Well, we’ve emptied the garage…that means we have taken things in one drawer and put them in one box…empty but still there.

The next easy place (right) was the office.   We made an office of the 4th bedroom many years ago by using oak 2 drawer file drawers on either end of a nice piece of countertop we got at Home Depot.  Cost next to nothing and looked really good…..and it worked.

Going thru the files one has had for years is revealing, for  sure.  I remember going thru my parent’s papers when we were selling their home….such history……titles to first cars, tax papers dating back to year one,and receipts from purchases for Christmas in 1953.

For hubby, it was mostly work related…..some files were CYA, some were 25 year receptions, some were photos of his first day at work.  All had importance then and when you are in your 70’s and it happened in the 60’s, it feels good even now.

Since I buy and sell stuff, I always had my favorite vendors…and kept files on them as reminders…..How I ever sold some of the stuff I ordered is beyond me.    Evidently they were really good in sales when they talked me into  really stupid items.  Funny thing was, I actually sold some of them!!

Hubby and I decided to pack what we knew we could not destroy.  Saving time and money was just fine with us…..and we were smart enough to know that the ‘good stuff’ (breakable and bendable) was not for us to handle.  Hence we were good at ‘garage, nuts and bolts, paper, bedding, towels, and wash cloths.  After a while we just threw soft goods over the railing to the living room, so the packers could use it to put around pictures, plates, etc.

We did have to part with things that tugged at our hearts.  We re lucky enough to have a son and daughter-in-law who liked our stuff, so they came twice to fill up their car, their pickup, and now their one bedroom apt.

If you are planning to pare down, be prepared for millennial children to ‘pass’ on lots of your stuff.  Please do not take it personally…..they just like to live differently. No frills is the best way to describe their taste and, I repeat, this is fine.  No linen to wash and iron, no china or silver to hand wash or polish, just no frills.  However, if your home goods were kept from the 50’s and even in to the 60’s, their eyes will brighten up!  If you have Danish Modern or geometric designed sofas, they will probably take them off your hands.

Needless to say, I had discarded those many years ago. I’m so not ‘in’ to 50’s stuff that I’m probably losing thousands by not giving them a second look at auctions and garage sales.

Many organizations are happy to pick up what you don’t need and sometimes that is good. I did not have an estate sale because I didn’t want to…can do it for someone else but it would  cause me pain.  I tell people whose estates I sell, that they are welcome to be there, but it will hurt.  Our age group vividly remembers working and working and working to save for those very special purchases.  Some were gifts from loved ones, some were from anniversaries, and just good friends. Things are not just things, they are representative of our lives.

I cannot end on a down note because I have done enough sales to know that everyone, yes everyone who purchases something from a sale…..is happier for it.  I will blog later on how to do a sale, or  pick someone you trust to do it for you. But I will give you the first rule of all…..don’t throw anything away, nothing….let the person who does the sale make those decisions.

Remember when I said people who buy go away happy…..people need nails, they need Kleenex, they need worn pots and pans (cause theirs are worse), they need windex, jewelry with stones missing, and so much more….

But I digress……the packers came the day before the moving van.  Dang they were good! One packer had been employed there since 2007….  They did in a few hours what I could never have done…..they also used more butcher type paper than I had ever SEEN in my life. Boxes were taped, packed, sealed and marked.  I was and am a happy girl!

Tomorrow the van and off we go……..