Spring... err... Summer Cleaning

As I have mentioned before, I am definitely a pack rat, New Year's resolutions not withstanding. I still have boxes that haven't been unpacked since my move from Oregon to Maryland... and that was in 1993! There are so many boxes and various supplies for home improvement projects (some long completed, some never started, and many in some state of limbo) that we haven't been able to park in our garage for years.

And things have just gotten worse since I have become a parent. My kids are 3 and almost 5, but I still have most of their old infant and toddler-aged toys lying around, along with a lot of their old clothes. Then there are all the various arts and crafts supplies I've collected for the kids. And the arts and crafts they've actually made. And it goes on and on.

Anyway, last month my wife and I decided we really needed to do a spring... err... summer cleaning and figured if we planned a yard sale it would help motivate us to clear things out. The big sale was this past Saturday. We woke up early (albeit a bit groggily, since we stayed up to the wee hours sorting and tagging items for sale.... nothing like being a procrastinator as well as a pack rat) and started hauling tables and boxes out into the front yard and driveway about 7:00am. The kids got out of bed a short while later and joined us outside. We setup a little table for them so they could eat breakfast while we worked. They really got into the spirit of things, and even helped us make signs (that's a sample of our daughter's handiwork above). It didn't take long for neighbors and passers-by to notice and stop to peruse our wares.

It was a fun, if tiring, day. We spent the whole day outdoors together drinking lemonade, talking, playing and working the sale. And we got rid of a ton of stuff too! We may even be able to park in the garage soon! The only problem with having the kids there was that they would occasionally see a toy they didn't want to part with even if they hadn't played with it for months or years. Hmm... I better watch that, we may be raising another generation of pack rats.