it's just stuff anyway

I moved to San Francisco from Chicago 15 years ago. I don't remember that experience being as nerve wracking as this. It probably wasn't since now that I'm older,  I have accumulated more stuff and I have become attached to this stuff. I knew the move to Kuwait would be light, I wasn't planning to bring much at all.  Like it or not,  I had to sort through everything to decide what would make the cut. I also decided to get a storage unit for the things I couldn't reason to bring, but are too sentimental to eliminate. The unit is only 5x5 so I had to whittle it down to the absolute minimum. Surprisingly, that was the easy part.

The hard part came when it was time to eliminate all the other stuff. I had some success selling things on Craigslist, but after awhile, I hit a plateau. I needed a better plan. Time was dwindling and I realized, I had to have a moving sale.... Now I'm a "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" type of guy, so I got planning. I decided on a date.  I organized the things to be sold. I brought in all the extra stuff  that I bought at sample sales that was now relegated to the garage........... They all seemed like great purchases at the time.  I grabbed my pen and labels and started pricing.

Yeah, pricing things might be a bit too much, but I needed to set some silent standards.  I couldn't possibly bear the thought of a moving sale customer offering 50 cents on something I treasured. These were quality items, collected over years that people should love to have in their home. After pricing, I moved on to merchandising. Gotta protect the customer experience, right? Finally, signage was needed around the neighborhood. The forecast called for rain, so I quickly thought to place my signs in plastic sheet protectors. O.K. I was set. This was going to be the best moving sale ever in the history of moving sales! My first customer arrived right at 8:00 sharp. I opened the door with excitement, said "hello!" and "come on in!" to which she replied "YOU NEED BETTER SIGNAGE!"

Really? That's how you reply to someone who has just invited you into their home on a wet Saturday morning at 8? Did she think she was in an actual store?  I mean COME ON! She found it didn't she? Oh yeah, AND there was a posting on Craigslist about the moving sale. She cooled off after a bit, but I never forgave her.  The first part of the day was super quiet, then we kicked it into high gear. What winter moving sale couldn't benefit from Christmas Music and Cranberry Margaritas? The music was for the patrons, the margaritas were for me. By noon, I was hitting my stride. I was adding on to every transaction, it felt like my old days on the selling floor. Except not the drinking part. A couple of friends stopped by to add to the fun. They were naturals when it came to suggestive selling. "Oh have you tried the chair massager yet?, you really should"

Bit by bit things were selling, but to my dismay, I had to negotiate on just about everything. As the day went on it got easier, though.  Maybe it was the Christmas Music..... or maybe it was the season of giving..... or maybe it was the Cranberry Margaritas. Overall, the moving sale was a cool experience that while draining, allowed me to meet some really great people. A man who bought from me on Craigslist, came to the moving sale with his wife and then asked to come back the following week with his brother ........ He has good taste ......... The man renovating the house across the street saw the moving sale sign and came over to introduce himself before moving day. A lady came and chatted us up one side and down the other about Germany, antiques and "finds". And an animal loving couple from India were thrilled to hear that Daisy will be joining me in the move to Kuwait.

I won't be celebrating Christmas this year in the usual sense,  but it was nice to share the Christmas spirit with total strangers.  I do have a little more to get through, but whatever I don't sell or get rid of,  I'll donate. I have to admit though, I was kind of sad seeing all my worldly possessions go, but It's just stuff anyway, right?