I sit here typing this looking at the last remnants of all of my stuff laid out on tables in the front yard. My fingers are cold, but alas I sold my fingerless gloves yesterday for 50 cents. It is a long weekend in Canada for those of you who are wondering why I am still here on a monday morning. To catch the last of the hoards of bargain hunters. They come by the dozens to pick over the strange assortment of wares, things I would not expect anyone to buy, yet buy they do. The cassette tape of Barry Manilow, the christmas mug, the book on cultural theory. There is a buyer for every item it seems. I have had one of the most interesting and unique weekends in recent memory. Anyone who is an aspiring writer need only have a yard sale to bring out a wide assortment of the most amazing characters you will ever meet. I ran for the sketchbook in hopes of capturing some of them. There were so many that I barely had time to write about them before they slipped from memory.
There was the seventy year old man with the suspenders who enjoyed collecting antique dolls, (of which I had none), and spoke of playing his old gibson guitar with great affection. The elderly couple who gave me detailed information on their blood sugar levels of the last week, including various bits of dietary information related to those blood sugar levels (what they ate), I listened enraptured for half an hour. There was Dan, an antique dealer from the city who quickly grabbed the red 50's metal chair knowing a deal when he saw one, and later brought me a coffee to warm my freezing fingers. He wore an old men's pin stripe suit jacket, and a wool hat from afganistan and spoke happily about life, various political conspiracies and the futility of North American consumption. (The irony of his chosen profession was a tad glaring.) And there was the man in the motorized scooter who came back no less than 10 times, (he looked remarkably like the character Tony Clifton). It broke my heart because I think he was just lonely and wanted someone to talk to.
It is a strange thing to watch people walk away with all of your stuff, things you've been looking at and carrying for years. I will admit that a couple of times a part of me wanted to run after people and take it back. I didn't realize how attached I was to my things. Such a valuable exercise in letting go and realizing that I am not those things, and those things are not me. I had no idea how much stuff I had been hoarding until I saw it all laid out on the lawn. Rows and rows of things that I do not need. I was shocked. Makes one want to live a monastic existence.
The dark corners are cleared and the basement sparse. The house is much emptier, and I am a LOT lighter.
I turn the worn pages of Hemingway's a Moveable Feast immersed in the chilly but deeply satisfying Parisian winter. Warm cafe's, notebooks being scribbled in, wine being drunk. Narrow cobblestone streets,
I am interrupted by a grey haired man with a charming british accent asking, "How much for this?" as he holds up a worn picture frame. "Fifty cents" I respond looking up from my book. "And I'll throw in the ceramic jewelery box for free." His eyes light up a bit, turning around he goes back to look for more. I should be paying them for carting away these things and helping me shed the unnecessary weight.
Posted by kerismith at May 23, 2005 01:01 PMYour words are just as brilliant as your illustrations. So when is your book of short stories coming out...I'll be the first to buy it. :)
And cheers to downsizing! Less is more.
Posted by: Jinger on May 24, 2005 08:05 PMI have been feeling like this, too, just ready to travel lighter. I am not moving or breaking up or even having a yard sale, but I am ready to have a house where instead of the stuff, the highlights are the people I love, the music we make together, good food and good talk and the warmth those times leave in the room.
best wishes, Keri.
little bird girl
Posted by: little bird girl on May 24, 2005 05:58 PMMy husband and I held our first garage sale over the weekend. We moved into our first house (it has been quite a time for firsts) last year, and are slowly changing things over from an apartment lifestyle in a big city to a home lifestyle in a small town. We had many things to let go of. I will miss hearing about your magic cottage (which was such a motivator for me to find my own - thank you), but I hope you continue to write about your new, exciting Spanish lifestyle. Please let us all enjoy your adventures, too!
Posted by: Steph on May 24, 2005 11:42 AMonly lately do I see the value of traveling stuff light and relationship heavy.
Posted by: Theresa on May 24, 2005 11:16 AMI actually had a garage sale this weekend too. Saturday. It is always so odd to watch people rummage through your stuff, to feel that rejection when they overlook things that once meant so much to you or you thoughtfully purchased. This one was particularly hard because I sold all of my daughters baby clothes, and watching them go was like saying goodbye to her baby years. I also met quite a few characters, which is what makes it so much fun.
Posted by: Jodi on May 24, 2005 11:04 AMWondering if you'll be keeping Wish Jar Journal after you move...or perhaps start another journal to go with your new life? Whatever the answer, I've enjoyed reading here for the last 20 months or so. Yours was one of the first sites I found when I began blogging. What I like about your journal is that you always search for the pearl of inspiration and wisdom in your everyday occurrences. Lovely.
Posted by: Marilyn on May 24, 2005 10:25 AMI remember my parents finally selling off all their useless seventies wedding presents (what a time for fondue sets and ugly brown whatsits) at the end of the eighties in a rather large and succesful garage sale. There were still a few things that would not sell at the end. Mostly the useless wedding presesnts I think.
Posted by: beth maher on May 24, 2005 10:21 AMI too am purging stuff. I'm about to move and find that I have way too much. It's hard to give it away, but once it's gone, I don't even remember what it was I had. Although, I have a bag of old clothes in the trunk of my car and have been avoiding dropping it off at the Goodwill. I guess I need to learn to let go, too.
Posted by: Milly on May 24, 2005 10:08 AMwow Keri this was really brave of you!
Posted by: m on May 24, 2005 04:36 AMloved reading this entry. your writing is captivating.
Posted by: mindi on May 24, 2005 12:25 AMYou tell the best stories Keri. Enjoy your lightness.
Posted by: Ali on May 23, 2005 11:59 PMJust a random note to say that your words and your images capture the magic, the sadness, the joy and the heartbreak of life. You are an inspiration and an unattainable goal and you are a ray of sunshine in a very musty life.
Thank you. :-)
Posted by: chris on May 23, 2005 11:44 PMoh yeah . . . feng shui clutter cleaning for health and sanity . . . and you *will* miss some of that stuff . . . and it *won't* matter . . . and you *are* lighter . . . time for me to do yet another level of letting go, too . . . :)
Posted by: katherine on May 23, 2005 11:06 PMThanks so much for this. I have had a garage full of stuff ready to sell off, but lost my nerve. I think you've given me a dose of courage here :)
Posted by: wilsonian on May 23, 2005 09:58 PMi can feel my body becoming a little tense and anxious just reading about letting go, purging and having a yard sale. ^_^ good for you!
Posted by: crissy on May 23, 2005 06:52 PMMy experience is that having a garage sale is as much a fun experience as going to them. I had a terrific time last summer and so enjoyed meeting all the characters who stopped to shop and buy. And I, too, had a mr. lonely who decided keeping me company for a few hours was a good way to spend his afternoon. It does feel good to unload some of those things we cling to but just don't use or need. Upon arriving back to Montreal from Texas, I see all the clutter in our apartment and I know I've got to get into purge mode again.
Loved your story and, of course, always enjoy your blog!
Posted by: paula on May 23, 2005 05:36 PMLighten Up....I need to do this in all aspects!
Posted by: joy madison on May 23, 2005 05:35 PMIn England they do carboot sales rather than yard sales, whereby you drive your car to a farmer's field or town hall car park and literally sell your stuff out of the boot, or trunk. As soon as you get there, which is usually well before 7am, your car is immediately surrounded by the greedy early hawks who are hunting for the goodies. Thank goodness for keyfobs with locking devices, otherwise it can be a nightmare unloading everthing whilst keeping an eye on your valuables inside the car.
I do a carboot sale every time I move so that makes six in the last eight years. Like Keri says, it makes you feel a lot lighter and luckily I am good at letting go of things that I never liked or haven't used in a long time. The most heartbreaking items I ever sold (for a couple of bucks each because you have to be prepared to sell most things for under five dollars) were two sweaters. The first I had knitted for my ex boyfriend of eight years; this was my moving out carboot sale and I sold it because he would have never worn it again. The second was a beautiful cashmere pullover that was given to me by another ex boyfriend and this was another break up carboot sale; it was a lovely pullover but it had never fitted me all that well and it was scratchy ... bit like my ex really! Giving it away for two dollars broke my heart but I am convinced it helped me move on more quickly.
Why does de-cluttering have this wonderful effect?
Posted by: Kerstin on May 23, 2005 04:26 PMWhen i went to college my mother garage saled (if it wasn't a word before it sure is now) all my stuff.
When i came back home, ironically she moved to another country for a job,
I garage saled all her stuff.
i still want my stuff back.
Posted by: kris on May 23, 2005 04:04 PMI just discovered your blog and I'm enjoying it so much. As a champion hoarder, I completely understand the desire to run after your recently sold items and take 'em back. I'll turn to this posting in a few weeks when I have the grand 'moving to a much smaller house' yard sale. I'll feel lighter. I'll feel lighter. I'll feel lighter...
Posted by: The Feminist Mafia on May 23, 2005 03:32 PMyes are things are not us but we tend to think so.
Posted by: gulnaz on May 23, 2005 03:20 PMYou are a great writer. I love selling old stuff, it is such a great experince. Everyone should try. :-)
Posted by: Hanna on May 23, 2005 03:17 PM