Excavating my barn

[human]

So I have this storage/workshop sort of building in my back yard that I affectionately call the barn. A couple of years ago, I got it all straightened up and organized--just in time for my parents to move to a retirement community and my Dad to send a large portion of his toy collection (vintage electric trains, toy cars, etc.) up here so I could sell it on eBay and keep the proceeds (workin' for my inheritance). Last summer, my mom and sister sent me another moving van load of this stuff, which filled most of a 10'x20' rented storage unit. I've finally come to accept that I'm not going to be getting out from under the storage unit in the foreseeable future, so the most logical course of action is to make the best possible use of it. There was some open space at the front of the unit, so I decided that since I have Dad's van up here to sell for Mom (Dad passed away in February), I should make some use of it while I have it and move some stuff from my barn to the storage unit so I can eventually reclaim my living room and move my eBay operation entirely to the barn (at least once the weather cools off). Two van loads later and I'm exhausted but I can walk further into my barn than I've been able to in two years. I can also see a corner where some of my less favorite vacuum cleaners are stored--the Filter Queen Majestic, the Electrolux Discovery Plus, and two wet/dry shop vacs. The next step is to re-arrange what's in there so I can make better use of the space--and to list a bunch of that crap on eBay so I can get it out of the barn and out of my life. It reminds me of an observation made by the late George Carlin that all your crap is "stuff" and everybody else's stuff is "crap".

 

[madman]

Sorry to hear about your dad.

It sounds like quite a job. I know when you have a massive amount of stuff packed in one place, getting rid of it, or moving it, or even just sorting it can be a monumental task, and it can get really overwhelming. Keep picking away at it, it's like a glacier moving... or something else that takes a lot of small work but eventually does something huge and I can't think of a second metaphor for that, so there you go.

 

[human]

Yeah, it's a massive undertaking for sure. Moving all that stuff got me overwhelmed all over again. But then I looked at my eBay seller stats and saw all the money I'd brought in with what I'd sold so far and I realized I've got a pretty good side hustle going. It can be slow at times but after a while, it adds up.

 

[suckolux]

Sounds like you have it organized Edgar, as I would figure you would. Good luck

 

[huskyvacs]

I'm in your exact same shoes with the large excess of junk and the eBay selling and all that. I was doing really good in 2011-2013 and was clearing $200+ a month, but it's dropped off since and it killed my motivitation to do it. But it's gotten to where I have to sift through the stuff and list it, whether I make anything on it or not. The rejects that do not sell after a month, get donated to Salvation Army.

I have a two car garage and I'm going to get a car this year hopefully, so I need a place to park it at. Just trying to find time to do so.

Just make a steady pace and it will get done, don't try and think of it all at once. List maybe a box a week or something like that. That's what I try and do. Easier to just picture a small box and focus on that, rather than an entire garage and get overwhelmed mentally.

 

[human]

That's what I'm doing. At a minimum, I need to clear $165 a month to stay ahead of the storage unit rent. On average, I'm able to do that pretty handily, but some months' margins are slimmer than others.