don’t have BEN FRANKLINS in CT anymore! But I still have memories of grandma bringing me to Ben Franklins:) Thanks for the reminder!
Erica says
Oh and as for Husband-John. . . cute:)
My husband set up for my phone for me and named himself Hot Ness in the contacts. I couldn’t figure out who these missed calls from Hot Ness were. . . I never had a cell phone before and thought I was getting pranked! Everybody at work was not sure why I was so confused.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah- that’s so funny!
xo,
s
Tall Tee says
**In little kid’s voice*: Aw, maaaaaaaan…
Sounds like when I did a really cool, origami wall-treatement in my daughter’s room and bought like 75 bucks worth of scrapbooking paper. Michael’s didn’t have enough funky green-colored paper and I went to Hobby Lobby and all over to get it–and long story short, I ended up using like not even HALF the paper and had a heckuva time rounding it up and returning it. Grrrr…
Anyhoo, that light really was great. I’m a’doing one this weekend for our laundry room, oh yesssum I am. Thanks for the tutorial, ya’ll :).