The end of the year is a good time to reflect on things.  You may remember the line from the Dylan song, “the times, they are a changin”.  Of course that has always been true, but it is always more obvious when you take time to think about it.  I am thinking particularly about the changes in the auction business in the 30+ years since I called my first auction.  Back then, there were still quite a few small farm auctions that were similar to the auctions I attended with my Dad 55 years ago (when you think about it, that is more than half a century).  When I started in the business, the personal computer was still in the future.  The internet was still in someone’s imagination.  Ebay couldn’t have been imagined.  There wasn’t an Ikea or a Walmart just up the road.  Things were still “made in the USA”, and a broken toaster was still worth fixing.  A lot of things have changed since then, and a lot of things haven’t changed, either.  People are still people and over time, they still tend to accumulate a lot of “stuff”, and they still have the same problems with what to do with all that “stuff” when they finally decide that they don’t need it any more. 

Over the past 30 years, I have helped a lot of people deal with a lot of “stuff”.  First, in my role as an auctioneer, and then, over time with handling estate sales, garage sales, coordinating people’s moves, and disposing of left over junk.  Even though each of these tasks is different, they all have one thing in common, “STUFF”.  I was taught in auction school to never refer to things as “junk”, or even as “stuff”, but over the years, I have come to realize that no matter who we are, we all have some “stuff” and maybe even some “junk” that we eventually need help with.  I have come to realize that the job description as “auctioneer” is not really broad enough to describe the job that we actually do.  In addition to actually conducting auctions, we get involved with all sorts of other tasks like sorting “stuff”, organizing “stuff”, wrapping “stuff”, shipping “stuff”, selling “stuff” on Ebay or Craig’s list, moving “stuff”, throwing “stuff” into a dumpster, packing “stuff”, helping people load “stuff”, consulting about “stuff”, taking “stuff” to the hazardous waste site, and recycling “stuff” that can’t be sold at auction.  Sometimes, all we do is talk about “stuff” with people. 

In the coming year, I hope to broaden the scope of my business to include all the various tasks involved in dealing with “stuff”.  I hope to use this blog to share some of what I have learned about dealing with “stuff” and to make this a resource for people who have to deal with a lot of “stuff” and don’t know where to start.  You might find yourself in this position if you have lived in your house for a long time and finally have to face the prospect of moving to a smaller place, you might suddenly find yourself here if you are appointed as the executor of an estate, you might find yourself here if you need to dispose of someone’s lifelong collection of scrap iron from the hobby farm you just bought, or you might find that you just need someone to help you get your car in the garage again.  Whatever the reason why “stuff” has become a problem for you, I can probably help.  If this applies to you or anyone you know, please contact me. 

            I will continue to use this blog to advertise auctions, but I also intend to use it on a regular basis to convey general information about “stuff”.