So y’all know about my garage sale compulsion.  Yesterday I had a garage sale of my own!  It was very exciting.  The moment the bright pink signs went up, I had trucks following me home.  Funny thing, whenever I sell my personal belongings, I’m reminded of selling homes.  I sold some stuff at Park ‘n’ Swap a while back, I don’t think I shared about that experience because I didn’t have hardly anything positive to say.

Anyways.  I was kind of a p.i.t.a. (pain in the a$$) seller.  There were too many things that I had too much emotional attachment to.  Like half the stuff in the driveway.  I felt guilty (ugh. mom guilt.) about getting rid of some of the kids toys, even though they totally have too many.  So if people weren’t willing to pay close to my asking price, I just looked at them like, take it or leave it, whatever, I’ll just put it back in my kids’ rooms.  Even though I confess my kids are pretty rough on toys and I probably should have discounted my prices.  And I don’t want to move the things in the driveway, I had committed to selling them (duh, I put them in the freaking driveway), and my kids are about to get way better things for Christmas.  See where I’m going?

I think some home sellers might sometimes be the same way.  You have this thing you are definitely emotionally attached to.  How could you not be?  It’s the place where your kids came home from the hospital when they were born, the place where you entertained friends and family, what could be more personal and emotional than your home?  One day you commit to selling it for whatever reason – you need somewhere bigger/ smaller, you can’t afford the payments, job relocation, whatever.  And you know that selling your house is the right decision.  But then a buyer comes along, offers less, and it is so tempting to just say, “well, then I just won’t move!”

As someone is standing there, offering you less than what you had hoped to get, it’s very hard to remember why you are selling in the first place.  Yesterday I had to stay focused on the reasons those things were offered for sale.  At the end of the morning, I was thrilled to have achieved my sales goal and I have less stuff that we don’t need.  It’s kind of liberating and exciting.  Fingers crossed the kids don’t ask me where all the Fisher Price Little People went!