Why do I do this to myself?

Except for a couple of tiny things which can be taken care of in the morning I am ready to do this yard sale. I guess. I detest yard sales. I detest going to them and I detest having them. But this one is a necessity. I started preparing for it in the spring of 2004 and planned to have it about this time 2 years ago but of course I ruptured those pesky achilles and just about the time I recovered it was off to Japan. So this has been delayed a long time.

My BNU Money Management for Women class back in the spring suggested having a yard sale to get a little nest egg to put in savings or invest. Then my BNU Feng Shui class this summer got me positively rabid about decluttering all the useless junk. So I'm kind of finishing my assignments for two classes this weekend.

You know how there are hurdles in life where you think "When I get through this it's gonna be smooth sailing"? (Or maybe that's just me) Well, this is one of those things for me. This junk has been taking up valuable space for so long, not just physically but spiritually and emotionally. I will be selling off some of my ex's stuff that he forgot to include in the 5 pages of things he wanted when we divorced. I'm tired of looking at it and no longer get that smug satisfied feeling when I see it. (I will however get a smug satisfied feeling when I sell it on the cheap!) And when it is finally gone I will be able to focus on the painting and scraping and other home improvements that are nearly impossible when one lives in an 1100 sf house that is crammed with crap.

Everything to be sold has now been moved out to the front screened porch and already the house feels cleaner and lighter. Most will be donated immediately if not sold. There are a couple of things where the price is firm because if it doesn't sell that's OK - a chair that needs a little repair, a dirt devil hand vac, etc. But everything else is OUTTA HERE BABY!

One funny thing. This little historic town I live in thinks quite highly of itself for some reason. I live on a street where the speed limit is 25 MPH and for almost 8 years I have written letters and emails, made phone calls, and complained at city council meetings because NOBODY except me goes 25 on this street. I have been told point blank that the city doesn't have the resources to help. Last year however the city council voted to make ALL the streets in the town 25 MPH. Like everything else here it is a show. So last night after dark I posted the yard sale signs. They were discreet and although handmade I spent time making them neat. I posted one at each end of the street. Today while I was at work they were removed. I guess they were not in keeping with the town's view of itself. But it's OK to keep political candidate signage up. Where is the logic? So I'm hoping I get some traffic. On weekdays hundreds of vehicles use my street as a cut through to avoid the main street which gets backed up. On weekends not so much.

Will check in later this weekend with news of the millions I have made and ideas about how I want to spend my early retirement. I'll take some pics too if I remember.