I have spent the last couple of weeks making piles of things to go to Goodwill, the dump, for a future garage sale, and to be sold on Ebay or Craigslist.

One side of the garage is full of dump stuff. I sold my first eight miscellaneous household goods on Ebay and have another five up for auction now. These are things like a fancy coffee grinder, vintage cookbooks, a stovetop espresso machine, etc. I’m pretty pleased with how the selling has gone so far. I even have someone coming by on Friday about a chair and ottoman I posted on Craigslist. I plan on keeping the money separate from our regular money so we can see how we do overall.

The most worrisome chore that I have had on my mind is our books. We have a lot of books…I’m not sure how many but probably at least a thousand. Quite a few are first editions, and some have significant value.

I downloaded “turbolister” software from Ebay and have spent the last few days getting a plan together for how to manage selling them. It is a time consuming project but I think it will probably make for the best return I can hope for. I have thirty-five set to go up for auction this weekend…I am excited to see how they do.

I think I have learned my lesson for good – that accumulating stuff is a terrible disease!

-Nancy

I think the success of any endeavor is determined to a large extent by the attitude of the person undertaking it. One needs to proceed with a positive attitude and high expectations of success.

For a project as big as picking our lives up and moving them to Mexico, this is especially important. The potential for difficulties here and there is high. The way to not get bogged down is to maintain awareness that the outcome will be good, and we can do it.

I am working on my mental story about the move. The story is one of adventure, challenges overcome, and a new life in a warm, friendly place with new friends and neighbors. A life with little stress. This is the story that we will bring to life.

Hasta Luego,
Paul