Random Thoughts by Shelley: Serious thoughts on garage sales

The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously. – Nicholas Butler

Week #41 - 49 Weeks ‘til I’m 50 – Ready, Set, it’s all about A FOCUSed plan to get there! Only 8 weeks left.

Welcome Back – Never fear, even if I’m not here writing a post, I’m thinking about doing so. But then I get too serious and want to write something profound and can’t think of a single thing, so I walk away. One of these days, maybe I should figure out how to blog from my smart phone instead of my trusty computer.

On with the random thoughts for the day! As one approaches 50, there's a strong desire to let go of things that are simply consuming too much of your time or space. Letting go of stuff just feels right.

The last few weeks in our spare time (LOL – as I write that, it’s hard not to chuckle, as spare time is pretty rare) my husband and I have been getting ready for a garage sale. A last ditch effort to clear out some stuff before the winter season sets in. High hopes to clear out stuff. In our past, we’ve always had HUGE sales and big responses by shoppers. So of course, the serious side of me set out to sell a ton of stuff!

Preparing for a thrift sale is a great way to let go of your serious side, let go of stuff you’ve been hanging on for too long, and let go of being afraid of wasting time. There is someone out there who will seriously want your stuff, they will pay you a low dollar for it, but you will be FREE of the item and the space it was consuming in your life. Try it…I dare you, you never know, you might just like it…seriously!

First step – get stuff ready. This is the time consuming part. Finding stuff, letting go, working through all the emotions related to it is kind of like getting ready to turn 50. In fact, it is the perfect time in life. You still have enough energy to do the work. Your kids have likely flown the nest and you can clear out things you were hanging on for them, they seriously need some extra cash as they venture off into life and have outgrown the stuff. Careful though…you’ll feel your life flash before you. You’ll realize that you’ve held on to the past in hopes of what? What is it? What is it?

Change it up, think about what letting go will bring into your life instead of what holding on to things will take away from your life. Ah…now we’re on to something!

Time to let go and move on to bigger and better things! FOCUS – get rid of stuff!

Serious FOCUS Method #1: This is where you get rid of things that cause you stress. There is no reason to hang on to things that you don’t love or enjoy or that you’re hanging onto because of ______.

Find
Objects
Causing
Undo
Stress

Serious FOCUS Method #2: This is where you get rid of things that have been sitting around just collecting dust or lurking in spaces that you forgot we’re even there. If you haven’t needed it or used it in a long time, why are you hanging on to it?

Free
Obstacles
Creating
Unique
Space

Serious FOCUS Method #3: This is where you dig deep into drawers or under items. Seriously, why have you been holding on to items that are taking up valuable space, especially spaces where you end up leaving things out because something you don’t use is taking up the space.

Free
Objects
Covered
Under
Stuff

After you’ve sorted, organized, and priced all the treasures (I’m by no means an expert on the pricing…just know there is someone out there who will buy it at the price you’ve set). The big day will come. The anticipation builds and then the day unfolds. This is where the true test of your ability not to take things too seriously really comes in. You’ve practiced and practiced as you let go of items. Are you ready?

Wait...here's a test to really see. Are you ready? You’ll have to be patient and tolerant of:

People who want to take less than the price you’ve tagged the item for? Seriously…breathe, just breathe…

People who tell you they don’t have any smaller bills, will you take $____? Seriously…breathe, just breathe…

People who buy the item you thought would never sell! Seriously…whew, a recovery breath…

People won’t buy the item you thought was the hottest deal! Seriously…do I have bad taste or what?

People who actually touch every item and rearrange your whole set-up? Seriously…oh well, at least there’s something to do during the long down time.

People who stop and don’t buy a darn thing! Seriously…there are plenty of choices, it’s like a mini mall here…really…

People who find that one item you had no idea the value and they will resell on eBay for a high dollar! Seriously…let it go…let it go…

People who have a story about why they are buying the item…Seriously, this is my favorite part, it helps the time fly by and helps you feel better about letting go by helping someone else.

On a final serious note: Must do item! When you’re done, don’t bring the stuff back in the house!!! – DONATE what’s left…or seriously pack up what you’ll try to sell the next go around!

That reminds me, now I know what I’ll be doing for a few more days. Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your serious moments of not taking life so seriously! We’re in the home stretch to turning 50, practice, practice, practice moments of not taking life too seriously.

PS – photo moments. This is my favorite part of photography. Just letting go, seeing what random things I can find and capture in a different way.