Stuff, Stuff, and More STUFF

As I mentioned previously, we let the real estate listing for our home lapse. We have been hugely disappointed that our home has not sold over the past year. So we have not been able to go forward with our plans for the next phase of our lives. Things just never turn out the way you plan, huh? We will begin interviewing other agents next week.

This whole business of trying to sell a home is tiring. We have resigned ourselves to the prospect that it may take quite a while to sell our place. This resignation is not a happy one, but we have to focus on being practical and realistic. So we cleaned out our storage bin a month ago and carted all the boxes back home. Now we have the delightful task of rummaging through our STUFF, and deciding what to keep, donate, toss, or sell. Oh. What. Fun.

We’ve made a serious dent in going through more than half of the boxes so far. We figure that we will need to hold several yard sales this year to whittle down our accumulation of STUFF. We have our first sale scheduled for this Saturday! The last time we had a yard sale, it was in a subdivision, 16 years ago. We’re holding on breath on how much of a turnout we will get in the countryside.

Yesterday, I put an ad in craigslist and posted a sign at the end of the driveway. We have been working all week, making preparations and getting prices marked. Tomorrow, we will be renting some tables and begin setting everything up. Wish us luck!

The irony of going through all of the STUFF is that my hubby and I have never considered ourselves to be big shoppers. But STUFF had an uncanny ability of accumulating anyhow. At one time, most of this STUFF gave us great joy to own. Now, it is really a burden. We are at the point in our lives (63 and 55) where STUFF does not have the importance that it once had. Virtually all of it has to be cleaned or dusted. Everything has to occupy space. It may be pretty to look at, but after a while, you get tired of looking at a ka-zillion pieces of STUFF. It is not making our lives any easier. In fact, it is making our lives more difficult and complicated.

This exercise is driving home a great lesson for us. Hopefully, it will for my blog readers too. If not, please come to our yard sales and get some of this STUFF!