The biblical saying goes “Give and you shall receive”. I’d always heard it but never considered the consequences when cleaning out my home. There was that one time that I gave away a lot of books and then won some brand new cookbooks in a raffle drawing. I thought, wow that’s nice! It was kind of like a reward for giving all that stuff away. Well, it happened again but this time the consequences ended up being more like a curse. It seems the more I give away, the more comes back at me. Yes, I should be thankful but it’s hard when I can’t walk through my house again.
The Innocence of a Rummage Sale
Here’s what happened. It all started out so innocently. As most of you know, I’ve given away thousands of things over the last couple of years. Things were going really well. Little messes and piles of clutter here and there but for the most part, it was under control (well, except for the storage room but that’s another story!) One day I was sitting here kind of bored and I thought, I feel like going to a rummage sale today to find a few things to sell. It’s something that I enjoy doing. I like the challenge of seeing if I can double my money. It’s just fun to me. I spent $20 and doubled my money. Everything was great. I was monitoring myself okay making sure it didn’t get out of control. If things didn’t sell within a few weeks, I got rid of them right away.
But the sales are so exciting!
One day, I was particularly excited about something that I had found at a rummage sale. It was a steam cleaner for $5.00 that I was pretty sure I could sell for close to $50. It was so fun that it got me telling a friend about what I was doing. She asked if she could come to a few rummages with me. I said sure. And from there a monster was born. She liked my idea so much that she decided this was going to be her new job but with a twist and I was going to go along for the ride. Like my free table idea, she wanted to start a business but with donating to charities that need stuff as the main focus to keep it in the community. She doesn’t work outside her home so she has the time to call up the different places to find out their greatest needs.
The Clutter Monster Returns with a Vengeance
From there, stuff started rolling in. We donated almost everything. We’d pull out a few things here and there to sell but with the amount of stuff there was, most of it had to go. I don’t have that much time for selling things. Then there were the few things that I thought I could really use and let’s not forget the wow I’ve always wanted one of these things that would come in. It just seemed like a few things here and there but those few things suddenly took up an entire couch and then the floor and then half of the other couch until there was no place for anyone to sit. Even my desk is half buried as I type.
Free Tables Help A LOT! Or Do They?
Yesterday, I set up another free table. I filled it full and thankfully there were only a few things left when I got home but the entire arena at the barn is still full. I’ll be doing more free tables and the Salvation Army is coming to pick up what’s left in about 2 weeks but the amount of things is ridiculous. As I set up the free table, all I could think was…. what if I give this all away and it comes back ten-fold? How do I stop this curse? If I sell it first and then give away the money, would that come back ten-fold instead of the stuff? It would definitely take up less space in my house!!
Sometimes, it leaves me wondering. Is the saying “Give and you shall receive” a promise or a threat? I will keep giving away as much as I can. Hopefully my givings are a blessing to someone else.
Haha!! Keep on giving tho, hopefully soon the return will be something you need!