Last weekend was the 301 Endless Yardsale in NC. My mom & I went and scowered the yard sales on Friday, then my sister and I had our own yard sale on Saturday. There was SSOOOO much stuff people were getting rid of and my sister and I had A TON of stuff to get rid of, too.

It was nice to be able to make some money off of my stuff and get rid of it at the same time…but then I started thinking about how much money I spent originally when I bought the stuff I was now getting rid of. After the 301 yard sale, my mom and I went by Wal-Mart to pick up something I needed that I couldn’t find at a yard sale or flea market. In the process, I walked down aisles FILLED with stuff. The shelf arrangements were gorgeous and made me want ALL the things…but then I thought of where I’d just come from…yard sales…filled with used (or un-used) stuff that people bought thinking they needed it then decided they didn’t.

When you think about it, it’s an incredible cycle of junk-creation. We pump out all these things to sell to make money. Consumers buy, buy, buy. People wrack-up debt to pay for things they believe they need then they end up needed to pay for storage facilities just to house their junk, and then eventually it ends up getting sold at auctions, flea markets, yard sales, or even just given away. What starts out new and necessary ends up used and wasted.

It just kind of makes you think…what’s the point? How can we manage it or shift the cycle to create more efficiency in our financial & stuff-filled lives?