Life Lessons Learned from Yard Sales

tkscovill ♦ May 15, 2012 ♦ 4 Comments

Letting go in the interest of freedom

Written on May 8, 2012

Trash or Treasure?

We’ve had ten yard sales, or storage shed sales in the last year. I’ve been calling them “yard sales,” but honestly, we haven’t done anything in our yard lately. Having so many yard-garage-storage shed sales in a year feels like an ongoing emotional hurricane. Nothing is settled; belongings and memories blow away with the wind and rain, but you know it’s OK. You just have to keep getting your balance back. Moving yourself and your stuff in midlife is a very intense, very cleansing process, and one not for the faint hearted. Neither is it for anyone who feels attached to their stuff. I’m not one of those people. I like my stuff, especially my clothes and books and artsy stuff, but I will let it go without too much consideration. I like the feeling of being free and unattached.

My husband is, or has been, of the other temperament. He really likes his stuff. It defines him, makes him feel comfortable and happy. He has a lot of knick knacks, and antiquey, multi-cultural things, most of them covered in a thin layer of dust, but he still seems to love them. At least he has been this way since I met him 23 years ago. Thanks to our recent decision to move, it looks like he is in the middle of a true transformation. He has seen the light from the depths of his cluttered garage and storage units. Having just driven a 26 foot U Haul across the country with only half of our stuff, I think he understands the gravity of it all. I am very proud of him for selling so many of his tools and man toys for $1.00. or less. Sometimes I have been surprised at how little he asked for his treasures, but I kept my mouth shut in favor of the greater good.

almost empty storage shed