Saturday, September 18, 2010

How Much Is Enough Stuff?

By Bob Proctor

My older brother, now living in Sacramento, used to be what some might consider a garage sale addict. Every Saturday morning would find him plying the neighborhoods for hidden treasures in the form of others' cast-offs. He always got 'a good deal' and almost everything he acquired found its way to the garage. The garage was FULL.

When he came home one day with an armful of leaflet holders I questioned his buying tactics. He is well known for getting good deals (able bargainer) and, in fact, he had picked up these plastic displays for zero... zip... nada. I figured he had something in mind.

I asked what his intentions were for these plastic advertising displays and he wasn't sure. Maybe they could be useful in advertising his own sale, which was being planned for 'sometime' in the future. That sounded like an idea. It was about time to clear out some of the stuff that had been accumulating where a person should have been able to park a car. After all, it WAS a triple-garage space.

Well, before too much time had passed he met the love of his life and moved out of his house and into hers. She already had all of the furniture and appliances they needed so I was fortunate in having all that left behind for me to use. I also inherited the garage full of garage sale castoffs, which he guaranteed he would deal with as soon as he could.

True to his word the garage was emptied and again useable within a few months. I was even able to get my car parked in there! That may have been the first time that particular car-parking area was used for its intended purpose... vehicle protection.

I appreciated the fact that he saw fit to leave some of his well-maintained clothes in one of the closets, all hung with care on nice wooden hangers. Our being the same size when growing up was always a bonus for me. Both of my brothers provided me with quality 'hand-me-downs'.

I've moved halfway around the world now, from Sacramento to Cebu, and all that stuff's been long left behind. He had to come to the house, of course, and remove everything when it was time for me to go. That's where the two storage lockers come into play. When you've got too much stuff to fit into your house, you might have TOO much stuff! - 40732

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