purge before remodel – seven days and counting

It’s December 26 and time to purge-purge-purge. We are on the seven day count down until the remodel begins. Christmas must be ripped down, two bedrooms must be packed up and two bathrooms must be deconstructed, plus a temporary grooming center setup in the laundry room. This task was daunting, even for me, a classic OCD organizer/purger from way back. How I do love to throw away.

My dad once called me during a garage cleanout. “We’ve got a lot of your old stuff here.”

“Give it to Goodwill,” I declared.

“I think you should take a look at this,” Dad recommended.

He was right. Three old Barbies, an original Empire Strikes Back movie poster and four Star Wars action figures were just the tip of the iceberg. The action figures and movie posters were from a high school career working in Edward’s Movie Theatres, now owned by Regal. As the bids inched up and up and I was getting email questions about Han’s tunic color and “did Luke’s saber telescope?”, I reached out to a bidder and asked him what the big deal was. He told me I had the very first set of plastic promotional Star Wars action figures ever made (in the original packages, never touched). I was informed they were posted in the wrong category and listed incorrectly, but indeed the real deal. The action figures sold on eBay for over $340, no lie. I was hooked on eBay BAD and never looked back.

Photo from Yesterville Post about First Star Wars Action Figures

Madness was driving into the South Coast Plaza area on the day after Christmas. The parking lots were totally full at 10AM with glassy eyed people redeeming gift cards and returning sweaters. We hit The Container Store, CostCo and Lowes in search of all manner of organization items. I was really pleased with an excuse to buy specialty bins and official ornament boxes – after all these years of just making due with green and red bins. We needed clothes racks and new shelving units for the garage to hold the contents of the back of the house and trunks to keep safe sheets and towels for four months. Tarps and painter’s tape were necessary to cover beds, dressers, and everything else to protect them from the dust and grime of a remodel. Frankly CostCo was a ghost town and Lowes about the same. The Container Store did give us a run for the money with its Elfa Sale and gift wrap discount bonanza. 

I was pleased when The Container Store checkout lady recognized my efforts. “Somebody is getting a head start on getting organized for the New Year,” she said smiling as she bagged $184 of organizational essentials.