The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

It’s better to want what you have than to have what you want.

~Ancient proverb

Those are good words to ponder if you’re looking to have a more satisfying life. But they beg one other question: What if you have a lot of stuff you don’t want?

Answer: hold a yard sale.

Last weekend, many of us who live on the South Touchet Road near Dayton took part in the third annual South Touchet Yard Sale.

In our case, we passed the first two years. But as proud owners of a large barn, we felt we were guilty of over-accumulation and so we decided to give it a go this year.

For someone like me, who rarely goes to yard sales and hasn’t held one in more than 20 years, it was a fascinating experience. Here are some observations:

*The sale was scheduled to run Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. We sold a fair amount at the beginning, but our last transaction occurred at about 10:30 Saturday morning. The occupants of the next dozen or so cars that showed up, got out, looked around, smiled and then got back in their cars and drove off. To avoid wasting more of everyone’s time, we shut down before noon.

*People don’t buy beds at yard sales.

*People also don’t know how to park their cars at yard sales. Our narrow driveway is about 50 feet long and opens into a small parking area. It literally looks like a bottleneck, and it was. It was fun to watch though. More than once I had to jump up and direct traffic.

*By the time we were done, I was ready to strangle the next person who said, “Well, I don’t see anything here I can’t live without.” Of course not, you $#%&*, it’s a yard sale!

I have a pile of junk to get rid of, but at the moment, thanks to a recent fire, Dayton doesn’t have an operating dump. So I guess the pile will sit for awhile.

*We made over $200 and I still have my crappy old set of golf clubs, in case I ever get the urge take up the game again. (If anybody wants them, they’re back in the barn and they’re twenty bucks.)

Overall it was a good time. Almost everyone was very friendly, and we got to visit with several people we know who we don’t see very often. And we met some new people as well. On top of that, I ended up with a day-and-a-half of weekend left to get other things done.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, I’m looking forward to my next yard sale – in another 20 years or so.