The Great Stuff Purge, Part 3: Garage Sale

Before dewinterizing Clark this past weekend, we held a last-minute garage sale in an attempt to get rid of as much of our stuff as possible. Although many full-time RVers put at least some of their belongings in storage, we want to avoid that. First, we don't want to spend any of our money on a storage unit (cash is going to be kind of tight, and we'll need it for essentials), and second, we don't want to be burdened by things. We plan to keep and carry only what we really need. We want to feel light.

Our decision to have a garage sale was pretty last minute - less than 72 hours beforehand. We batch-mailed about 300 people from my workplace, stuck a sign at the end of our road, and crossed our fingers that someone would show up. (Did I mention that we've never had a garage sale before and had no idea what we were doing?)

Then we rushed around dusting and sticking price tags on everything.

Thankfully, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. We got up early, moved Clark, and started setting up shop in our driveway. Sam totally stepped up to the plate: he was out there from the get go, helping to move things around and organize our wares in an aesthetically-pleasing fashion (neither Trent nor I have ANY. style). We were really proud of him.

The sale was supposed to start at 9 AM, but the first people showed up around 8:40. I guess that's the thing about shopping garage sales: you only get the good stuff if you get there first. We didn't think about that and were still trying to shove our couch out the front door when our first buyers came through.

All in all, it was a huge success. We sold our couch, a TV stand, a desk, our kitchen table and chairs, mirrors, picture frames, glassware, mixing bowls, kitchen gear, toys, a bajillion Hot Wheels cars, and even an old litter box. 

Whew.

This is what our house looks like now: an open space covered in random bits and kibbles.

One thing that's surprised us is how well Sam's adjusting to this change. We expect that at some point it will catch up with him, and we're (sort of) prepared for the fallout. I mean, his life is definitely going to be upended for a while. But he seems super excited about life on the road, unconventional schooling, visiting relatives and friends across the country, and hanging out in his bunk. So at least at the moment, he's happy to give up some of his things in exchange for an adventure.