Downsizing is Proving to Be More Difficult Than Expected

Friday night my neighbors started setting up for a yard sale so I decided to join them. Two houses selling draws more people, but unfortunately, instead of putting out their signs making it look like there was more than one sale, my neighbors decided to piggy back on my signs. Lazy people. Oh well. It still motivated me to unload junk and we had lots of buyers. About four others in our little neighborhood also joined us.

Downsizing is difficult. I had a few items I desperately needed to get rid of: the rug I bought in a garage sale a few months ago that smelled like dog stink, a shelf, the spool-bed-converted-into-a-bench, lots of books, and lots of junk I'd been storing from the last garage sale.

Dog-stink rug. I lost lots of money on this...

 

I was up very late Friday night cleaning the garage and setting up the sale items. I kept wandering around the house looking for things to sell. What is sitting around useless? What is impractical and only for display? What is extra? What can I live without? What would I regret selling? Do I really need sixteen glasses? Answering these questions was difficult. There were many instances I would take something out to the garage, bring it back in a few minutes later, take it back out, bring it back in...DAMN! Between sentimentality and practicality, I was tormented over these decisions. Someday I want to live in a tiny house or at least a smaller house so getting rid of junk is a requirement. And lightening the materialistic load makes me feel free.

In and out of garage at least five times. Sold for $1.

With some things what I eventually decided was to put them in the sale with a high price. If they sold, good riddance, and if they didn't, I was meant to keep it. This is not a good downsizing practice as there is a good chance it won't sell. Ugh! My incredibly old wooden ladder didn't sell, but I think I could use it in my next garden as a trellis so that is fine.

Same with the spool-bed-converted-into-a-bench. I brought it back to life by re-purposing it so I was a little attached. It was sitting in my spare bedroom gathering dust, but my pride made me want to keep it there. To gaze upon it. To remind myself of how hard I worked to be construction-clever. Then I sat on it and was reminded of its instability and how I really don't want a dangerous bench. Still, I tried to talk myself out of it thinking other people might not want a wiggly bench, too. Or maybe a prospective buyer would sit on it, it would collapse, they'd get injured, and sue me. Jeez. I can justify anything with nonsense. Eventually I figured the person who buys it can fix it.

Bye-bye wiggly bench. I hope your next life is wonderful.

 

Early in the day a woman gushed over it and had to have it. I explained its history and how I made it to fit together and come apart. Her husband was with her and sounded knowledgeable about carpentry definitely much more than I am so I'm pretty sure he could stabilize it. Watching him THROW the pieces into the back of his pick-up truck made me feel sick. With the first loud BANG I gasped and turned away. I wondered if the posts I glued back together were holding or if the pristine white paint was being gouged and scratched. I no longer owned it so it was time to detach from it. Detaching is difficult. I brought it back to life. It's my baby. Just let it go.

Does anyone want to buy my business wardrobe?
I still can't believe I ever wore a navy blue suit.
I can't believe I kept these clothes for so long. WHY?

 

Garage sales are an opportunity to meet people one wouldn't otherwise encounter. Good people. Newbies recently moved here from out of town. Non-Rathole-ians. We all share the same views on the community and commiserate on the horror of Rathole living surrounded by trailer trash and sociopaths. This is always validating as I often wonder if I am the only one who feels this way about the area. Nope. I met several new residences with horror stories that rivaled my own bad luck tales! One woman told me after her house closed, she came for a visit only to find the ex-owner having a yard sale. He invited all his friends to take apart the house PIECE BY PIECE and sold to them whatever they could remove. When she arrived, there were about thirty-five people dismantling the fencing, the pipes, the mailbox, the doors, sheds, and hauling everything away. Can you imagine? If she would have delayed her visit the house wouldn't have been there on her return! Only in Rathole...

I got rid of lots of junk. Gave much of it away or let the buyer set the price. Just take it away! What I didn't sell I am throwing in the garbage or giving it away. No more garage sale storage boxes! Of course, the longer the garbage pile sits there, the more I want to bring the stuff back into the house!

 

Tomorrow I am giving away my medieval woodblock stamps. They have been in three garage sales. I was offered a low price for them a few years ago and declined. I can't keep them. Using them means playing with toxic dyes or paints and I'd like to avoid purposefully poisoning myself. But I can no longer let them sit in a box in a closet. They need to be used to create art. Still, it's difficult and I feel sentimental. I posted them on Freecyle and only one person wanted them. At least one person wants them!

Downsizing is challenging, but rewarding. I just wish I was better at this!