Making Freedom

Garage-Saling: Changing Old Habits the Easy Way

2011-04-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

Open heart surgery when three changed my path. Facing death turned me to Jesus, and knowing life could end at any moment, I chose at a young age to live for the moment and in the moment-always. But that wasn’t such a positive as I grew. Out of that formative experience I became a procrastinator. Procrastination worked for me- I was smart,I didn’t worry, and the extra push of self-inflicted urgency sharpened my thoughts and actions. Even after I had kids, I would do something unplanned, on the spur of the moment, rather than plan for tomorrow. I loved the sense of control (yes, control) this gave me. My childhood still ran free within my veins, and life’s stricter teachers had only made me burrow further into the habits of my youth- the youth I had really never had, I now realize.

Once I met instructor garage-saling, that all changed. Initially I just went to be with a lovely friend. He called me up early- 6:00 am on a Saturday morning and insisted we meet by seven. Bleary eyed, hair aloft and in my Saturday grubbies, I pulled up at seven, after dragging my daughters out of bed, and we loaded into the van. We stopped at 7-11, grabbing a newspaper. Then we started prioritizing. Prioritizing???!!!

Well, it turns out that in the world of garage saling, as in any good hobby or career, there is lingo that must be interpreted correctly for you to have the edge on the competition, or, in my case, at least survive. In this world, you want to fall forward fast…but it’s better to know what you’re doing. Moving sales, estate sales, type of items listed, area, all of these have various meanings, are different grades depending on what you’re looking for, and all were considered while making the simple decision of where to start, and, later, the full itinerary for the trip. Also, in garage saling, it is standard operating procedure to be an hour early (for the early bird specials), otherwise all the really wonderful deals are gone. Not that we were going to be that early this morning. And with gas prices rising, good deals are key to making garage saling price-effective. I wouldn’t waste a morning’s worth of gas without finding at least several great deals saving me at least $50.

My friend drove fast, looking for signs, fearful we would be late and miss the good deals. I learned quickly that to know what you need and want, including items ranging from underwear, bed frames, toys and games, electronics, and toiletries as well as kitchen items, and to be aware of future wants and needs, is most important for efficient and effective garage saling. I eventually learned to scan items I had no idea of their use for future potential needs. This forced me to consider my plans for the future- where I would be living, what I might be doing, and what kind of activities I thought I would do and would not do. You also need to be aware of what others around you need and want, so you can find and store the gifts. And if you don’t know what you want, and you hesitate, someone walks off with what you wanted, and you are truly aware that you will need to wait for another day, another garage sale, and that you may never be able again to find that particular item at that particular price.

But mostly, you have to be careful about what you buy. It is a true lesson, when after arriving home with a car load of necessary new-found items, with a new wardrobe for all of next year that only cost $10, that you find that you have no spare room for any more items. In my case, after lugging a new $500 air conditioner bought for only $40 up two flights of stairs into my 600 square foot apartment, it is discouraging to find not a spare inch of wall space for its home. So I have learned to part with, give away, sometimes smilingly, often tearfully, countless things I thought I was in love with and would be forever. After buying three bread makers, I found that I have no need for them and that they are a waste of counter, now replaced by a commercial blender, a toaster oven. I found items I never imagined existed. I was able to peek into the lifestyles of people more organized than I, richer than I, and was able to find ways to save time and money on everyday chores. A $.25 bag storer saved me a cupboard of space where I had previously stored plastic shopping bags for future use.

Endless possibilities for re-use exist. I now shop for Christmas cards, wrapping paper, gifts and boxes months in advance, laughing all the way. My house smells better than ever with $.50 candles. I donate to Goodwill, am more aware of my community, my girls have learned to find a great deal, spend their money well, and save for the future, as well as anticipate their own needs and negotiate prices.

As for me: I no longer procrastinate. I have learned the value of anticipation. Not expectation- you learn to lose that when garage saling…you never know what you’re going to get or when you’re going to get it. But anticipation means that when you see what you want, you’ll grab it, carry it off, negotiate for it, and find a space for it in your life- often after learning the grace of waiting with hope.

"Oh, Mom!!" Two of the Sweetest Words in the World

2011-03-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

You’re probably familiar with moans, groans, and icy stares from your kids. My mother had the best glare ever- she could silence me and my siblings with just one cold glance. I was never able to achieve her glare- my kids laugh when I try my best glare on them because it’s more like ice cream than ice.

But my heart always lifts when I hear these words wailed, along with a groan. “Oh, mom”!!! To me this exclamation is an affirmation of everything motherly, everything womanly, everything parental. It means I’m insisting they go to the doctor and face dreaded shots- something they don’t want to do but will go along with because they know I’ll pick them up and carry them out the door screaming if they don’t. It means that I have done something they consider to be going too far- interfering in their lives as only a mother can. It means they know I’ll sit with them through the worst pain, spend hours running a lice comb through their hair, and at the end they’ll know that I gave- what a mother does. It means that I’ll touch their pain in order to find a solution- the right solution. And that I choose to do so with love, even when I’m sometimes grumpy about it, although I try my best to smile.

I hear “Oh mom”!!! when I suggest how to interact with a friend in a more pleasant way. “Oh Mom”!! is the bond between mother and daughter, strengthened by far since I became a single mom. It is the embarrassment for my fifth-grade daughter when I insist she brush her hair on the way out of the car when I drop her off for school, and when I still kiss her on the cheek in public.

I remember how I didn’t want help from my mother when I was younger. Separating from her and asserting my independence was so important to me, I didn’t stop to think how it felt to her to have to stop helping me. But now I know. Although I know that this separation is healthy, natural, and am getting used to it, I still can hear the infant voice crying when I hear “Oh Mom”!! and know I am still needed. And for now, that is quite enough.

Cinnamon

2011-02-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

As a child, eating before school was a bucket heavy to carry. Textures of yogurt and cereal failed to inspire my taste buds early in the morning before my appetite had awoken.   Except for three things: oatmeal, french toast, and cinnamon toast- the goodness and hominess of sugar and cinnamon in all three wafted temptingly by and titillated my soul. And filled my stomach as well.   And boy, I stayed skinny despite after school snacks of ice cream, cheese, and Gatorade inspired by daily doubles in soccer and growing pains.

But, lost in the shuffle of girls to school, diets, and a learned aversion to sugar as an adult, I didn't miss my cinnamon and sugar until a friend called me the other day.   Knowing about my desire to lose weight due to cysts, he told me that he had heard that a study said that you could lose weight by eating cinnamon.   That cinnamon could up your metabolism by as much as 20 times and burn off the stubborn fat on your stomach.   ALL WITHOUT CHANGING YOUR DIET!!!

Cinnamon? Impossible!!!   It must be a fad, I thought, and tried to write off this absurd idea.

However, I couldn't stop myself from thinking back to those days when the fat flew off my bones as a child, and remembering the copious amounts of cinnamon heaped on my oatmeal, drenched on my french toast, and the bite and sweetness of cinnamon toast, I decided to try this fad.   What could it hurt, I thought.   At least I know it won't hurt me- and it doesn't taste awful.

So I tried it- pills of it (you are supposed to take a lot, and I'm simply taking the recommended daily dose on the bottle of 500 mg pills)- and, miracle of miracles, it appears to be working.   My stomach is flatter, without changing my diet at all.   The only problem seems to be that I have to eat more, and when I take the cinnamon I get a full, warm feeling.

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