It’s that time of year again – time to look through the house and see what I don’t want to keep anymore. Yes, it’s garage sale time. Of course, not all the stuff for this annual event will be mine. It will be a multifamily sale because my mom, sisters and sister-in-law also have stuff they don’t need anymore. Even though we had the date planned for quite a while, I didn’t start going through boxes until four days before the big event, and it’s amazing to me how much stuff a person can collect through the years. I will admit, I can be quite a pack rat. Actually, I’m much better than I used to be. A few years ago, I probably had close to 50 plastic storage containers stacked in my back room. Now, however, it’s much better. I’m down to about 20, and most of those are not full. My goal is to get down to 10 or less, but that’s another project. As I looked through boxes, cabinets and closets, it was like a trip down memory lane. I found items I didn’t even remember that I had. I found letters from former students that I had received for Teacher Appreciation Week. I found posters of Air Force jets that my cousin Lee, who is in that branch of the military, gave to me years ago. Then came the debate over what to keep and what to mark for sale. Some items went in the garage sale pile, while others went in the save pile. Needless to say, the two items I just mentioned are still in my possession. Actually, getting ready for a garage sale can be dangerous. As I was going through boxes in the back room, one fell down, hit my arm and spilled its contents all over the floor. That’s how I developed the first bruise. When I was looking for items in my closet, I decided to save time by just standing on the box that was in there instead of getting a chair. That was a bad mistake because the lid collapsed, and I hit my leg. That was bruise No. 2. I also found several items I had been looking for weeks earlier. No, it wasn’t a miracle. I had just placed other things on top of them. My living room was packed with castoffs – purses, math posters, candle holders, wind chimes, photo album, craft supplies, books, glasses, board games, CDs, envelopes, figurines, snow globes and a George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine – waiting to be priced. Once that was completed, I moved the sale items to the garage. However, before that happened, I developed bruise No. 3 when I ran into one of the boxes after I turned the lights out at night. It should be quite a busy weekend, but not only because of preparations for the sale. Several of my nephews have been calling to ask if they can stay overnight because they realized I’m not working those days. The boys are also excited because any money made off their items is theirs to keep. I just hope it doesn’t rain, and we get rid of lots of items so we don’t have to pack them all up again. I also hope I don’t add another bruise to my collection.