TheBanyanTree: The Dumpster

[Margaret R. Kramer]

They say it’s the simple things that make up the joy of life.  And that’s
true, because I felt joyful after ordering a dumpster to be dropped onto our
driveway on May 3  - a big 10 yard long dumpster.

Its yawning mouth will soon catch the junk of our lives.  As our real estate
meandered through our home advising to declutter, declutter, declutter (kind
of like the same chant as location, location, location), I imagined myself
heaving broken fans, thousand year old tax returns, and all those VHS tapes
I made when the VCR was the new hot thing.  Those tapes sit piled
haphazardly on our bookcase, never watched since the day they were recorded.
Good riddance.

The garage will be gone through first.  We’ll get out the lawn furniture
today and set it on the decks and patio.  That will give Ray some space to
work.

We’ll make “junk piles” for our dumpster friend.  We’ll make “keep piles”
for our new home.  We’ll make “garage sale” piles for Ray’s garage sale.
And for all our valuable stuff, like my vinyl and duck stamps, we’ll sell on
ebay.

We’ll store our excess clutter in boxes and stow them in the relatively
empty garage.  We’ll do some painting, some touch up, and try to live in our
house without clutter.

I made a list as our agent walked through the house.  There isn’t much to
fix or replace, but we do have a few projects.  Ray needs to replace the
vent fan in the lower bathroom.  He needs to decide how he wants to fix the
ceiling in the foyer.  We probably need to put a fresh coat of paint in the
dining room.  I’m trying to decide if I want to hire a company to clean the
windows and screens.  I’m a streaker – I always leave major streaks when I
try to clean the windows.

Our target date to list is June.  Our agent says the market dies in July
when everyone is on vacation and will pick up again as fall approaches.  I
have a list of cute houses that are on the market, but I don’t dare look at
any of them, because I’ll fall in love with one of them, and won’t be able
to do anything about it.

My biggest fear is that our house won’t sell.  The houses that are for sale
in our neighborhood are not moving very fast.  My honest opinion is that
they’re overpriced.  But if I price mine too low, then no one will want it,
they’ll wonder if something is wrong with it.

And we don’t HAVE to move right now.  We can drag back in the clutter if we
have to.

No matter what, the dumpster will still be a joyous thing, because move or
no move or move a year from now, we’ll still get rid of the junk in our
lives.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at earthlink.net

http://www.polarispublications.com
Be a star!

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years;
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amid the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds.
~Joseph Addison