Lessons Learned From Having a Garage Sale

Posted from Royal Oak, Michigan--

We had a garage sale last weekend.  It was a great opportunity to take stock of inventory and assess the real value of our stuff.  In real terms, the garage sale helped us assess the value of our junk because we weren't really using most of the items we sold.

Taking a cue from my book series, here are 5 Cool Ideas learned from having a garage sale:

1.  Travel light through life.
You can travel with carry-on luggage or steamer trunks.  Big bags need to be packed, carried, stored and unpacked.  Always have a garage sale before you move.  Excepting sentimental memorabilia, sell everything you haven't used in two years.

2.  All of life is an illusion.
My old, faithful baseball glove was an illusion.  A young woman with a baseball hat and red toenails paid $5 for the leather and all the great memories.  My magnificent and one-time valuable CD collection was a mirage.  This music has long been converted to .mp3 files and is stored in iTunes.  Apparently, others are hip to this trick 'cause the bulk of my fantastic collection was still in the garage when we closed up shop.

3.  Never feel bad about selling somebody something.
Sonya and I put out stuff that we never thought would sell, yet people came from far and wide to buy.   As the old saying goes, one man's garbage is another man's gold.

4.  Never underestimate your neighbors' love for you.
During the garage sale, one neighbor lady I had only talked to a half-dozen times in four years told me that Sonya and I were "like family" to her.

5.  Don't buy more junk.
'Nuf said.