Aisles and Piles

We all have stuff, junk...whatever you want to call it...that clutters up our houses, cars, basements, garages and lives.

Being the child of an obsessive packrat, who is the child of two insanely obsessive packrats (we're talking the kind of people who pilfered condiments from restaurants at such an impressive pace they never bought a bottle of ketchup, container of salt, or jar of jam in my lifetime), I'm beginning to notice an alarming amount of brick-a-brack in my house.

Cook books and sewing supplies from my grandmother's house seem to grow legs of their own, crawl out of nooks and crannies, and reproduce at unbelievable rates. Clothing I purchased during my junior high years continues to haunt me by not-so-gently pointing out that I used to be thin enough to put my entire body into it without getting arrested for indecent exposure. These days I'm lucky if those old pants fit around my thigh...we won't even delude ourselves into thinking they'd ever in a million years make it around my waist. Unless I sewed a few pairs together to make a skirt...

Okay, One Mom...this has got to stop! Step away from the material chronicles of things (and dress sizes) long ago dead and buried. Or do you want to end up with your extended family at your house for Thanksgiving in 35 years, shaking their heads as you sift through the salt and pepper packets and plastic silverware (fresh from the dish washer - who in their right mind would throw away a perfectly good spork?) to set the table for your feast?
Sorry, folks. That was just my conscience. You'll notice she needs to interject from time to time to help keep me in line.

The point is that I don't want to be a packrat. I really don't care about material things, so why should I continue creating new aisles and piles where I could have usable living space?

I am putting my foot down. No more. The madness ends here.

We found out yesterday that The Tucky is sponsoring a huge village-wide garage sale this weekend and there's no permit fee. What does this mean?

We can empty our basement onto our lawn and have people pay us for the privilege of cleaning up our mess! Anything left at the end of the weekend will either be marketed one more time in our fabulous garage before the end of the season or donated, depending upon the item.

So come one, come all, to the spectacular grand opening of Aisles and Piles - this weekend, August 7th through 9th. Everyone in attendance is encouraged to leave with at least two useless pieces of garbage...I mean, previously undiscovered treasures.