In preparation of selling our home and everything in it, I gave notice at work and began the task of getting rid of the last 40 years of \u201cthings\u201d we both had collected.\u00a0 All our household items that were not passed on to Josh and Liz, our children, who by the way, thought what we were doing was insane and that we wouldn\u2019t last but three months before giving it up or killing each other.\u00a0 Not to wander too much off the subject but most of our relatives and friends pretty much agreed with them.\u00a0 The exception was my 100 year old mother-in-law, my dad and step mom.\u00a0 Dad\u2019s mom and dad were the Gypsies in our family and lived on the road whenever they got the chance.\u00a0 When I was little, I remember them driving off towing their trailer to all parts of the country.\u00a0\u00a0 It was never something I pictured myself doing but it did look like a great adventure!<\/p>\n
The difficult task of deciding what would stay and what would be sold took up all my waking hours.\u00a0 John was still working so most of the job fell into my hands and the task was difficult at best and sometimes heartbreaking.<\/p>\n
The first piece to leave was our grandfather clock.\u00a0 It was the first piece of furniture that John and I purchased together.\u00a0\u00a0 Seeing that grandfather clock being carried out of our door after owning it and moving it from home to home for so many years brought tears to my eyes.\u00a0 The lady that purchased it was thankful and overjoyed to get a grandfather clock priced far below its value.\u00a0 Her joy took away some of the sting of its departure from our home.\u00a0 From then on things moved steadily out the door.<\/p>\n
Estate Sale and Garage Sale seem to mean the same for our Woodlands area neighbors and offers were made that were so low that donating would get us more than selling the items that were all in excellent condition.\u00a0 That was a lucky break for our donation recipients.\u00a0 Many of the really nice antiques and household items not sold for the price I was asking ended up being donated to Jesus Centers and the Montgomery County Women\u2019s Shelter Resale Shops.<\/p>\n
Two of the items, hand hooked silk and wool Persian rugs were reluctantly sold to a nice Italian man and his wife who had just moved back to the states from Italy.\u00a0 He bargained hard with me for several days and I finally sold them at a fraction of their original cost.\u00a0 His offer to cook me dinner, anytime I wanted to come by, and visit my rugs at his house was what finalized the deal.\u00a0 Although it was a ploy to secure the deal, his creativity won me over and I said a tearful good-by as they too left our home.<\/p>\n
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In preparation of selling our home and everything in it, I gave notice at work and began the task of getting rid of the last 40 years of \u201cthings\u201d we both had collected.\u00a0 All our household items that were not … Continue reading