Saturday morning yard sales. Have you ever had a yard sale before? Surely if you’ve never had one yourself, you’ve driven past one or maybe even stopped at one if something unique caught your eye. Or maybe you are an avid yard saler, planning out your destinations with newspaper or Craigslist ads. I think I fall somewhere in the middle. At one point of my life, I was an avid yard saler (even stopped at a yard sale on my wedding day with my maid of honor as we were heading to get our hair done!) Now, with 3 kids and a husband who has marathon training runs on Saturday mornings, I rarely get caught up in the yard sale hype anymore.
Until now.
Some gals I know sent me a message that they were hosting an “Adoption Yard and Bake Sale”. Of course the title alone intrigued me. At first I thought it was an animal adoption event (I do NOT need any more pets in my home!!) Then, after reading more, I realized it was a benefit yard sale to help a wonderful family we know raise money to adopt another child. The message was merely letting people know the details of the event, but I couldn’t resist the now-quite-familiar tug at my heart. I knew I had to perform another act of kindness!
So I spent the week sorting things in my house (“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, right?) and I realized three things: 1) I have too much junk in my house. 2) I have too much junk in my house. 3) I have too much junk in my house. Bean bags we haven’t used in years. A lamp that was never big enough to light anything. Movies. Toys. Blankets. The more items I priced the more items I found. It was like a treasure hunt in my own house!
Then as I was walking through my dining room, I saw them. My most adored Charming Tales collectible figurines. Cute little mice, intricately detailed with such precision you could see the individual hairs poke through on the mice’s ears. I started this collection twelve years ago with the passing of my grandmother, who had her own mice collectibles. These mice reminded me of her, kept her memory alive. But did I really NEED them?
That question stopped me in my tracks. Did I really NEED them? Well, of course I did! They were my collectibles! I have them because of Grandma! But wait… did I REALLY need them? In an instant I knew the answer. No, I did not NEED them. I did not need a figurine collection to remind me of my grandmother’s legacy of laughter and love. Those memories had long been sealed in my heart with every sunrise, rain storm, and flickering light I saw around me. These cute little mice, which were once so near and dear to my heart, had been transformed by time into painted objects that required a little too much dusting for my busy life. No. I did not need them. And despite the sentimental attachment I had placed on every figurine, they each received a pricing sticker and were added to the donation pile.
By the end of the week I had accumulated a small stack of items to donate to the yard sale. I priced everything so there would be no additional work for someone else to do.
I even made cookies with my daughter to donate to the bake sale – 3 cookies for $0.50. We ended up making 16 bags worth of cookies!
I dropped off my items to the yard sale and was amazed by the quantity of STUFF other people had also donated as acts of kindness. My cookies and collectibles were nothing compared to the other items donated (A treadmill! Tools! An entire bathroom ensemble!), and yet I knew in my heart that it was important for me to be a part of this event. It was truly inspirational to see all the ways this family would be blessed by everyone simply clearing out unwanted items from their home.
So the next time you drive by a yard sale, consider stopping by. You never know who might be blessed from your purchase! 🙂
