Cha-Ching!!

The Yard Sale, Part II went off without a hitch (other than one price-tag switcher that Debbie busted on one item, but got away with it on a second) and netted us another 6 bills or so towards the big move to Arcosonti. There was also significant volume reduction, which is at least as important as the cash. We are having one more sale on Labor Day weekend, then whatever is left will be thrown away or given away. The only exceptions will be some larger items (like some oil paintings) that will be auctioned or taken to a consignment shop. I'm still shooting to fit my personal stuff in two suitcases and a tote. If I keep throwing out clothes, that may be one suitcase and a tote. Once we get rid of the rest of the furniture we don't want, we will be down to about five pieces of furniture that we will eventually have to drive out to Arizona. I'm thinking we may even be able to cut that down further once we figure the cost of transporting some items 2,000 miles vs. just buying new once we get there.

My new goal: getting rid of stuff. I've spent 40 years as a typical American consumer seeing how big of a pile of crap I can accumulate; now I'll be shedding most of it over the next couple months. The funny thing is that once you shift from "accumulating mode" to "shedding mode," stuff just loses its appeal. I used to walk through a store thinking, "Wow, that would be cool to have!" Now, it's just something else I have to a) figure out how to pay for, b) figure out how to get to Arizona, and c) once it's there, find a place for in a 400-600 square foot apartment. Why bother? If I can't eat it, I'm not going to die without it. Let the next person spend their cash on it.