junking
The last few weeks have been very busy for me. The estate side of my company has had three huge events since the middle of February. And although I really need to have the next estate event “in the pipeline” right now, frankly I am in need of a little break. My main helper, Kay, and I have busily tagged, bagged and sold so many items over the last few months I haven’t been able to get out and do much buying myself for my own inventory. And a true junker has to have that fix…we need to get out and visit with our friends we see at all the yard sales, pop into our favorite haunts and honey holes and put down some change for those little treasures and trinkets that turn up in the most unexpected places. The real junker lives for the journey, not the purchase itself….the art of finding junk is the very best part of what we do. Selling junk we find, for the thrift business owner, is just a stepping stone, not the whole path.
This last weekend I didn’t have any family events, no estate sales to conduct, nothing to keep me from my “fix”. I mapped out my list and headed to two subdivision sales and several small individual sales about 7 a.m. The whole back end of the Montero was full to the gills when I returned home, and I felt like I finally breathed for the first time in several weeks. New inventory was just a small part of the lift in my spirits…it was about getting bits and pieces of things I could sell or recycle into new projects. I felt a purpose in my future….I could already see where I was going with everything that was in my car. It gave me my next stepping stones in the thrift business and a much-needed refreshing in my being.
For me, the whole idea of thrifting is multifaceted. It is about recycling, living a “green” life, preserving the pieces and whispers of the past, along with a myriad of other wonderful things. Sometimes items I purchase are made into new items to sell. Many times I add a little of this, slap on a dab of that, and I have a new eclectic piece of wall art, or a table made from a portion of old farm equipment. It’s exciting and just a bit awesome to end up with an old thing made into something totally new with just a little time and effort.
As a Christian, the thrift mentality takes on whole new meaning. It’s my calling to be resourceful and a good steward of the finances and material possessions God has given me. When I was in my early twenties, I had virtually no money to spend on anything but the cast offs and yard sale finds when starting my home and ultimately beginning a family. But I took those cast off finds, and I molded and made them into something “new”…and my friends and family thought it was amazing when they saw my child looking like Saks Fifth Avenue and my home decorated with stunning items that were purchased at garage sales and flea markets. And I began to shift in my mindset…no longer was I sad that I was unable to purchase new items like all my friends. I was able to purchase BETTER items than my friends, for less money, and the “thrift” lifestyle became BETTER than the old life of purchasing too little for too much.
I recently read something that said exactly how I see thrifting in my own life. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the author’s name on this piece, but it is very humbling for the Christian to read:
“There’s something about the idea of recycling that speaks to me as a Christian. That’s the underlying theme of the whole strip. It’s not just about recycling clothes, it’s about giving people a second chance, too. The thrift store takes cast-off goods that are about to be thrown onto the trash heap. They’re rescued, cleaned up and made useful again. And that’s what being a Christian is all about, how a person can be redeemed, made new again, through God.”
Along with the estate company I currently own, I have been the proud owner of a cleaning company for the last 11 years. I have learned much about people, idiosyncracies, wants, desires, and needs while getting them cleaned up. But in the last two years, I have felt a move toward a different calling and through a chain of events opened the estate side of the company. Although I do make only part of my income in this section of the company, as time goes on, this is where I feel the most reward and the most comfort personally. Slowly, I have been coming to the realization that maybe this is my next stepping stone in the path the Lord has for me. In looking at the path the Lord takes each Christian down in his life walk with Him, it’s an interesting parallel. He finds the sinner, He saves him, He cleans him up, He makes him useful again, and the sinner saved by grace becomes a part of something “new”. Maybe it is time, in my own life, for something “new”…
As a cleaning company owner, I have been “cleaning them up” for years, but this has only been one stepping stone for me in my own path. Maybe, just maybe, it is time for the next step, my “second chance”…maybe it’s time to rescue, recycle, and make something brand new out of my own life. I learned a long time ago, when you see a path appear, take it…it might lead to something BETTER.
Interesting….life, that is. When you think you have it figured out, it throws you a curve ball…and sometimes it feels like an anvil. The last year of owning a cleaning business has had many ups and downs. Our industry has been one of the hardest hit for many years as customers’ wallets started closing and they scaled back due to the economy and having to tighten their own purse strings. Somehow my own company, until this year, had escaped the scenarios of many of my colleagues. Our business was strong, we were turning business away much of the time because we couldn’t handle some of it. We referred to some of our local “competitors” that have the same standards we do. It was about getting the customer serviced and happy. It also helped keep the money in the local economy and my struggling competitors solvent in many cases. Then…something shifted….
In the last 12 months, the steady flow just cut off like a faucet…running full blast, then not even a drip.We beefed up the marketing, we attended more meetings and sent out more press releases, but to no avail. After almost 6 months of struggling to maintain the status quo, I came to the realization that our company was going through what others had much earlier, and it was not going to get better, no matter how many doors we knocked on or how many neighborhoods we canvassed putting out information. People in our area were frightened. News of “recession” coming out of Washington and foreclosure signs going up next door to them made for emotional responses, and unfortunately the cleaning lady is the easy place to start the budget cuts when you are afraid you may lose your home or vocation.
There was a while when the business was falling off that I was afraid too. Funny, I have been through so many years of so many situations, both personally and professionally, but was caught off guard with this one. I (mistakenly) thought that our company was so good at what we did and customers were so happy with our services that we would escape the huge cutbacks people were forced to make for survival. They had so far hadn’t they, even when many other cleaning companies had closed their doors long before…
We had to make a shift in the internal finances, yes, but more than that a shift had to take place in the very DNA of our company. I had come to the realization of this, but didn’t really know what changes to make and one day something fell out of the sky like manna. A former cleaning customer had her mom’s home they were getting ready for the market. She needed someone to clean it out, and get it ready to sell. This happened about 6 months ago, and today I am this side of several estate clean outs and selling vintage items online, at estate sales and yard sales. The income it has produced has been modest, but has kept the cleaning side of my company afloat, at least for now.
I have been a “junkin’ junkie” since I was a teenager. My only child, Samantha, was given toys for Christmas and birthdays and was dressed from yard sales and always looked like she had walked out of a band box. There is something thrilling, even now, about finding a treasure for a few cents that you can enjoy for a while, then sell for much more than you paid for it. After the first yard sale, “Got Junk In Our Trunk” was born. As a professional organizer by trade (this is how the whole cleaning business began) I knew I could set up estate sales, conduct them efficiently and have a great time helping others disperse of their unwanted items. Many people that I have purchased items from myself have had to sell due to their own financial situation, so I knew although it was a hard choice for them to make, my purchasing was helping them do what they needed to survive a lean time. I also knew that this was something that had always brought me great joy…there is nothing like getting out at 6 a.m. on a Friday or Saturday morning when the air is still cool and crisp, chatting with folks at the sales like they are old friends, running into the same junkin’ buddies that go to sales each week, and then coming back and looking up the treasures, researching and getting things ready to sell. Yard sales are one of the last remaining true community activities, and it is an extra bonus that I am able to make money from the things I find.
I also have always been what I have affectionately dubbed a “Trash Dash” queen. I love driving down the road and coming upon something that is trash to someone, that I turn into a treasure for myself or my family. But, I have upped that activity as well, and go through the neighborhoods several times a week seeing what can be re-purposed and cleaned up and sold, and have had many great sales from these items. I even redecorated my home office with practically all free stuff!
One thing I did learn through all this that I hope I never forget. No matter what is going on around you, you must stay focused and sure of your own special great outcome. Sometimes it takes crawling through a fire on your belly, but you can get through anything with concentration and determination if you don’t give up.You just gotta evaluate after some consideration, but more importantly don’t waste time floundering…just get out there and get the thing going in a new and exciting direction!
In school we had fire drills once a month and their words to us will be the inspiration for me the next time I face a crisis…”Stop, drop, and roll”. If it’s not working, stop it. If it’s not helping you in your life path, drop it. If it is not moving forward the way you are going, then it’s time to roll with it, baby….and head to your new adventure. 🙂