Our Green Relocation - Overture

Who can resist the allure of the parrot poster? It had him at hello.

Countdown! For those of your following this series, we are now officially less than 3 weeks away from our move from NY to Seattle. We have made it our mission to make this move as environmentally friendly as possible. Our first goal has been to reduce as many of our belongings as possible, and while the move is a good impetus for passing on unneeded possessions, the idea of responsible net reduction is one that almost anyone can embrace.

In addition to the usual avenues for reuse - Goodwill, local charities, etc., we have also made it a point to recycle even those hard to deal with items. With the clock ticking towards our departure date, it has become progressively more tempting to dispense with our outmoded possessions at the landfill, but we have been resisting the urge...

Before you deem your unwanted possessions "junk" see if they are treasures for anyone else. Here are a few tips for a successful sale:

• Plan a date when you know people will be around (in our case, this meant the last day of school meetings since we live on a campus)
• Advertise! Send out an email to your friends, those in your community, and/or consider placing an advertisement in a local paper.
• Put up signs. Even if the yard sale has been well-advertised, a little nudge from a sign on the day of the sale, may be just what people need to check it out. And, of course, signs will catch the attention of those passing by.
• Display everything in an attractive and neat manner. You are less likely to buy items in a store when everything is in a heap - the same goes for a yard sale.
• Be prepared to haggle...but not too much. Of course, there are always those looking for a deal - hold your ground with prices only if something has significant value. Otherwise, the point of a sale like this is to rid yourself of excess possessions, so let them go!

Our moving sale was hugely successful - obviously it doesn't hurt to have a feline sales(person?)!

Slacking again? Back to work!

We sold about 2/3 of our "inventory" and all of our big ticket furniture items.

Net reduction strikes again, and with three weeks to go before the move, we continue to avoid relegating anything to the landfill.

To see if our quest to avoid the dumpster is successful, stay tuned for the next installment...

In the meantime, isn't it a beautiful weekend for a yard sale?