Thursday, May 09, 2013

Watch for me on a future episode of Hoarders. Seriously.

This is the tale of a pack-rat who couldn’t find anything to bring to a yard sale.

And that pack-rat would be me.

On Saturday, my Relay for Life team, The Slipper Sisters, is hosting a fundraising yard sale in conjunction with a bake sale that the Little But Strong team are holding.  When we first started talking about this fundraiser over a month ago, I was all on-board.  Go through the house, find stuff that I don’t use, put it in a box and try to sell it, with all the proceeds going to my Relay for Life team.  Easy-peasy fundraiser in support of the Canadian Cancer Society, getting to hang out all day with some great ladies, and maybe clearing out some of the junk that I have accumulating in every corner of the house?

It was a no-brainer.

Right up until this week, when I started casting my eye upon all the junk in my house, and realizing I have pretty much nothing that I’m willing to part with.

Except for four mugs.  FOUR MUGS. 

That’s IT.

Seriously.

My mom has been calling me a pack-rat since I was a kid.  I used to hate each summer when Mom would decide we were having a garage sale.  She’d force us to go through our belongings and pick out stuff to sell.  Give away MY stuff??  That I LOVE even though I never use it?  Hell to the NO, Mother!!

I’ve always a hard time letting things go.  I like holding on to souvenirs and other things that I’m going to use “someday”.  She claims that I STILL have stuff stored at her place, even though I moved out almost five years ago. (For the record… I think she’s lying.  She’s now trying to pawn her crap off on me.) 

She also doesn’t understand why I can’t box up all of my books, DVDs and CDs and just sell them.

Um. No. Just…no. Those things are precious to me.

I’ve always denied that pack-rat label that my mother likes to stick on me.  I like cleanliness and order as much as the next guy.  I watch “Hoarders” and I cringe.  Just because I have a penchant for buying books and DVDs and CDs and hanging on to every newspaper article where Wade Redden’s name appears doesn’t mean I’m a pack-rat.  Right?

Right.

But the fact remains that I have my “treasures” hidden in every little nook and cranny around the house.  Not to mention one whole spare room that is stocked with my useless crap.  And, after a quick perusal last night, none of which I’m prepared to part with, apparently.

*sigh*

When lamenting this dilemma to a friend recently, I was told to sweep through my closet, which is in desperate need of an upheaval, and bring all of my now-too-big clothes to sell.  Not a bad idea, except that there’s still that big ol’ fat girl inside me who thinks, “What if I need them again someday?”  And also, nobody ever seems to be looking for fat girl clothes, they probably wouldn’t sell anyways.

The only other thing I can think of that I have too many of are Glad and Ziploc and Rubbermaid lunch containers.  But I’m pretty sure used, slightly tomato-stained old containers aren’t going to be a hot seller.

Oh, and my old dining room table and chair set, which is residing partly in my garage, partly in my basement.  But it’s too big and heavy to move.

So I guess this brings us to the moral of this story.  Because every good tale needs a moral.  And that moral is:  Never invite a pack-rat to take part in a yard sale.  Because they won’t bring anything.

Except for maybe four old mugs. 

And on second thought, I’m not sure I’m ready to let them go either…

See you Saturday, ladies. ;)

11 comments:

Stacy said...

Oh i get rid of stuff
i jsut brought two big bags to the maison, i could have given them to you to bring then you wouldnt be empty handed, i could still help ya out - let me know!
i may have a set of golf clubs...

I know how you feel though, I wanted to go in the Mom to Mom sale last week to get rid of Tanner's clothes but then it makes me sad and I back out cuz im scared to let them go!

Stacie said...

I try to remember that someone will have to clean all of my crap out when I die and that motivates me, can't have them thinking that I was messy, even if I am gone!

Sarah said...

bahahahha too funny. I never knew you were a pack-rat!! I am the complete opposite. I go through my stuff twice a year and if I had not used it or wore it in the last 12-6 months - CHUCK IT or donate depending on quality. If I need it again, I will buy it again.

Steph said...

I'm the anti-packrat. If I don't use something, I get rid of it.

Do you have a path through your apartment, yet? :)

Anonymous said...

I won't even say anything against you, Jilly - I'm the exact same way haha! I have show boxes in my closet full of stuff. I have some clothes from high school that I'm keeping in case I fit into them someday or that particular fashion comes back lol I'm guilty too!

LeeLu Creations said...

I think you are my long lost sister! I'm into upcycling and you just never know!!! :)

Nicole said...

haha my dad used to call me a packrat as well. I have lately gone through and gotten rid of things that I just can't take the clutter anymore. One thing I learned is if you think you want rid of it but aren't sure, put it in a pile for 48 hours. Let it sit there, don't do anything with it. Then after 48 hours decide whether or not it is worth keeping.

VandyJ said...

I have pack rat tendencies. Nick does not. He motivates me to clean out stuff regularly.

HickChickBritt said...

Chris and I are horrible! We hate getting rid of stuff. When moved this time I finally went through the 10 garbage bags of clothes that we had. Yeah 10 bags that we had moved from house to house and never unpacked. I could still only bring myself to get rid of maybe half of them. We also have a problem with keeping vehicles and pretty much anything with a motor. I blame it on my dad, he has 15 cars and trucks 12 motorcycles scrap metal galore and who knows what else laying around. Then inside of the house is not like that though, but I grew up with all of it and it is normal for me.

Mrs. Match said...

lol, ack pack rat! I'm definitely the opposite.
I like knick knacks and sentimental things, but only if they have a designated spot. If it doesn't, I want it gone. Everything MUST have a home. I'm the type who can't stand borrowing things from people because I know it won't have a home. I think having this baby and all his extra stuff is going to make me learn to be more mellow about it all. :-)

Angie said...

I'm the exact opposite, I'm not attached to anything. I purge weekly just because I hate the chaos and clutter. It's not always a good thing though. Sometimes I'll go looking for something only to find I threw it out and then I regret it.