Cleaning up, Clearing out

We are moving next month and decided most of our household goods are not really worth taking along, since we will be packing and moving ourselves instead of having the company do it.

I put a bunch of stuff for sale on Craig's List. Even though it feels like a breath of fresh air to have more free space in our apartment, a lot of these items have sentimental value. Like our famous free couch, for example. We sold it a couple weeks ago for ten bucks. I know, I know, selling an item we got for free?? But it takes some time and trouble to get rid of an item, especially dealing with less than reliable buyers through Craigslist, so the few dollars we asked just covered our bases. And I felt truly sad to see the couch go.

When the items were being taken from our home, Lo Lo seemed really startled. He kept running back and forth, as though not sure if he should try to stop them or what. But finally he decided the best course of action would be helping move the couches out. Pictured above is Lo Lo helping move out our ugly red/gold loveseat cushions we got in our student days at BYU. I wasn't quite as sad to see this item of furniture depart. But still, it holds so much memory! Ah, passage of time. Moving on.

When the price is TOO right

I have lots of good memorial day weekend photos and such to document, but wanted to first give a confession: I have discovered my brain was born with a poor "price instinct." In preparation for our move in a month or so (still no word on specifics of where or when...but I am still getting started packing), we put half a dozen items on Craig's List that we knew we wouldn't want to pack with us wherever we end up moving.

Within several hours of posting, two of the items were GONE. Not just spoken for--picked up and paid for. And the next day, two more items were spoken for, one of which got picked up but the other hasn't yet. Anyway, two more items left to sell from this batch and I was in awe at the speedy success of Craig's List selling...until I did a little research and realized it wasn't Craig's List magic, but merely the fact that I priced everything 1/2 to 1/3 the price of other comparable items for sale on the online venue. So yay for all the buyers who got bargains off my naivete, but maybe I'll start with higher prices next time and then lower them later if nobody buys for awhile.

Freecycle.org has also been a fun discovery over the past few weeks. Check it out if you like serving others, helping the environment, and getting great stuff for FREE! We will probably post all our unwanted stuff on there if Craig's List selling doesn't do its wonders within the next few weeks. So stay tuned.