Tips for Yard Sale Success

I've been collecting stuff from around the house for a yard sale. Yep, it's time to clear out some closets and get some of the stuff out of the garage. Hooray!

This is actually going to be a good sale. My husband has finally decided to let go of some stuff that's been hanging around - unused - for years. Our son moved out most of his stuff about a year ago (for good, he says). He's given the okay to clear out anything that he left behind. His old room is actually an attic conversion with an air conditioner. So if we can get it cleared out, then we can have a better place to store things that are now in the attic.

I don't have oodles and oodles of stuff, but this sale isn't about making money. It's about clearing the garage and the attic. It should be a busy week.

I have lots of experience with yard sales. That probably says something about how clutter cycles back in my life. Anyway, there was a nice article in the new magazine Organize about organizing yard sales. Their top tips were:

1. Have the right gear - labels, tables, cash box.
2. Time the sale to get maximum sales.
3. Get together with your neighbors.
4. Advertise.

I definitely have the right gear, although I do need to get some price tags. I think I might just cut up address labels. The timing might be better.... I could wait until the first weekend in August but I really want to get this stuff gone now. Our neighborhood is fairly compact and we're a couple of blocks off a main through-street, so I think I'll be okay going it along.

And I've learned that the best advertising in our neighborhood is bright, neon signs posted on nearby street corners. There's a picture of the posters that I'll be buying at Office Depot. I'll post pictures when I get them done.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes...

Inspiration From Clean Sweep

I admit it: I love all those DIY programs on cable. Let me loose with the remote control and I'll probably end up on TLC, The Discovery Channel or the DIY Network. So you can probably guess that I love Clean Sweep!

I was delighted to see an interview with the "organizing guru" Peter Walsh in the new magazine, Organize. The work that he does with folks who can't let go of their stuff is truly inspiring! I especially like this quote:

If your stuff is not helping you create the life, the mood, the harmony that you want, then what's it doing in your life?

Here's my paraphrased version of Peter's guides for getting organized:

1. Get a vision of the life you want.
   
2. Declutter by taking a good hard look at what you own. Clear the stuff that doesn't match your vision.
   
3. Organize the stuff that does match your vision in an efficient way.

Peter's book, It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff is available on Amazon.com. Great reviews! Go check it out!

The Broken Washing Machine

Isn't it amazing how the best laid plans get sidetracked so easily?

This past weekend, our daughter decided to clean her bedroom and bathroom. She made a solo trip to Target and came back armed with cool cleaning supplies, four new towels, a colorful bath mat and a few other things. I loaded her new towels in our trusty front-loading Maytag as she went upstairs to start working.

An hour later, she went to move the wet towels into the dryer. They were standing in five gallons of water. We ran the spin cycle again... and again... and again. Still sopping wet.

Finally, I squeezed out as much water as I could and tossed them in the dryer on high. It took a couple of cycles to get them dry.

The sad part of the story is this: The repair guy won't be here for two more days. She's rescued a HUGE basket of dirty clothes from her closet. The basket is now sitting downstairs waiting for the washer.

Why does it always seem like our best efforts are plagued with problems?

Cleaning With Purpose

I had lunch today with my husband at our favorite Subway sandwich shop. We could see my minivan outside in the parking lot. I noticed an older fellow with a bucket of window cleaning supplies walking around it, studying the windows. To say that they needed cleaning would be an understatement.

Just yesterday, I had been reading about the so-called "Power of Giving" in a little ebook titled The Greatest Money-Making Secret in History. The theory is that the more you give, the more you receive. There's a story about a man who shares a couple of dollars with a stranger, but receives a 10-fold windfall. I thought of that story when I saw the window-washer surveying my van.

Now, I rarely give money to anyone soliciting on the street and I certainly don't expect money to come rolling in because I give some away. But I knew that I had to get this fellow to wash my windows.

My husband and I scraped together four dollars, then I chased down the window-washer and negotiated a price for his cleaning service. I went back inside, and we watched as he sprayed and wiped and polished.

After unsuccessfully trying to get other sandwich shop patrons to let him wash their windows, he moved onto the wheels of my van. He was doing a great job. So I found another two dollars and gave it to him when I went outside to drive home. I told him that I appreciated his excellent work and wished him luck. He blessed me... you know, the typical, "God bless you." But I did feel blessed.

And I started to wonder. Why couldn't I pay the same attention to caring for my van? He was a stranger and took better care of it than I did. Sure, he had a motivation (and he was great at upselling). It just gets me wondering...

By the way, if you'd like to read the little ebook I mentioned, it's included with Mimi's book, DeClutter Fast: How to Get Your Home In Order Almost Immediately. I bet it will inspire you too.

Beginning Project: DeClutter!

For the past five years or so, I've been trying to simplify my life. Kind of hard to do when there are one husband, two teenagers and two cats sharing the house, isn't it?

Now that the second teenager is officially graduated from high school (hooray!), it's time to get serious about this. No excuses. No one else to blame it on. Just a very strong desire to make real changes.

As I was looking around for inspiration, I came across a nifty little book that's pretty cool. "DeClutter Fast: How To Get Your Home In Order Almost Immediately" by Mimi Tanner has some tips that I hadn't seen anyplace here. Hmm, maybe this will get through my stubborn habits. I'll be following Mimi's tips ... looking for other inspiration and tools ... trying out whatever seems to help.

You're invited to share my journey ... and to share your stories and suggestions. Get started by signing up for my little ebook of quotes that inspire me!

Welcome! Here's to great success for each of us!