I was one of the very few lucky ones that did not loose power during Hurricane Irma.  That being said, we are usually the first to loose power and the last to get it restored.  Sometimes it’s as if we are on a tiny island in Polk County.  Just across a railroad crossing (no power lines) and right in back of an elementary school.  They’ll restore power to the school but go any further for just one home?  Nah, it’s just one house, we’ll come back later.

We’re at 7 days post-Irma and I still have some friends with no power.  I know the power companies are working as hard as they can to get power restored but sometimes it just doesn’t seem to make any sense as to why one building has power and the one next it does not.

For those that did evacuate or let’s just say went to a friend or family member’s home what did you take?  Your pets?  Food and water for course.  Books and games to keep your mind occupied while waiting for electricity to be restored.  But what if you really had to evacuate due to storm surge or flooding.  Did you consider what you would take if you could only fit your most loved possessions in your car.  And you are not the only one in your car.  Maybe you have your spouse and kids to include as well.  I know what I would take.  Photo albums for sure.   Maybe my hard drive because I have about 1000 photos on it.  Then we  have a box with important papers such as car titles, etc.   Just about everything else can be replaced.  Sure there are things that I would be very sad about loosing but most things are just that…….. things, objects, stuff.  Kind of makes you put your priorities in order doesn’t it?

Another thing I noticed post-Irma was the flexibility in people.  We are a very demanding population with the attention span of a goldfish.  I saw people just kind of shrug their shoulders when there was no bread on the shelves.  Go with their second or third choice of an item if their first choice was out.  People willing to wait for gasoline.  People sharing their homes, their food, their generators.  Too bad it takes a something bad to bring out the good side of us.

Now we just need to work on those 4-way stops at intersections that do not have signals working!

I love antiques.  I love vintage things too but not as much as the old stuff.  You just can’t find the quality and craftsmanship today as the heart and soul poured into a piece of furniture made 100 years ago.  So when my mother-in-law wanted to get rid of her grandmother’s Duncan Phyfe couch, love seat and chair I quickly said I would take it.  It was all in pretty rough shape.  Rats had built a home in the love seat, the chair had no cushion, all three pieces had seen better days.  Sad to say they went from a formal sitting room to a warehouse to my shed where they stayed for years.   I tried my best to make the space under and on top of them useful but they really were just taking up space.  The couch actually  got some stage time in a play at the local high school.  Even got a bit of TLC for the show.  But the time came when I finally decided I could let them go.  My mother-in-law didn’t care what I did with them.  So I tried Craigslist.  No luck.  I needed to do some major purging in preparation of my sister moving down and needing storage space so I decided to bite the bullet and have a garage sale.  Ugh!!!  So much work!!!  Love going to garage sales.  Hate having them.  I moved the Duncan Phyfe pieces  out to my driveway and just put a sign on them saying “Make an Offer”.  Had a few customers that were curious but not serious.  Let’s face it, you gotta have the right decor and room to have 100 year old Duncan Phyfe.  They were  not designed to lay down and watch TV.  This furniture was the Sunday afternoon preacher came for supper or the very nervous man  about to ask his sweetheart’s father’s hand in marriage.  In other words… not comfortable.  Back to the garage sale.  A lady came and tears started rolling out of her eyes.  She had a very similar couch that had belonged to her grandmother but had to get rid of it.  I didn’t ask for any more details.  So I let her have it for 10 bucks.   I didn’t really want to make a lot of money from it.  I just wanted it to have a good home and to be loved.   So my point of this story is that if you are in a dilemma about letting go of something, be it a family heirloom or something just sentimental to you, there is someone out there that is looking for exactly that item.   Today it’s so easy to post on Craigslist, Ebay and other online sites to find a new owner.  I know clients that battle with the guilt of a trinket left to them by a family member.  They really don’t want it, don’t like it and more importantly don’t have anywhere to put it.  So I am here to give you permission to LET IT GO.   Let it go to a new home.  Someone that will love it and appreciate it.