Downsizing sale aftermath

First, I would like to apologize for being quiet here.  I do feel bad for not posting anything on here for the past few days, but the reason is that we have been undertaking our downsizing sale.  

One of many signs pointing the way to the goods.

First off I am glad to say that it was a HUGE success.  In just 14 hours of selling time, we were able to sell about 85% of the items that we put out.  So a big thank you to everyone who came by!  I know that most people that did come have no idea about who we are or why we were doing it, but we do appreciate their help.  

As a reminder, what the garage looked like prior to the sale...

...but what is not shown is how we filled the rest of the garage with larger and last minute items!

There are so many fun stories that came out of this weekend that I would love to share them all, but I can only highlight a few.  First, I will say that we were blessed with some of the best weather anyone could ask for to do a sale, as well as being this early in the season that there were not too many other sales happening, so more people were able to stop by.  

We advertised through the Indy Star and Craigslist, and through the latter we received some responses to our postings with specific questions, thus ensuring some guaranteed traffic.  One of the responses were two ladies that run a childcare business looking for more items as they begin to consider opening another location.  Obviously, because of the hours that they operate, they would be unable to attend during the sale, so they asked if they could come by Thursday night to do a 'pre-shop'.  Knowing the nature of their business and how well our toys and games had been taken care of, we whole heartedly obliged to their request.

Friday was a very busy day between setting up, tearing down, and selling things in between.  The day started with shoppers at 7:45, and between that time and 1:30 we only had 3 minutes total that no one was at the sale!  (and by we, I mean me.  Stephanie and the kids were at MOPS until 12:30).  

Saturday was not quite as intense, but we still had a steady stream of shoppers coming through.  One of our hooks was that we were not able to get everything out on Friday morning, so there would be new things on Saturday morning, so come back and shop some more.  We did have a few repeat shoppers, and appreciate every bit of their business.

Some of the highlights include: 

• Having 2 school bus drivers, 2 police officers (one in uniform), a FedEx driver, a Comcast technician, and 2 Clark appliance installers stop.  I guess that no one can resist a good sale.  Speaking of Clark, the neighbors across the street were getting new appliances installed, so I appreciate the patience of the 3 gentlemen with the crazy traffic pattern around our house.  
• I was able to make some new connections with some Heritage parents.  
• There was a woman who does a lot of volunteer work and was shopping around with a very specific list, and we were able to meet several of her needs with our items.  
• Stephanie was able to promote her MOPS group's upcoming Kid Stuff Sale to many shoppers with specific requests for items.  
• I was able to bless a police officer in our neighborhood that purchased a piece of furniture, but was unable to get it to his house, by driving it there and helping him carry it inside.    
• Our neighbors across the street moving in on Saturday.  I grabbed some cones and blocked off a portion of the street so that they could park close to the house for loading in their furniture.
• People ringing the doorbell in the evening wondering if we were still open (everything was packed back into the garage).
• All of the stuff we were able to sell!

Once all was said and done, we only took 3 large boxes of leftovers to Goodwill.  I must say, that we were truly blessed with such a great sale.

The garage after the sale and cleanup...

...with most of the items being empty boxes and tubs, the kids bikes, and a few things left to sell on Craigslist and at the Kid Stuff Sale.

Taking a step back: why are we doing what we are doing?

So I realized after posting last night about kicking the microwave out of our kitchen--which conveniently saved me from making an impulse cup of chai tea today, because it was "too much effort" to pull out a pot to heat the milk on the stove (lame, I know...hopefully I'll get past that soon)--that we may need to clarify for our readers exactly what we are doing and why we're doing what we are doing.


We've been living in our current home for almost 8 years. When we moved in, it was just Jason and me, our cat, a few hand-me-down pieces of furniture and 27 boxes full of everything that we owned in the world--in impeccably labeled and inventoried boxes, no less--because Jason totally rocks the packing and moving thing!


Fast forward seven-and-a-half years and we have added 4 kids, subtracted a cat, added a house full of furniture, rooms filled with "stuff", and built a storage shed which is full of what doesn't fit in the garage. While I recognize that we are nowhere near the "Danger Zone" of becoming hoarders, and by American standards we already live pretty simply, we had become lax with living our value of stewardship and were uncomfortable with the level of consumption that we had reached.

1200 cubic-feet of fabulous "extra" storage space!

While child-bearing years and the sleep-deprived haze of the past 7 years do explain part of how this has happened, it's not really an excuse for us. We are responsible for our actions and decisions, even those made on auto-pilot. We have acquired more than we have mindfully decided to bring into our lives, and have added people to our home--who we deliberately chose to add and love with all of our being--that also bring in "stuff" without consciously thinking about it. When we looked around and saw what was happening around us, this past autumn we decided that it was time to take a step back, re-evaluate our priorities and shift gears so that the life that we are living is the life that we are choosing. It was time to move from living on the default setting to deliberate living.


It's amazing how that becomes so much more possible when you are neither preparing for nor adjusting to life with a new baby, as had been the norm for us for the past 7 years. We

Making space

I really don't have a lot to share at this moment.  We have been busy cleaning, clearing, de-cluttering.  I can't say that it has been the most fun activity selling our things.  It is hard to let things go, but I have gotten a few good Craigslist stories out of the process.  What has been fun to realize as I have removed items from my life that I didn't use, had no relevant purpose, or were under utilized, is that I have made room for things that I truly want or need.  I have been able to get a few new playthings recently because of now having a space/purpose for them as well as having the income to purchase them.  It is amazing how easy it becomes to get those few things that you have been pining for once you sell some other stuff.  I will admit, now that I have the taste in my mouth of selling things it drives me to keep it up.


Get rid of some things, create elbow room, and see how good it feels to stretch.


Now, if only there was a better way to deal with the flakes on Craigslist...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

No, it’s not Christmas yet, and I (Stephanie) loathe beginning Christmas celebrations before Thanksgiving has come and gone. I don't intend to offend those of you who already have the mistletoe hung, the icicle lights lit outside your home, the Christmas music playing in your home and the antlers on your car. However, my brain can really only fully take in one holiday at a time. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and unfortunately it is too often glossed over. We don't spend nearly enough time in our lives being grateful. For everything and for nothing in particular.

With all that being said, in recent years I have preferred to complete as much of my Christmas gift shopping and gift making before mid-November. It started a few years ago when our third child was due in mid-November, and my anxiety about tackling Castleton traffic and the malls with 3 kids under 3, including a newborn, alone. The next year I did the same, after seeing how much more I enjoyed the Christmas season with removing December shopping from the equation. Last year I took it a step further, with our fourth baby due around Halloween, so I did most of the shopping before November and saved only my handmade gifts to complete after Eliza’s arrival.

This year, I’m not quite as ahead of the game, but am still planning to complete my shopping by mid-November and finish up the handmade gifts by early December again. If you’ve never experienced a December without a mile-long shopping list, I cannot describe for you what a freeing feeling it is. I’ve enjoyed Christmas so much more with this approach—and we have always kept it pretty simple in the gift-giving department to begin with. But I’ll save that for another post.

With my shopping list eliminated and, in turn, my to-do list shrunk, I have found so much more time to do the most fun things of all. Such as: our daily Christmas Countdown and Advent activities, enjoying many of the special holiday happenings around Indianapolis, and being completely present at holiday gatherings. Best of all, it allows more time to reflect upon why Christmas is important to me, as an individual. Personally, it symbolizes the coming of a baby who grew up to be my Christ, and something that requires more than a token glance to fully absorb. When I take the time to remember, I am completely overwhelmed, and that’s only made possible by creating the space for experiencing the season.

Perhaps Christmas bears a different reason for importance to you. Or you celebrate a different December holiday. Wherever you are coming from, I think that we can agree that in the busyness that December can become, the most important can be shoved far to the back-burner and become an afterthought. November has not yet arrived. It’s not too late to decide that you want to do December differently this year. It may be your best December yet!