I have been blogging about auctions for a number of years.  I appreciate my on-line audience who checks in occasionally to see if I have written anything new.  I regret that sometimes it is a long time between posts, especially in the winter.  I have been thinking about this for a while and I am going to try something different.  When I started doing this blog, all I talked about was auctions and auctioneering.  I have come to see that what I am doing is much broader in scope and I am going to try to expand my blog accordingly.  When I went to auction school, we were counseled to not refer to a person’s possessions as “stuff”, as this word was considered to be insulting to the “merchandise” to be offered at auction.  With the benefit of hindsight after 30 years of conducting auctions, I am more and more convinced that the word “stuff” really does describe most of what people accumulate over the years.  From now on, I am not going to be shy about using the term “stuff”.  In addition to antiques, collectibles, furniture, and items of value, almost every house contains its share of obsolete electronics, out of style décor, unused sports equipment, almost new clothing that no longer fits, as well as multiples of various tools, consumer appliances, and kitchen items, not to mention books, toys, games, and everything else.  With the advent of big box retailers, IKEA, and the home shopping network, we have overwhelmed ourselves with “stuff”.

          It is obvious that dealing with “stuff” can be a major problem for people.  In the extreme case, society has become fascinated with “hoarders”.  Even in “nicer” neighborhoods, people don’t always want to leave their garage doors open for everyone to see all their “stuff”.  The world of “stuff” has changed a lot since I started doing auctions.  Back in the day, even a toaster or an iron at an auction would have another life in a new home.  All that changed when we started importing inexpensive consumer goods from overseas.  Single family homes used to be the standard in many communities, and in smaller communities, many if not most people were only one generation away from the farm and almost everyone understood auctions.  I remember being slightly annoyed at the concept of “estate sales” when they first started cropping up in outstate Minnesota.  I wondered why anyone would consider having an estate sale when an auction was obviously the best way to sell things.  Over time, I have come to realize that different situations require different solutions, and so several years ago we started conducting estate sales in addition to auctions.

          I have decided that I am going to start using my blog to talk about “stuff” and how to handle it.  Sometimes I may be talking about an auction or estate sale, either one that is coming up, or one that has occurred. Other times, I might be talking about a garage sale, or a flea market, where “stuff” can be bought or sold.  Additional topics might include selling “stuff” on the internet, moving “stuff” or storing “stuff”.  I want to make my website interesting and useful for people who either have too much “stuff” or want more “stuff”. 

Feel free to let me know what you would like to hear about.