Out With the Old

The one year anniversary of living in our Denver home is coming up on July 31st. It has taken a full year but the house is finally getting decorated and it’s exciting to know that things will come together very soon. What sucks is now that the new furnishings are coming in, I’m faced with having to let go of stuff that we’ve had for awhile. You’d think I would be itching to get rid of things.

First of all, I had an internal battle with myself about selling the furnishings that we don’t need anymore for two reasons: 1. I am cheap and 2. because I think I thought it would make me feel less sentimental in letting go items; like a business transaction. For example, we have had the dining room set since we got married in 2003. The dining set has been thru so much with our family and I kept thinking it’s worth keeping but have been told several times, it’s not. So I thought, maybe if I sell the table with the chairs for a total of $200-300, someone who really wants it would buy it for a great price and I would feel good that I got some money back.

Back in May 2017 I wrote a post called Charitable Thoughtfulness. Reading the post again and my visit to A Precious Child, an organization that relies heavily on donations, reinforced what I’ve known for years - donating is thoughtful. Not to mention, donating is less stressful and less time consuming than selling items. Let’s talk about thoughtful. I remember the kids’ former piano teacher quoting her father saying, “If I can afford to buy a new coat, I can afford to give the old one away.” The piano teacher’s father was referring to garage sales and how he didn’t believe in them. That resonated with me for years and it would deter me from selling things online most of the time. Donating, even though we don’t know the people who will get our donations, is the same as giving thoughtful pinches. When we give from our excess it is not supposed to be some noble or special gesture, it’s a gift. A donation is a gift that benefits those in need. Somehow I lost track of the thoughtfulness aspect of donating and was only thinking of my bank account that needed to be justified in my imagination with money that I’d get back from my original purchases. As for less stressful and less time consuming - I love scrolling thru some of the sites and seeing people really going for used items on sale and scoring great finds. It’s a win-win and I love win-wins. Dealing with online selling is wonderful for some things and for some people who have the energy and time to do it. However, the key words in selling things are: energy and time. At this very point in my life, I don’t have much of either.

The other reason that I contemplated selling my furnishings versus donating them is because organizations like Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver charges a fee to pick up the items. At first I balked at the cost to pick up my items. After many days of thinking about it, I realized that Habitat for Humanity teams up with Re-Supply and they use a third party to pick up the furnishings. They will ethically dispose of items that they will not sell and then sell what is acceptable. The money from the sales is then used for the projects that HH does around the Denver Metro. On the website, they even spell out that the cost for them to pick up the items will be less expensive than any of the junk removal companies. I’m not sure why it took so long for me to register that paying a company to do good things is always a good investment. I finally got off my high horse of thinking, “I’m already giving you good stuff why do I need to pay for you to take it?"

Speaking of high horse, when I re-read my post Charitable Thoughtfulness, it reminded me that I needed to spread the word and create some awareness about an important rule of thumb for donating. Whether it is clothes or furnishings etc. that we’re giving away we need to think about this: if I wouldn’t wrap it in a box to re-gift it to someone, even a stranger, then it’s not a thoughtful pinch worth giving. I have to remember to toss it in the trash and save the dignity, time and effort of these organizations who are trying to do good for others.

Circling back to decorating my house with new furnishings, for most, the saying, “Out with the old and in with the new.” is a positive thought. I should be like, “Finally, I’ve had these dining room chairs since 2003!” But instead, I am thinking of excess waste and the carbon footprints I’m leaving behind by getting rid of a perfectly functional and btw, nice dining room set only because it’s not current, trendy or it doesn’t fit the look. It took awhile but I made the decision to donate and instead of worrying about environmental issues and saving the planet, I‘ve decided to say two prayers when they come to pick up my items. One prayer will be to say thank you for serving us well and the other prayer will be to wish the new owners goodness as they use it for their home. If for some reason the furnishings need to be dumped, I am glad, for Mother Nature’s sake, that the company I am hiring will do so ethically.

To further make myself feel better for giving away our things, I could think:

These end tables were from the baby furniture section at Target and they didn’t cost much. They can help another family with storage and it’s a great table for smaller spaces.

These two chairs were from my hub’s first condo in Fort Lauderdale which came furnished. So I didn’t even pick these chairs out. They’ve been altered to take the wood arms off each side, they’ve been re-upholstered and slipcovers have been on them for years. Lots of work that served many purposes but we don’t use these chairs anymore.

These chests of drawers were some of my first purchases in our second condo in FL. They didn’t cost a lot because I got them at a wholesale furniture store. The Tommy Bahama look had no space in our MN house nor does it in our Denver house so it’s time for someone to use these for storage.

Last year’s Thanksgiving set up. The dining room table and chairs were bought with money that we received from our wedding and it was the one set we could afford from a place that I always wanted to buy something from - the Z Gallery. It was probably affordable because it was trendy and since I didn’t know better, I bought it. I’d say this table has been out of style for over 15 years but it served us and now I hope it will serve someone else.

Saying goodbye to this couch will be my hardest. Too much emotion for one piece of furniture. However, not only is it broken thanks to the movers on our move to Denver, but there is no space for it anymore. We were going to put it in my daughter’s room just to save it but it wasn’t meant to be. Since it is broken and it would cost a lot to fix, it’s time to actually throw it away. Thank you couch for almost 22 years of service.

I am bummed about donating all these pieces and not just because I am a hoarder or I’m trying to hold onto memories or do what’s right for the environment. But also, because something inside me wanted to prove that new doesn’t necessarily mean better. Or even deeper, I wanted to make a point that just because we have more money doesn’t mean we have to buy all new things. So for me, it’s harder than just - out with the old and in with the new.

I know the house will be great in a matter of weeks and this post will be a “why-did-I-ever-think-that-way?” moment in my life. But for now, I am coming to terms with it. Thanks for listening!

Pinches,

Barb