Recently my mom suggested that we might attempt having a yard sale at her house when I go up to visit during my kids' fall break from school, so this has become a distraction from my writerly business the past couple of days as I've sorted through the
I don't think of myself as a pack rat or hoarder, but as kids grow, boy they run through clothes like nobody's business. Then I find myself with bags and boxes full of stuff no one in the house can wear, and yet it sits here because we never make an exerted effort to either sell it or give it away to some charitable organization.
I know there are other things in the basement I could probably pack up as well, old toys there, too, but the very idea sends me into a panic attack thinking about clawing my way through the mess down there, the possible bugs, spiders, maybe even a snake...ewww...See, I've nixed that thought already. I really need to hone my decluttering skills.
This got me to thinking about my childhood and how yard sales/garage sales were always an exciting shift in our normal routine. There was something almost medicinal and cathartic about packing up things that were no longer needed, removing that which doesn't belong anymore, or perhaps never did- it's quite a lot like editing- weeding through what isn't necessary or required in our lives, in our stories.
I remember the days leading up to a garage sale at our house. We had the luxury of walk-in basement back then (there's still a basement, but my dad has so much wood and tools and stuff in his workspace we can't use it), so we'd spend weeks going through the house, searching for items worth parting with- clothes, toys, appliances that still worked but were never used. There were loads of laundry to wash, labeling items with sale stickers, and as a kid it was pretty awesome when you could pretend you were a store owner and you'd have customers and get to work the cool calculator and maybe make a little "real" money, too. Of course, as soon as someone actually came into the basement, I'd hide because I was morbidly shy and scared to talk to people I didn't know! Ha!
Of course, looking back on it now, there were a lot of items, toys mostly, that I wish I hadn't sold so I could pass them on to my children, but that is life, isn't it? I'm lucky I did hang onto my baby dolls and Barbies for my daughter, but sometimes watching Toy Hunter makes me think-
"Oh, man! I had one of those! It's worth HOW much now? You've got to be kidding me... I sold mine in a yard sale...."
This will be good though- to shake out the cobwebs, declutter what I can at the moment and edit my way through another chapter in my life. Then I'll get back to writing! Yay!
Have a great Monday and don't forget about Tuesdays with Taryn. I have J.K. Miller II visiting tomorrow to answer a few questions and share about his book, Reborn.
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