TIME TO PITCH IT OUT

Next week is the annual Forest Ridge Garage Sale! The whole neighborhood will be covered with bargain hunters and tired residents. It'll probably be the hottest day of the year as we all park our lawn chairs out on our driveways ready to greet potential customers. In past years folks from miles around have traveled to attend this big event.

I'm rummaging through closets today, trying to sort, toss out or tag. It is a depressing task. What was I thinking when I bought all this useless stuff anyway??

So far I've discovered electronic things that don't work, pillows that don't match, statues and pictures that I never did like, and dishes that need to go live with someone else. I don't know who invented garage sales, but this one forces me to look into drawers and cabinets that have been overstuffed for a while now. I applaud the person that decided that selling something for $.25 is a far better plan than dusting it.

What's the old line? My trash is someone Else's treasure. Hope that still holds true next Saturday. If not, the Goodwill Drop Box will get a new load.

I COULD be a pack rat if left unchecked. And Honeybuns is almost as bad. We both were influenced by his mother and my granny to never throw anything away that you MIGHT use one day. They were products of the depression when everything was saved, stored and valued. Their homes were filled. We have vowed many times to NOT let that happen.

My prized possessions are pictures, purses and plates! I have a closet dedicated to family pictures and it is full and overflowing. My bedroom closet has enough handbags and totes to "carry" me though the rest of my lifetime. And the china cupboard has seasonal dishes, ceramic animals, stemware and vases enough to entertain heads of state. Let's don't even talk about the books! I consider each one a trusted friend.

Then there is the garage!

Too many decisions! I have to remind myself that I've never missed anything that I've deemed "garage sale" inventory.

We all live in a land of too much useless stuff. I'm convinced that one day future archaeologists will be digging through the dirt and come to the conclusion that this extinct species called Americans was smothered into oblivion by "too much stuff".
Maybe this present downturn in the national economy will finally cure us all of the NEED to buy.

This annual garage sale has birthed my new motto. "Just because I like it, just because it's pretty, doesn't mean it should come home with me."

We'll see how that works!