The last two weeks have been quite the battle. Trail and Hitch vs all of Trail and Hitch’s stuff. So far the stuff has been losing the fight.

Week one was a lot of identifying what we keep and organizing everything else for sale, culminating with a family and friends estate sale. This worked out well. It was great to see some nostalgic items go to folks we really care about and also great to see friends get some good bargains on some of our shinier possessions.

Week two was prepping for a public estate sale. This meant more direct pricing on items and a wider range of stuff on prominent display. I was hoping for swarms of bargain hungry shoppers but despite good weather we didn’t have that many shoppers. I met some great people and also had to put up with some pretty annoying ones. We did sell a lot but we actually made more money and had way more fun with friends and family shopping than the general public.

Week three is where the real sweating starts. Lots of trips to good will for the remaining items, lots more to the dump to clean out all the stuff you just can’t sell or even donate. Half price books took the rest of our printed material and there rest of the furniture goes up on classifieds. This is also when the clearing, painting, fixing and cleaning begin in earnest.

We are now in the early stages of week four and this place is getting close to empty. Downstairs is barren and only the computer den looks anything like a normal living space. Most of the house has been re-painted or repaired and there is a stack of donation slips on my desk for next year’s taxes. The end of this battle is in sight.

Today however the stuff struck back and my normally iffy back finally told me it had had enough. Jumping down from the somewhat precarious heights of my truck bed tweaked the long suffering lumbar and left me walking a bit funny. I retreated to the mall for a pedicure…. That’s right a pedicure. You see it’s pretty cheap and they have these massage chairs and the whole thing is very relaxing. Now I’m in my back mending gravity chair slathered in Icy Hot and sporting glittering toenails. Fabulous!

Hopefully all this pampering will get the muscles relaxed enough I can get up and make more stuff vanish. By Friday we should effectively be camping inside our home with all our remaining worldly possessions stacked in the garage for easy transport. Honestly this isn’t home any more, it’s a work sight, just a cocoon ready to open up and spit out new Trail and Hitch butterflies.