Dump Days

Stacks of children's books, extraneous videos, broken toys, games with missing pieces - all of the above have been relegated to shopping bags now sitting in my side porch awaiting final dismissal via garage sale day or dump day, whichever comes first. As long as they leave my house, I don't really care. I never view garage sales as opportunities to turn a buck. They are, in my opinion, for the sole purpose of relieving the house of excess baggage. If I get a bit of pocket change in the process, so be it!

But today, as I told a friend, we merely moved a teaspoon of the mountain. Oh, to have two full weeks for digging out. Oi, veh! How does one family yearly create such enormous superfluity? (That was a bit redundant, but it proves the point...)

Once started it was fun - the kind of thing I love to do. Looking at the mountain sometimes leaves me undone, but toss one thing, which always leads to another, and pretty soon the momentum builds. Then you just better step back or you may find yourself snatched up, discarded, and crammed into an old J. Crew bag on my side porch. And who knows where that may lead to!

These are the days my husband prays, worries, and then prays some more. Over the years he's experienced some painful losses (ouch - I've not always been mindful of his attachments) and now he is gun-shy. So I will be careful. And I will try to contain my enthusiasm at the dumpster this year!