Dear Crabby, Wanna Buy My Junk?

Dear Crabby,

My wife keeps nagging me that we need to get rid of stuff around the house we don’t use anymore. What do you think – is it trash or treasure? And should we sell stuff or wait to give it away?

Thanks,
Peter Packrat

Dear Peter Packrat,

That’s the age-old sentiment, eh? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I understand where you’re coming from though. Mrs. Crabby is always after me to help her downsize. Her main argument is that we can’t leave it all for the kids to take care of. Oh really. The kids whose stuff we housed for YEARS while they went off to school, started jobs, families, etc. Yes, of course. We mustn’t burden the children. Hope you read that will all the sarcasm I intended. The flipside to leaving your children in charge of dispersing all your worldly treasures is the chance that your second cousin 12 times removed will materialize out of thin air and want your grandfather clock!

Dear Crabby sits infront of his laptop

Dear Crabby Gives Advice

Here’s the thing: it’s your stuff, but you need to be realistic as to whether or not you really need or use it. For example, still hanging onto the football phone you received as part of your Sports Illustrated subscription a thousand years ago? Ya. You can go ahead and let that go. If it’s something a little more sentimental, then perhaps see if anyone in the family wants it before you sell. After all, wouldn’t you feel better knowing your Bob Uecker baseball card collection is with someone who finds it as special as you do? And for the love… do NOT hang on to something just because you got it for free! Case in point. A neighbor was having a garage sale recently and his wife suggested they get rid of a big cooler they rarely used and was taking up prime real estate in their garage. You know the kind I’m talking about. You see them in grocery stores up by the checkout lanes. Anyway, my neighbor got it for nothing and grumbled he wouldn’t sell it for anything less than $300. Pretty sure he thought no one would pay that much. Well wouldn’t you know it, someone did, and boy was he mad! His wife on the other hand was downright gleeful as she pocketed their profits. You just never know what some people are looking for and what they’re willing to pay.

If you do decide to ‘let it go’ as the song says, check out a post from my archives where I share valuable insight on when you should have a garage sale. You also might want to look into Junk in the Trunk. Don’t worry. It’s not the name of a new rap song. While the sign up to participate has passed, you might find something to add you your collection of well, whatever you collect. At the very least get some ideas of what to see there next year. Anyway, it’s this Saturday, June 23, 2018 at the Farmers’ Market Upper Lot in Downtown Rochester from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Hope that helps and happy purging!
Dear Crabby

About Dear Crabby

Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Read regularly by thousands and loved by some, Dear Crabby answers questions weekly to life's challenges. Send him a note at editor@rochestermedia.com.

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