Today I am having a yard sale. It's cold outside, so
I'm taking the stay-inside-with-the-blinds-open-to-see -if-anyone-will-stop
approach. It's currently 47 degrees, which is quite a bit warmer than the
29 degrees I started with at 7:00 a.m. This is my second yard sale.
The first was about a year and a half ago, and was much more profitable
than today's sale. Perhaps it's the chilly wind, or the fact that the
neighbor hood yard sale was last weekend (oops), but all of my lovely
treasures have only netted us about 43 bucks. Ten of which came from my
beanie baby collection that was going to pay for my college education. I
let 13 of the little boogers go to a good home, but couldn't help think,
"in 1999 these would have cost about $80." The upside:
the kid looked like Napoleon Dynamite and bought all my beanie baby cats.
A man just walked by and let his shih tzu pee on my box of
free hangers. They're free, and the only interest I can get is some shih
tzu pee. Why someone doesn't want a box of dry cleaning wire hangers is
beyond me...
It's hard to watch people look at your stuff... your
stuff... with such disgust. I can't help but think of how much money
was spent on all that stuff - by either David, or me, or our families - that
I'm hopeful to get a couple dollars for today. It's really quite
sickening. How do we get to the point of putting everything we once loved
- or just had to have - out on our front yard with a sticker that says
"$0.25?"
Needless to say today's yard sale is teaching me a few
lessons:
1. Don't be a hoarder: I keep so much stuff -
like the hangers... or the magazines that no one wants... thinking that I'll
eventually use it or find someone who can. But no one needs it and
neither do I. Instead, I need to get rid of it. Recycle it... throw
it away... anything but let whatever it is sit in a closet or on the floor in
an unused room taking up space.
2. Think about purchases: I am the queen of
impulse buying. Usually with clothes, but sometimes with food items and
other random things. I need to
start thinking to myself, “Is this going to end up on my front lawn within a
year?” before purchasing. If the
answer is yes, then I probably don’t need it.
3. Purging is
good for the soul: It feels good
to get rid of clutter. I truly
delight in neat, clutter-free, organized spaces. Somewhere in the last three years, this delight has been
completely lost in translation. I
need to keep the momentum from the past couple of weeks going, and not let the
bust-of-a-yard-sale get me down.
Our house can – and will – be an organized, simple space… one of these
days!
Although today’s sale isn’t quite what I was hoping for (our
neighbors made over $800 at their sale a couple of weeks ago!), I won’t let it
stop me from having another one!
It’s fun to meet new people and watch their kiddos play with
Hamilton. He definitely gets the
best deals of the day!
Heart Breaker... Deal Maker
I just laughed so hard. When I started reading about the beanie babies I thought, "I hope she says they were how she was going to pay for college!!" And you did. U never disappoint! Ps garage sales scare me like couponing.
ReplyDeleteOh beanie babies! I got rid of a bunch of mine at a yard sale a few years ago and kept some in my parent's attic for nostalgia's sake. I'm going to save them for my future kids so they can laugh at the toys that were popular when I was a kid (or at least that's what I'm anticipating, whether or not that turns out to be reality is to remain seen).
ReplyDeleteI really resonate with your desire to accumulate less stuff! When Tyson and I moved up to Oregon we were struck by all the stuff that we have. It really does make you think about all of your purchases more carefully.
Glad to hear that your garage sale wasn't a total bust! :)