A Perpetual Garage Sale

As a high school student, I loved garage sales.  I had this crazy friend who was just like me.  If we spent Friday night together (which was more often than not) we’d get up at the crack of dawn, throw on clothes which we had purchased the week before from someone’s driveway, and head off for the local Circle K for a fresh cup of cinnamon coffee.  Armed with our hard earned money from babysitting jobs, part time pizza parlor stints and a buck or two snatched from my mom’s wallet, we’d head off in one of our almost-working cars to follow the signs to Saturday’s treasure troves.

Time, time, time, what has become of me?....As much as I would love to spend my Saturdays cruising from one sale to the next, my life has pulled me in a most interesting direction.  In many ways, I am living in a perpetual garage sale! 

I’ve never actually initiated having a garage sale.  With working full time, then staying home with my daughters, and adding  the hauling business on to my repertoire the very last thing I wanted to do was greet the 5 A-Mers to haggle over the price of a lamp shade.   But I will participate!  Any time a neighbor asks if I’d like to add to their sale, I pull open the garage door and swiftly move through the collection and select choice pieces.  I do it for a couple of reasons: (1) I really like garage sales!  They are so American ... When else do we sit in the cul-de-sac and visit with neighbors over morning coffee?  And (2)  I do it to clear a path in my garage.  Afterward, I feel so cleansed, so orderly!  I sweep the cleared space and reclaim it for silly stuff like laundry baskets and Costco bulk!  I’ve learned this is just part of a cycle that will repeat itself several times a year.  Stuff appears, crowding my way--I reorganize, shuffle, sell—Then, stuff reappears crowding my way and the cycle begins again.  I’m an optimist, though…I’m certain this is just a phase.   I close my eyes, click the heels of my shiny red shoes and dreamily say….there’s no place like home….

Not long ago I learned that our neighborhood was scheduled to have the “famous” annual HOA garage sale.  To faithful garage sale-ers this is The Big One.  It attracts thousands of people! Some people will have traditional garage sales—others will sell hot dogs and sodas.  Crafters work all year long and set up their table of colorful wares in their yard.  Some come out from behind their front doors with patio chairs just to watch the spectacle!  

Excitedly I began to prepare.   Dishes were stacked in one section, furniture in another, clothes out front—people love to go through other’s closets!  Ceramic pots for gardening, kids’ toys and books—all neatly stacked and priced to sell! Certainly I don't want any of this to make its way back in the house or garage! It took only a couple of days.  And, the garage never looked better!  Boasting, I even left the garage door open for a few minutes for my across the street neighbor to see!  You can never be too proud (even if it is only a small victory)! 

The sale was a success!  We had a great day milling in and out of each other’s yards.  By the day’s end we were beat and a few dollars richer!  As the sun disappeared behind the mountain, I gathered up my kids, said our good nights to the neighbors and headed upstairs for evening bath time.  The girls happily splashed as I sipped a much deserved cocktail.  In the distance I heard the low muffle of the hauling truck lumbering up the street and glanced out….the sides of the truck were bulging! I clicked my heels and silently repeated…there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home.