To all you parents out there who want to get your teen off the sofa or away from the computer for longer than a bathroom break or run to the Super America I think I have found a solution.
The great American yard sale, tag sale, garage sale, or rummage sale depending on what part of the country you live in.
My point is, you get to kill two birds with one stone the way I see it. Lighten the load, clean out the closets and have your kid actual do something constructive with their extra time.
So we are getting ready to move. After 8 years in the same house we have acquired quite a bit of "stuff". To make matters worse, we are not sure if our next move is going to be be down the street or to another state so we are really trying be as lean as possible. When I started looking around at the amount of stuff we needed to pack up I started to feel a little overwhelmed. So I said, I'll just get a dumpster and toss it. My daughter quickly spoke up and said, "No wait, why can't we just sell it?"
This is how the conversation then developed:
me: "Great, have at it, but don't expect me to help and don't think I'm going to let this linger for weeks. We have exactly 4 weeks before closing so you have 2 to figure it out"
eager teen: "Well, does that mean any of the money I make from it I get to keep?"
me: "Absolutely, as long as you don't ask me for money to get you supplies and you don't create more mess in the process you can keep it all"
really eager teen: "So could I do it this weekend? What do I need to do to get ready for it?"
me: "This weekend would be a bit aggressive unless you really think you can work on it every night and get a plan in place by Wednesday, along with ads in the paper and craigslist. Don't forget you are going to need some help and I would target a Thursday morning through Saturday if I were you. You know this also means you have to clean the garage... I'm not helping you with that either"
concerned but money hungry teen: "ok, if you tell me what to do I'll do it. I can get help. Really I can keep ALL of the money I make?"
me: "All yours. Get to it"
I haven't seem much of her since Sunday when we had that conversation. I know that we have most of the little things in the house packed and it's actually starting to look like we are moving...
I'm not seeing a down side to any of this.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
brilliant!
the only down side? where the heck are you going in three weeks? maybe it's just me, being the nervous tyoe and all, but i'd usually have some idea by now.
on the off chance you don't, i'd highly recommend staying away from trenton new jersey. otherwise, the rest of the country you might find suitable. just my two cents.
Post a Comment