Blessings abound amid the hard work of our Yard Sale

Half of the items displayed at our sale. 

We just wrapped up our second and hopefully final yard sale. Here are my thoughts about that experience.

One month ago I began the difficult task of cleaning out closets, spare rooms, furniture drawers, cabinets, the pantry, and bookshelves. My husband has physical limitations that restrict him from lifting, bending, carrying, pulling, hauling ... pretty much everything required in preparing for a yard sale. He was, however, very willing to advise me on what to keep or what to discard. And I think he's like most men who don't want to "get rid of" very many of their possessions. I, however, don't like clutter, don't like to feel "possessed by my possessions" and really am not crazy about lifting, bending, carrying, pulling and hauling! 

My husband was good about supplying me with boxes in which to pack our unwanted items. I reported on Facebook that he loaded boxes into the back of his pickup, then stopped to get a few groceries on his way home. He came out of the store to find that someone had helped themselves to the boxes in his truck that were within reach of the perimeter of the pickup bed!

The built-in bookshelves have served us well, but if our next house doesn't
have them, where would we put all these books that were stored here?

My son and granddaughter devoted one Friday to helping me unload bookshelves, carry these heavy boxes of books down the 19 stairs from our second to our first floor, clean out the pantry, and sort and clean out my husband's clothes closet. Since our granddaughter recently got her driving permit, she was more than happy to drive Grandpa to the Thrift Store to deliver 10 large trash bags of clothing for donation. 

My husband's two sons and our grandson donated a full weekend to cleaning out the 4 rooms of our third story and basement. That was the hardest job of all! 

We filled the rented dumpster by noon on the day we cleaned
out the top floor and basement of our house. 

By day's end, we had much more trash than the
dumpster could hold!

It didn't take long before our living space was GONE!

Finally on Wed, we were able to start displaying items
in our front and back yards.  

Our summer resident doe and her twin fawns joined in the "Fun".
One fawn is shown in the photo below.

"Giggles" the Clown blessed us with laughter and her skills.
She bought an item and paid for it with cash that was
deposited INSIDE this balloon puppy. My friend Karen
is pictured here with "Giggles". 

Our furniture items filled our front porch!

A gentleman bought the metal desk shown in the photo above and came at closing time with two strong friends who helped him load it into his pickup. We hadn't sold the gold chair and loveseat in these photos, but were blessed greatly when he offered to buy them and load them along with the desk. In 5 minutes we'd cleared this half of our porch and didn't have to load, haul, or dispose of any of these large items! 

Karen, at left above, and Corinne, right, are my "yard sale queens". They very successfully hosted my father's yard sale one year ago. I have no experience in appropriately displaying, pricing, and negotiating with customers about used items. They allowed me to enjoy visiting with our guests as they dealt with our "buyers". I couldn't have tackled this huge job without them. 

I was rewarded with many more blessings as I tended to this sale Thursday and Friday.

 1. I met the new owner of the house next door.
2. I visited with a man who told me he helped capture an escaped convict in the third story of my home back in the 1950s. 
3. I met two people who offered tips about potential future owners of our house. That's always a good thing!
4. I got to visit with local friends whom I rarely see due to our busy schedules.
5. I was able to donate many useful items to people I deeply care about. That's the greatest reward for the hard work.
6. I enjoyed just being at home and in my yard for 3 consecutive days. I don't remember the last time I was able to soak up contentment like that.
7. The most fulfilling half-hour I spent was visiting with my son, who was able to drive into town for a quick visit.

It's wonderful to be able to recognize the blessings that come from hard work and from associating with our friends and the good people of our community. Now on to the next step in our downsizing plan. But first, one weekend of rest and recovery.