by S. Bates

Created on: October 23, 2008

Downsizing Made Easy

For the past 6 months I have been packing up "good junk" in boxes and moving them out of the main living areas of my home. A lot of them have been sitting in a screened- in porch since January. It's now October, and there are still a few left out there. You see, I have been saying I was going to "downsize" since my son was going to get married, and had moved out. It was just going to be my mother and me. I didn't need any of the antiques, collectibles, extra chairs, tables, games, and just plain stuff' I thought I might need some day, or someone in the family might need.

I had a huge yard sale last weekend. I wanted to have it back in the spring, during cooler weather, but I hadn't gotten everything together that early. And during the summer in the south it was just too hot! So when we had predictions of cooler weather I started planning the sale, I couldn't wait any longer. Boxes were taking over all our living areas!

One of my mother's friends had moved into a nursing home in the spring. We helped her box up some of her odd and ends. What she didn't take to her small, very small, apartment, we took with us to sell for her. Now my plan for Downsizing was to sell all our pieces and hers. Needless to say, my pile of boxes was continuously growing. My back living area only had a small isle to walk through to get to our TV room. I had already been trying to imagine how it would look when I could see the floors again, and buried furniture.

I forgot to mention, we thought we would try to get rid of a few boxes of things at a time. So we did have one small sale in early summer. It was hot, very few customers because we hadn't advertised it, and our grand total for that day was approximately $12. I carried those boxes to the garage the night before, had the sale, boxed everything up again, and moved them again to the back porch.

So when it was time for the sale this time, I moved the boxes, which had multiplied again, to the garage. This time I had so much I moved them out two days before the sale. We had planned how many tables we would set up, where they would set, and who would be there to help customers and take money. Nothing ever goes as you plan. Customers swamp you before you even get things on the tables, it's too dark to even see where the tables are, and you just get in a hurry so you don't lose what customers are coming.

Between three households' we made a whopping $128. 72. I'm still wondering where the 2 cents came from. But I was bound and determined not to let not one box of stuff back in my home. I am downsizing and it had to go. I called a local charity which runs a thrift store for an orphanage. They sent a truck, we loaded the boxes, and it was all gone.

I still have a home with every bedroom full+ of furniture, collectibles, stuff, and junk.

There are still the same number of chairs and tables. But I have downsized. There aren't that many boxes' in my home any more. I am still working on downsizing but next time, when I have another pile that I want to get out of my house, I will call the thrift store truck to come get it and be done with it. If I had done that back in January, I would be through downsizing by now. I could be shopping again.

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