Why is it that you look around your house and think you have so much junk and imagine a house clutter free and cleaner...but then it comes time for garage sale selling you cannot bring yourself to add anything to the sell pile?
I want to get rid of all the porcelain dolls still in their boxes. I want to get rid of all the paperback books- I never reread them. Scrapbooking stuff that I will never use. Stuffed animals with tags still attached. Barbies still in their box. Shoes still in their box.....
But now we have a garage sale tomorrow and my sell pile is so small!
I think to myself.."If the junk sells then my bookshelf is clear to keep all these books."..."No one will pay $10 for these designer jeans but they were $60 and after tearing off the tags I never wore them once!"...."I hate this little figurine but if I sell it and my friend who gave it to me asks where it is-what will I say?"
And so back into the closets and far corners of the house the junk goes!
I WANT the junk-junk to sell so my semi-junk will have a place to live...but no one will buy the junk-junk and will pay such low prices for the semi-junk that I think I should keep it!
Lunacy! It is! I gotta get detached. Keep the vision of a clean house fresh in my mind.
Garage Sale Preparation-
September 26th, 2008 at 04:46 pm
September 26th, 2008 at 05:50 pm 1222447852
September 26th, 2008 at 05:52 pm 1222447969
Do you get the Style network? See if you can catch an episode of "Clean House" so you can see what hoarding looks like from the outside.
September 26th, 2008 at 06:02 pm 1222448547
If you want to get rid of the books, get rid of them. Don't keep them because there is now room for them. There will be twice as much room without them and you can get new ones.
A sale is a great thing to get rid of unused, unwanted, and unloved things. Making money is just the extra kick to it. You will be happier without all the "junk" that isn't really junk.
Also, don't expect to get what you paid for items at your sale. If you want to make at least $10 on those jeans, sell them on eBay stating that they are NWOT.
People go to sales like yours to find deals. If you want a really junky spot, don't put the things you want to make money off of next to it. I had an "Everything $0.10" table at my sale. It got the most business.
September 26th, 2008 at 06:12 pm 1222449174
September 26th, 2008 at 06:52 pm 1222451542
September 26th, 2008 at 06:55 pm 1222451745
September 26th, 2008 at 08:22 pm 1222456937
There are definitely emotional issues involved with letting go of some things.
I had a "purging theme song" that I used to keep me on track when I lost steam or felt emotionally drained ... "Almost Home" by Mary Chapin Carpenter:
I saw my life this morning
Lyin' at the bottom of a drawer
All this stuff I'm savin'
God knows what this junk is for
And whatever I believed in
This is all I have to show
What the hell were all the reasons
For holding on for such dear life
Here's where I let go
I saw you this morning
You were staring back at me
From an ancient photograph
Stuck between some letters and some keys
And I was lost for a moment
In the ache of old goodbyes
Sometimes all that we can know is
That there's no such thing as no regrets
but baby it's all right
Hang in there kiddo, and good luck with the sale!
Oh ... And sell the paperbacks for 50-cents ... and cut the price to 25-cents when the pace of sales starts to slow down.
September 27th, 2008 at 12:00 am 1222470034
If you truly are decluttering, nothing that is out in your garage tonight should come back in. Bag/box it up and get it to the thrift store by Monday. Good luck!!
September 27th, 2008 at 02:57 am 1222480657
My mom asked me if I wanted to do another sale and I said that I would set out a $1 table, but that was it. I am not going all out for it. I am trying to rid myself of stuff and make money, not spend it(signs and ads).
Donating your unsold items to the Goodwill or Salvation Army would rid you of the stuff, or you could try selling it.
Amazon doesn't charge you to list your items, just like Craigs list. eBay is more hit and you are more likely to sell there.
September 28th, 2008 at 06:19 am 1222579148
I am going to be extremely careful about stuff for my new granddaughter. I am going to do college fund instead of spending money on useless crap.